General Election – used to fill an elective office Two Types of Elections General Election – used to fill an elective office Primary Election – used to select a party’s candidate for an elective office

Presidential Primaries Determine who the presidential candidate will be for each party Each State holds an individual primary which candidates have to register to run in 1st primary is held in February of the election year in New Hampshire Why is the New Hampshire and other early primaries so important?

Types of Primaries Closed – Most common, voters must declare in advance that they are a registered member of a party Open – voters decide when entering the booth which party’s primary they wish to participate (given a ballot for one party) Blanket (free love)– voters can participate in both party’s primary elections Which of these is the most democratic in nature?

Conventions First party conventions held during Jackson’s presidency to replace old party caucuses Held in late summer before the general election Formally nominates candidate each party determines their method So if primaries decide who the candidate will be, why are conventions important?

Campaign and Election Reform

The Reform Act of 1974 Six-person Federal Election Commission formed All contributions over $100 must be disclosed – no cash contributions over $100 No foreign contributions Contributions limited $1000 per candidate; $20,000 to national party committee; $5000 to Political Action Committee

The Reform Act of 1974 A corporation or other assoc. is allowed to establish a PAC Must register six months in advance Must have 50 contributors Must give to at least 5 different candidates PAC contributions are limited to $5000 per candidate and $15,000 to a national party

Other Reforms in the 1970’s 1976 Amendments – allowed corporations, unions, and special interests to set up PAC’s; limited one PAC per organization Buckley v. Valeo (1976)– ruled that limiting the amount that a candidate could spend on their own campaign was unconstitutional

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 Banned soft money to national parties Limited soft money to $10,000 per candidate per year Curbs on the use of campaign ads by outside interest groups

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 $1000 individual candidate contribution limit was raised to $2000 $25,000 limit on all candidate contributions was raised to $95,000 per 2 year cycle

New Campaign Finance Rules 2010 Citizens United