The Electoral Process Chapter 7

Important things to know 1.Nominating Process 2.Elections 3.The Money a)Hard and soft money $$$$

I) Nomination “The naming of those who seek office” Five ways to be nominated 1.Self Announcement 2.The Caucus 3.The Convention 4.Direct Primaries 5.Petition

Getting Nominated Self Announcement is the oldest form of the nomination process Self announcement is usually used by someone who failed to gain the parties regular nomination Whenever a “write-in” candidate appears in an election, the self- announcement process has been used

The Caucus A group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election. States that still use caucus elections including; Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts

The Convention As the caucus method collapsed the convention then took over First nation convention was held in 1831 Utah, Virginia, Michigan, and Connecticut still use this system

The Direct Primaries Intra-party election: held within a party to pick candidates Most state law requires the use of primary elections to choose their candidates for the House of Representatives, Senates, Governor, and other state offices Closed Primary - only declared party members can vote

Direct Primary (continued) Open Primary - any qualified voter can cast a ballot Blanket primary - every voter receives the same ballot (not just with their parties candidates) This is what Washington was the first state to do this, followed by CA however now it is not allowed

Closed vs. Open Closed: Prevents one party from “raiding” the others primary in hopes of weakening it Helps make candidates more responsible to its party and its platform Makes voters more thoughtful when voting Open: Voters are not forced to make their party identities known Independent voters are not excluded

II) Elections Election Day - November Tuesday after the first Monday Voting Absentee Polling place

III) Money and Elections Campaign Spending Regulating of Finance Hard Money vs. Soft money How can politicians spend their money?

Campaign Spending Candidates spend lots of money when running for office Sources of money oPrivate contributors  Small- $10  Wealthy families  Candidates them selves  Non-party groups  Public funds (subsidies) are also used from federal of state gov –  subsidy is a grant of money from the government.

Regulation of Finance Began in 1907, upheld in 4 main laws 1.Election Campaign Act of The FECA Amendments of The FECA Amendment of The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002

Hard and Soft Money Hard money - money raised and spent to elect candidates for Congress and the White house Soft money - funds given to party organizations for such “party-building activities” as candidate recruitment, voter registration, and get- out-the-vote drives, etc

Issues with soft Money Both parties raise more soft money and begin to exploit a loop hole These funds began as money for the campaign but eventually got filtered into the presidential or congressional election campaign