1. Unit 4: American Politics Lesson 3: Campaigns & the Electoral Process
LESSON ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do political parties select candidates?
How do candidates run campaigns?
 How do politicians balance their obligation to voters with the demands of special interests?
WARM UP
What must candidates do in order to get elected?
Essential Lesson Vocabulary:
Major Party
New Hampshire Primary
Propaganda types (bandwagon; endorsement; glittering generalities; card stacking; common man; transfer)
Factions (eg: Tea Party)
National Political Convention
Candidate
Electoral College
Incumbent / Challenger
Red States / Blue States
Campaign Manager
Nominee / Nomination
Swing States
Federal Elections Commission
“Open” Seat
Likely Voters
Campaign Contribution
“Safe” Seat
Unlikely Voters
McCutcheon v. FEC
Open Primary
Voter apathy
Political Action Committees
Closed Primary
Voter File
Super PACs
Iowa Caucus
Canvassing
Citizens United v. FEC

2. Unit 4: American Politics Lesson 3: Campaigns and the Electoral Process
Class Website:
DEADLINES & HOMEWORK:
Lesson One:
Performance Task Deadlines: April April 13th
Vocab Quiz: April 10th
Lesson Two:
Vocab Quiz: April 13th (End of class Quiz)
Lesson Three:
Performance Task Deadlines: April 16th
Vocab Quiz: April 16
Lesson Four:
Vocab Quiz:
UNIT TEST: Friday, April 17
Lesson 1 Performance Task:
Select a candidate that is running for President in Write a guide for them describing what they will need to do to secure the nomination of their party and win the presidency. Your guide should apply at least 10 of the vocabulary terms from this Unit (and preferably from this lesson). OPTIONS INCLUDE:
Write a draft campaign plan
Write a newspaper article after the candidate wins that looks back on their path to the Presidency
Write a letter from the Candidate to their parent or spouse explaining what they’ll be doing while they’re away from home for the next year and a half.

3. The Election Process Give an example of a conservative belief
Give an example of a liberal belief

4. Major 2016 Candidates for President
Democrats
Definitely running
Hillary Clinton
Probably running
Martin O’Malley (Governor, Maryland)
Jim Webb (Former Secretary of Navy & U.S. Senator, Virginia)
Lincoln Chafee (Former Senator & Governor, Rhode Island)
Bernie Sanders (Senator, Vermont)
Republicans:
Definitely Running:
Ted Cruz (Senator, TX)
Rand Paul (Senator, KY)
Marco Rubio (Senator, FL)
Probably Running:
Jeb Bush (Former Gov., Fl)
Lindsay Graham (Sen., SC)

5. Read Handout on Electoral Process
Answer the following questions in your google document:
Which candidates have already DECLARED their candidacy for President in 2016?
How does each political party select its “nominee” for president?
What is the difference between the “electoral vote” and the “popular vote”?

6. The Two Party System Two types of elections
Primary Elections
General Elections
The election before the election
Used by each party to pick their candidates
Winner GETS ONTO THE BALLOT FOR THE GENERAL ELECTION IN NOVEMBER
Usually between May and August
Tuesday after 1st Monday in November
Democrat vs. Republican
Winner takes office

7. People from each party decide to run

8. Primaries and Caucuses
Primaries are like the election BEFORE the election – each party picks their candidate

9. Important Primaries Iowa Caucuses New Hampshire Primary
1st state to vote
Winning candidate gets big boost, lots of press, and is viewed as a contender
1st primary & second state to vote
Open primary
Very personal
candidates spend lots of time in New Hampshire meeting voters

10. Political Trends Blue States Red States
Urban areas usually vote democratic
Large numbers of minority voters who usually support Democrats
Northeast
New England states usually vote democratic in Presidential Elections
California, New York, Illinois,
Rural areas usually vote Republican
Mostly white voters
Large concentration of conservative Christian voters
Southern States
Southeastern states generally vote republican in presidential races
Texas, & great plains

