1. Campaigns and Elections
Chapter 8
Campaigns
and
Elections

2. Enduring questions about elections
Basic purposes in democracies?
How do U.S. election laws compare?
Consequences of our election laws?
Major factors influencing the public’s vote choices?
“Normal” elections versus “critical” elections?
How polarized are:
the U.S public?
our elected officials?

3. 1) What are the two basic purposes of elections in a democracy?
Mandate
Safeguard
Two external safeguards
Free, fair, frequent, & competitive elections
A pluralist rather than a polarized society
Three internal safeguards
Division of power by levels
Separation of powers by branches
Overlapping (shared or concurrent) powers across both levels and branches

4. 2) How do U.S. election laws compare to those in other democracies?
Number of political parties
Number & frequency of elections
Unitary v. federal
Parliamentary v. presidential
Primary v. general
Number of offices on the ballot
Short v. long
Cost of running for public office

5. 3) What are the consequences of our election laws?
Mass public
Political trust
Political efficacy
Party identification
Turnout
Issue publics
Political elites
Polarization
Fundraising chores
Representativeness

6. 4) What influences the public’s vote choices?
Short-term factors
Candidate evaluations
Competency
Honesty
Issue attitudes
Salience
Policy preference
Long-term factors
Ideology
Party id.
Age
Gender
Class
Region
Race/ethnicity
Religion

7. Two economy issues and the incumbent party’s presidential vote
Federal Debt Personal Income
There is a weak relationship between lowering the deficit and winning the election. But there is a stronger relationship between increasing people's incomes and getting their votes.

8. 5) What are the consequences of “normal-vote” & “critical” elections?
Examples of Party Eras
1788 Founding
1824 De-alignment
1860 Civil War & Reconstruction
1896 Industrial Revolution
1932 New Deal
1968 De-alignment
2004 ??
Definitions
“Normal-vote” elections
“Critical” elections
Political-party systems or eras
2nd era: de-alignment issues: national building & slavery
3rd era: : Republican dominance
: competitive balance
4th era: 1896: Republican dominance
5th era: 1932: Democratic dominance and “New Deal” switch on national supremacy v. states’ rights
6th era: 1968: many cross-cutting issues: VN, civil rights, law & order

9. Presidential voting in four political-party eras in the U.S.
1876
2000
1888
3rd era: R dominance with South out; competitive with S back in
4th era: re-alignment to R dominance
5th era: re-alignment
6th era: de-alignment

10. 6) How polarized was the 2008 presidential vote?
Electoral-vote winner by state – sectional polarization emphasized
Popular-vote winner by county – fragmentation more evident – e.g. Texas and Florida
Electoral-vote winner by state
Popular-vote winner by county

11. 6) How polarized was the 2008 presidential vote?
Popular-vote division by county – de-emphasizes red v. blue voting – emphasizes “purple” outcomes
Popular-vote division by county weighted by county’s population size – emphasizes urban/rural differences
Popular-vote division by county
weighted by county’s population size
Popular-vote division by county

12. How polarized is Congress?