Chapter 7: The Electoral Process

Chapter 7 Section 1: The Nominating Process Nomination—the naming of those who will seek office Nominating Methods Self-Announcement Caucus—Group of like-minded people who meet to select the candidates they will support in an upcoming election Party members and supporters debate the merits of the candidates and then vote to select a nominee

Direct primary—Intraparty election Convention Local districts (or states) select delegates to represent them at higher-level (national) conventions where the nominee is chosen Direct primary—Intraparty election Held within party to pick candidates for the general election Closed primary—only declared party members can vote (FL) Open primary—aka “crossover primary;” any qualified voter can cast a ballot Petition Candidates collect a specified number of signatures from voters to qualify for the general election

Chapter 7 Section 2: Elections *Administration, Ballots, and Voting Procedures* Administration Most election law is state law Congress sets time, place, and manner of congressional and presidential elections (Article I, Section 4, Clause 1; 17th Amendment) Congress sets time to choose electors, sets date for electoral votes (Article II, Section 1, Clause 4; 12th Amendment) Congressional Elections—1st Tuesday following 1st Monday in Nov. every even-numbered yr Presidential Electionos--1st Tuesday following 1st Monday in Nov. every fourth yr

Help American Vote Act (2002) Upgrade voting machines and training of election officials Computerize registration Allow provisional voting (allow someone to vote even if not sure they are qualified, do the research, then count vote if qualified) Most elections for state offices held on same day as national elections Absentee voting Early voting Precincts—voting districts Polling place—place votes are cast (must vote at assigned location except for early voting) Precinct election board supervises Poll watchers—one per party at each polling place

Instrument on which voter registers their choice Ballots Instrument on which voter registers their choice Forms include paper, optical scanner, and touch screens Secret ballots Based on Australian ballot Printed at public expense All candidates listed Given only at polls Marked in secret—FYI: it’s not polite to ask someone who they are voting for Office-group ballot—candidates for an office grouped together Order of names rotated

Party-column ballot—candidates listed in column under party name Sample ballots—help voters prepare FYI: primary samples ballots might be green/blue; sometimes they are yellow or pink——typically colored based on party Bed-sheet ballot—lengthy

Voting machine; often electronic Voting Procedures Voting machine; often electronic FYI: paper ballot in LC Optical Scanning—voters fill in and scanners read and record FYI: LC Direct response electronic voting—voters touch screen/push button and votes are recorded electronically Vote by mail (absentee) Military; traveling Signed by you to mail back Online voting

Chapter 7 Section 3: Money and Elections Campaign Spending Campaign managers and consultants TV, radio, newspapers Pamphlets, buttons, posters, bumper stickers Office rent Mass mailings Web sites Travel *about $1.8B spent on House and Senate campaigns in 2010!

Total Campaign Spending, 1964-2008 Total Campaign Spending, 1964-2008 * Sources: Federal Election Commission; Herbert E. Alexander Financing Politics *Presidential Elections only Year Estimated Spending Voter Turnout Spending per Voter 1964 $200 million 70.6 million $2.38 1968 $300 million 73.2 million $4.10 1972 $425 million 77.7 million $5.47 1976 $540 million 81.6 million $6.62 1980 $1.2 billion 86.6 million $13.87 1984 $1.8 billion 92.7 million $19.42 1988 $2.7 billion 91.6 million $29.48 1992 $3.2 billion 104.4 million $30.65 1996 $4 billion 96.5 million $41.45 2000 $5.1 billion 105.4 million $48.39 2004 $6 billion 120.2 million $49.92 2008 $7 billion 130.9 million $53.48

Using the data from the previous chart… Which election year saw the largest increase in spending? Which election year saw the largest turnout in voters? Which election year saw the largest increase in spending per voter? Were there any instances when price/voters dropped? Why?

Candidates and their families Political appointees Fundraising Small contributors Occasional $5-$10 About 10% of voters Wealthy contributors “fat cats”—find it beneficial to donate Candidates and their families DT Political appointees Donate to the campaign of the person that did or will appoint them to office Political Action Committees (PACs) Political arms of special-interest groups or other organizations with a stake in electoral politics List at least 5 different PACs (their name and abbreviation), who/what they represent, and which candidate they support and why

Temporary organizations Fundraising events Formed for the immediate purpose of a campaign, especially fundraising Fundraising events Expensive dinners ($100+ per plate, etc) Mail, telethons, internet solicitation Public subsidies Federal and state treasuries Grants Contributors often want something in return Appointments, social recognition, certain laws, administrative actions

Regulation 1907—Congress banned any corporation or national bank from contributing in any election Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 FECA Amendments, 1974 and 1976 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), 2002 Federal Election Commission (FEC), est. 1974

Independent agency, part of executive branch FEC Independent agency, part of executive branch 6 members appointed by POTUS, approved by Senate Require timely disclosure of campaign finance data No contributions in another’s name Cash gifts limited—no more than $100 Single campaign committee collects and spends contributions Contributions, loans, or spending of more than $200 must be documented (source and date) Must report contributions of more than $5k (within 48 hours)

Place limits on campaign contributions Individual contribution limits No person can give more than $2,300 to any federal campaign candidate in a primary election No person can give more than $2,400 to any federal candidate’s general election campaign No person can give more than $5k/yr to a PAC –OR— $28,500 to a national party committee Total of any person’s contributions must be limited to no more than $108, 200 in an election cycle (the 2 yrs from one general election to the next) PAC contributions No PAC can give more than $5k to any one federal candidate in an election or $10k per election cycle (primary and general election) No limit on how many candidates a PAC can support (so it can give $5k to each candidate it chooses) A PAC may also contribute up to $15k/yr to a political party

Place limits on campaign expenditures Buckley v. Valeo, 1976—SCOTUS struck down most of FECA Amendments of 1974 used 1st amendment's freedom of expression—in politics “money is speech” Provide public funding for several parts of the presidential election process You can choose to give $3 when you file your taxes (goes to big dish for FEC) Preconvention Campaigns (Presidential Primaries and Caucuses) Contender must 1st raise $100k from individuals (not organizations or PACs) Gathered in $5k format least 20 states No more than $250 from each individual contributor Purposely intended to discourage frivolous candidacies FEC will match the first $250 of each individual contribution, up to total of half of overall limit on preconvention spending 2008—FEC could give $21million b/c preconvention spending limit was set to $42M FEC does not match PACS

Presidential Election Campaigns (continued from #4, previous slide) National Conventions Major party automatically receives grant, if it applies, to help pay for convention Presidential Election Campaigns Each major party candidate automatically eligible to receive subsidy 2008--$84.1 million Candidate can refuse, and then is free to raise as much as possible from private sources If accept public money, can spend no more than amount of the subsidy in general election and cannot accept funds from other sources

Soft money—funds given to parties or to other political organizations Hard money—contributions that are given directly to candidates for their campaigns for Congress or the White House Limited in amount Must be reported Soft money—funds given to parties or to other political organizations Unlimited amounts Used for “party-building activities” Voter registration or get-out-the-vote-drives “Soft money loophole”