11. Picking a Nominee Nomination
Candidates that win the most states earn delegates who help them win the nomination
Hillary Clinton is widely expected to win the 2016 Democratic Nomination for president

12. National Convention Each Party holds a convention to:
Party formally announces its nomination
Delegates vote on their platform

13. Party Platform
Set of issues & proposals that the party supports

14. Candidate Research
Begin researching the people running for President in 2016
Work in your groups to do the following:
Fill in the research chart for each candidate.
complete candidate bio and give some bullet points about what they believe / stand for.
indicate advantages and disadvantages this candidate will have in trying to win his/her party’s nomination
Answer questions 1-4 on the back:
For each party, indicate which candidate is your favorite AND indicate which is most likely to win.
RESOURCES: Begin with the links provided; additional research may be required, however.

15. General Election

16. General Election
After candidates have been selected through the primary process…
Democrat vs. Republican
WINNER TAKE ALL
Popular vote – total votes a candidate wins across the whole country

19. Unit 4: American Politics Lesson 3: Campaigns & the Electoral Process
LESSON ESSENTIAL QUESTION
How do political parties select candidates?
How do candidates run campaigns?
 How do politicians balance their obligation to voters with the demands of special interests?
WARM UP
What is the purpose of a primary election?
What is the purpose of a general election?
Essential Lesson Vocabulary:
Major Party
New Hampshire Primary
Propaganda types (bandwagon; endorsement; glittering generalities; card stacking; common man; transfer)
Factions (eg: Tea Party)
National Political Convention
Candidate
Electoral College
Incumbent / Challenger
Red States / Blue States
Campaign Manager
Nominee / Nomination
Swing States
Federal Elections Commission
“Open” Seat
Likely Voters
Campaign Contribution
“Safe” Seat
Unlikely Voters
McCutcheon v. FEC
Open Primary
Voter apathy
Political Action Committees
Closed Primary
Voter File
Super PACs
Iowa Caucus
Canvassing
Citizens United v. FEC

20. Unit 4: American Politics Lesson 3: Campaigns and the Electoral Process
Class Website:
DEADLINES & HOMEWORK:
Lesson One:
Performance Task Deadlines: April April 13th
Vocab Quiz: April 10th
Lesson Two:
Vocab Quiz: April 13th (End of class Quiz)
Lesson Three:
Performance Task Deadlines: April 17h
Vocab Quiz: April 17
Lesson Four:
Vocab Quiz:
UNIT TEST: Friday, April 17
Lesson 1 Performance Task:
Select a candidate that is running for President in Write a guide for them describing what they will need to do to secure the nomination of their party and win the presidency. Your guide should apply at least 10 of the vocabulary terms from this Unit (and preferably from this lesson). OPTIONS INCLUDE:
Write a draft campaign plan
Write a newspaper article after the candidate wins that looks back on their path to the Presidency
Write a letter from the Candidate to their parent or spouse explaining what they’ll be doing while they’re away from home for the next year and a half.

21. Counting the Votes
Popular vote – adds up the votes of every voter in the country
Electoral Votes
States with big populations have more electoral votes
Must win 270 Electoral Votes to become President

22. The Electoral College System
Geography of Presidential Elections

23. 2008 & 2012 Electoral Maps Blue States Red States “Purple” states
Democratic
Red States
Republican
“Purple” states
Swing states

24. Swing States / Battleground States
Each year, some states are up for grabs
Both Republicans and Democrats have chance to win them
Typical swing states:
Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico, Colorado

25. Electoral College
Candidate must win 270 “electoral college votes” to become president
Framers of Constitution were concerned that most people didn’t have enough information to make a good choice

26. Electoral Votes for each State
Add the number of Senators to the number of members of the House from each state
NC now has 15 electoral votes

