Political Campaigns and Elections Unit 10 Essential Question: Why should elections and voting matter to you?

Voting history Colonial days, voters were… Men White men Land-owning white men Church members, land-owning white men voted George Washington’s days (1770s), voters… No longer had to be church members, so… Land-owning white men voted

Cont. Andrew Jackson’s days (1820s), voters… No longer had to own land, so… White men voted After Abe Lincoln/Amendment 15 (1870), voters… No longer had to be white, so… Men voted After Amendment 19 (1920), voters… No longer had to be men, so… Adults voted

Cont. On paper, adults voted after 1920. The reality—discrimination remained. Indian Citizenship Act (1924) helped bring voting to Amer. Indians Participation in politics for women was slow 1950s/60s Civil Rights Movement emerged Few African-Americans voted at that time in the South Amendment 24 (1964) banned poll taxes (tax to vote) Voting Rights Act (1965) gave federal officials power to run voting in the South Amendment 26 (1971) – you can vote at age 18

Voting today Requirements to vote today… U.S. citizen 18+ years old Resident of the state Legally registered voter Voter turnout in the U.S. is low Presidential elections – 50 to 60% of voters vote (Europe: about 70%) 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 54% 60% 62% 58% 61%

Primaries & Caucuses Each party (Dem. & Repub.) has several candidates each year Goal – pick 1 party candidate Primaries = voting for your preferred candidate Open primary – everyone can vote Closed primary – ONLY party members can vote Caucuses = similar, but all-day events Party members gather to hear speeches, then vote

Electoral college Officially, “electors” elect the president, not people. They are bound to vote the way the people vote Why? 1700s – education was poor 1700s – communication was poor So, it might help to have educated, informed people vote Does this still apply today? Each state gets a number based on people in Congress Math... 100 Senators 435 House members 3 from D.C. –Amendment 23 – Wash. D.C. gets electors as if it were a state …so, we have 538 electors To win, a majority (1 over ½) is needed… 270 is the magic number.

Steps to run Exploratory committee – advises candidate on chances of winning Announcement Often a “staged” event Nowadays, social media is common Get organized A team at the top People in local communities Money Ads and campaigns cost $, $, $ Candidates must fund-raise

Cont. 5. Get a plan Make a “platform”—statement of positions Tone – positive or negative? Theme – simple, memorable Targeting – who should hear the ads? Appeal to “party base” (hard-core party people) or… …go mainstream (appeal to more people)?

Calendar Iowa – 1st caucus is in Jan/Feb New Hamphsire – 1st primary is in Jan/Feb Though small, these matter because they are 1st! Evidence – Howard Dean and his “Dean Scream” Candidates start dropping-out (no votes, no $) Super Tuesday – several states, largely in the South More drop-outs Summer…it’s usually clear who will win August – nominating convention formally picks 1 candidate

General election In a 1-on-1 race, candidates must… Keep “the party base” happy (the hard-core folks) Gather voters “in the middle” Create a “stump speech” – basic go-to speech Go to “battleground states” – these decide the election Win the electoral vote…(next slide)