Primary Elections Election in which a voter will select a political party’s nominee for the general election Ex. – 2012 presidential primaries General Elections Contest between the nominees of political parties Ex. – Obama v. Romney – 2012 presidency Elections on a Specific Policy Referendums – state level method of direct legislation that gives voters the chance to approve/disapprove of proposed legislation for a proposed state constitutional amendment Initiatives – process permitted in some states whereby voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions

The concept of legitimacy – the characterization of elections by political scientists where elections are almost universally accepted as a fair and free method of choosing political leaders Legitimacy leads to High Legitimacy – even losers accept the results of an election peacefully

Throughout history, Constitutional amendments have extended suffrage (the right to vote) to different groups: In the early 1800’s, many states removed property ownership as a qualification to vote, thus extending the right to vote to nearly every white male 15 th Amendment (1870) – extended suffrage to African American males 19 th Amendment (1920) – extended suffrage to women 26 th Amendment (1971) – extended suffrage to citizens eighteen years and older

Why People Decide to Vote: People who see differences between the parties are more likely to vote than those who do not see the differences between the parties Political Efficacy – those with higher degrees of it are more likely to vote; the belief that one’s political participation really matters and that one’s vote can actually make a difference Civic Duty – the belief that in order to support a democratic government, a citizen should always vote

Registering to Vote: Many states have some sort of voter registration system in place – a system that is adopted by the states that requires voters to register well before Election Day; there are some exceptions that have grown more notable in recent years Voter registration was theoretically helped tremendously by the Motor Voter Act of 1993 – required that states allow people to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license; went into effect for the 1996 presidential election

Demographic Factors that Impact Voting: Education – people with higher rate than average levels of education vote at a higher rate than those less educated Age – older people are more likely to vote than younger people Race – African Americans and Hispanics are underrepresented among voters relative to their share of the population Gender – today, women participate at slightly hire rates than do men Marital Status – married people are more likely to vote Government Employee – having something at stake and being in a position to know more leads to a higher level of participation

The Mandate Theory of Elections The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms on politics As political scientists focus on voter decisions, they focus on three major elements: 1. Voter’s party identification 2. Voter’s evaluation of the candidates 3. Policy voting

Party IdentificationEvaluation of CandidatesPolicy Voting People most frequently vote with the party that they agree with Candidates want a good image that will appeal to voters The most important qualities looked for are: integrity, reliability, and competence Electoral choices are made on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues Policy voting occurs when the following are met: 1.Voters have a clear view of their own policy position 2.Voters know where the candidate stands on policy issues 3.They see the differences between candidates on issues 4.They actually cast a vote for the candidate whose policy position coincides with theirs

The greater the policy differences between the candidates, the more likely that voters will be ale to steer government policies by their choices. In many instances, voters will engage in a process known as retrospective voting – a theory in which voters will essentially ask the question of what have you done for me lately

Registering to Vote: Many states have some sort of voter registration system in place – a system that is adopted by the states that requires voters to register well before Election Day; there are some exceptions that have grown more notable in recent years Voter registration was theoretically helped tremendously by the Motor Voter Act of 1993 – required that states allow people to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license; went into effect for the 1996 presidential election

What Is The Electoral College? It is a uniquely American institution that provides for the selection of the President by electors that are chosen by the state parties In most cases, the Electoral College vote usually reflects the will of the popular majority The Electoral College is a “winner take all” system for state electoral votes – therefore, there is a larger focus on big electoral vote states

How The Electoral College Works Today? To determine a state’s electoral votes, add its number of representatives (based on population) to its number of Senators (2) The winner of the popular vote within the state will usually get all of the electoral votes that the state has to offer The people vote (for electors) the first Tuesday of November; presidential electors meet in December to send their votes that are counted and then reported to the Vice President in January The magic number to win is 270 electoral votes; if no candidate wins, the House of Reps. chooses the President from the top three electoral vote getters, the Senate chooses the Vice President