27. RESEARCH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE Go to www.270towin.com
Using the Map I’ve given you:
Color red states red, blue states blue, and leave swing states blank
If you don’t have red/blue, you may write R or D instead
For each state, write the # of electoral votes that state has
Use the site to conduct research using your “Electoral College & Geography of Presidential Elections” handout & fill in the information required.
Complete Performance Task:
Research Each Candidate using the handout and research links provided.
Use polling data to figure out how likely they are to win in different states
Figure out what swing states they would need to win to win the election

28. Winner take all system
Electoral College – candidate must win 270 electoral votes to become president
Candidates that win a state get ALL electoral votes for that state

29. Congressional Elections
House of Representatives
Senate
EVERY member faces re-election every 2 years
Terms are 6 years long
33 senators face re-election in 2016
34 senators face re-election in 2018
33 senators face re-election in 2020
just got elected/re-elected in 2014

30. Work Time Work on Performance task AND:
Create a meme’s for each candidate in each race (four meme’s total)
GO TO:
Find pictures, make meme’s
Share with me via
Include names of group members in

31. Running a Campaign $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
To buy ads, hire staff, and travel to events
Messaging – make sure the candidate says what people want to hear
Register Voters
Make sure your supporters are registered to vote
Voter turnout – make sure your supporters actually show up to vote
Volunteer Canvassing
People who go door to door in support of candidates

32. Voter Apathy
Many people don’t care about voting at all

36. Causes of Voter Apathy Don’t like Democrats or Republicans
Don’t think anything will ever change
Don’t see what the election has to do with them

37. Polling Polling – Opinion polls Exit polls
Can help politicians understand what voters want
Provide information about how well each candidate is doing
Exit polls
After they vote, people get asked who they voted for
Used to analyze voting demographics and trends
What candidates did women prefer? Latinos? Young people? Etc.

38. Voter Targeting & Strategy
The Voter File
The state keeps a record of who votes in each election
Information includes:
Voters age, address, (& phone # if listed on voter registration form)
Date of each election the person voted in
Indicates whether the person is a reliable voter likely to vote in every election, or an unreliable voter that only participates in presidential elections, etc.
Party affiliation (Democrat, Republican, Unaffiliated, etc.)
Voter file is a public record: anyone can buy it from the state

39. Voter Targeting & Strategy
Candidates, Political Parties, & other groups USE THE VOTER FILE to decide which voters to target for turnout
Voter turnout measures which people actually show up to vote
Two basic strategies:
turnout your core voters
Dem’s focus on getting unlikely D’s the polls; R’s focus on getting R’s out
Persuasion: focus on gaining support from unafiliated voters
Unaffiliateds are considered “swing” voters. Whichever party they end up supporting usually wins the election

40. Voter Targeting & Strategy
How do campaigns identify voters?
Phone banking – calling voters to ask if they can be counted on to support a candidate
Canvassing – knocking on doors to talk with voters about issues and convince them to support a candidate
Direct Mail – sending campaign propaganda to voter’s addresses (to be effective, this usually requires at least 3-4 pieces of mail per election cycle)
Voters are ranked on a 1-5 scale:
1 definite support; 2 – likely support; 3 – undecided; 4 – likely oppose; 5 – definite oppose
Results of phone calls and canvass are data-entered in the voter file & saved for future use

41. Win the White House Log into www.icivics.org
Play the game: “win the white house”
Play the game online; ask me questions as you go; I will assist you with strategy
Students that get elected will earn 5 bonus points on this unit’s exam

42. Reflection on Elections
What have you learned so far about Presidential elections?
Indicate at least three things

43. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Candidates with more money usually win.
Where do they get the money from?
VOTERS & CORPORATIONS

44. It’s All About the Benjamins Baby!
2 Party System
The two parties dominate American politics often because they are able to raise the most funds.

45. Federal Campaign Limits
Individuals can give
$2500 per election to a federal candidate (Senate, House, President)
Primary, general election, & runoffs are separate elections
$5000 per year to a Political Action Committee (PAC)
$10,000 per year to State or Local parties
$30,800 per year to a National Party
A maximum of $117,000 every two years
WOW – that’s a lot of $$$$$$ - what does a person get for all that dough?

46. Does $$$ Equal Political Power?
Rich people can give a lot of money to candidates and gain influence.
Does this give them more power than poor people?
Is this fair?

47. $$$$ as free speech? There is a 1st Amendment right to free speech.
Money buys advertising time for speech.
IS MONEY THE SAME AS SPEECH?

48. Political Action Committees (PACs)
Can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on elections
Cannot talk with or coordinate with candidates
Much more common and powerful since Citizens United

49. Corporate Personhood
For the purposes of politics, companies are defined as “people”
That means that corporations can make political contributions

50. Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
2010 Supreme Court rules that money equals speech;
Corporations are defined as people, and can give unlimited amounts of money to Super PACs
No limits on the amount of money PACs can spend in on elections
Argues that restricting money in politics is like restricting a person’s right to speak out about their beliefs

52. Special Interest Groups
Organizations that focus on getting the government to support the interests of a particular group of people or a particular issue
EXAMPLES
Restaurant Association
Chamber of Commerce
League of Women Voters
NAACP
Unions

53. Lobbyists
Paid by interest groups to convince politicians to vote a certain way
Have good relationship with politicians and their staff
Sometimes are very powerful
Usually paid a lot of money

54. Quick Write & Work Time:
Watch the video clip about money in politics.
It is an interview with Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.
QUICK WRITE:
Describe the effect of money on politics.
Can / should money be removed from politics?
Does the 1st amendment protect the right of wealthy individuals to spend unlimited amounts of $$ on campaign contributions?

56. Mass Media & Propaganda
WARM UP: Suppose your job is making commercials to sell lotion.
Who is your target audience for an ad?
What information do you want people to have about your product?
How do you want people to feel about the product?
What do you want your audience to think about competing products?

57. What is the purpose of political advertisements?
PROPAGANDA – information designed to convince you of something
To sell the candidate
Add makers want you to “buy” or support their candidate and then to vote for him/her

58. What is the purpose of political advertisements?
Propaganda Rubric
What makes propaganda effective?
Emotion
does the ad make you feel something?
Persuasion
does the ad convince you?
Truth
is the ad true? Or at least does it seem true?
Style
is the ad memorable? Does it stick in your head?

59. Elements of Propaganda
Read handout & highlight, summarize the following tactics
Bandwagon
Namecalling
Endorsement
Card stacking
Glittering generalities
Just plain folks
transfer

60. Analyzing Propaganda For each ad, write down in your notebook:
Words/images used
Identify the propaganda technique used
Rate the effectiveness of the ad

61. Role of the Media
Watchdog – traditionally the media worked to hold politicians accountable
Fact checking (are elected officials telling the truth)
Pundits – media officials often watch politics closely and offer analysis and predictions of what is likely to happen

62. Media Bias Media ownership –
Mass media companies are owned by large corporations
Corporations have an interest in election results and tax policy
Media companies sometimes do have real political preferences because one candidate may be more friendly to their economic interests

64. Media Bias
Many people believe that certain media sources are biased towards either liberal or conservative viewpoints
Conservatives see a liberal bias in:
New York Times
MSNBC
NPR
CNN
Liberals see a conservative bias in:
FOX News
Wall Street Journal

65. Cable News Networks
24 hour cable news – effect is that anything that happens is instantly analyzed
No time to really think about it
No time to investigate claims
If we wait to check it out, someone else might air the story first

67. End of Class Quiz Why did George Washington oppose political parties?
What groups of voters typically support Democrats?

69. Election Too Close to Call?
Runoff Elections
Some places require candidates to get 50%+1 of the vote to win.
If 3 or more candidates split the vote and no one reaches 50%, a RUNOFF election is held between just the top two vote getters
Happened in Wake County school board election
Recounts
If the popular vote is super close (less than 1%), there is an automatic recount of the votes to make sure no mistakes were made