1. Lifted restrictions
*religious qualifications, property, and taxes after 1800
*race disqualifications w/ 15th amendment in 1870
*gender disqualifications w/ 19th amendment in 1920
*grandfather clauses, white primaries, & literacy w/ federal civil rights legislation & court decisions (Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act 1965)
*Washington DC residents w/ 23rd amendment in 1961
*poll taxes w/ 24th amendment in 1964 (Harper v VA state Board of Elections, 1966)
*lowering the minimum age for voting in federal elections to 18 w/ 26th amendment in 1971

2. Issue/Policy Voting = **Increased direct participation
*DIRECT PRIMARY = citizens nominate candidates
*RECALL = special election initiated by petition to allow citizens to remove an official from office before a term expires (does not exist at the national level)
*REFERENDUM = citizens vote directly on issues called propositions (proposed laws or state constitutional amendments / does not exist at the national level)
*INITIATIVE = voters petition to propose issues to be decided by qualified voters (does not exist at the national level)

3. Types of Elections #3D *Primary Elections
CLOSED: only registered voters
OPEN: either party
BLANKET: split tkts only in AK/WA/LA
RUNOFF: no majority vote
*General Elections
*Special Elections
to fill a vacancy in the Senate, ex.
*local/state/federal laws decide when
*Congressional/POTUS on 1st Tues after
the 1st Monday of Nov
*Congressional every even year
(off-year OR midterms)
*POTUS every four years (coattail)
#3D

4. LOW VOTER TURNOUT HIGHER if the election is seen as important
HIGHER in presidential elections
expansion of electorate (26th)
failure of political parties to
mobilize voters
no perceived differences b/t the
candidates or parties
mistrust of government
apathy
satisfaction with status quo
lack of POLITICAL EFFICACY
mobility of electorate
registration process (Motor Voter
Law, 1995)
LOW VOTER TURNOUT

5. Who can vote in TEXAS? When? How?
FAQs: Texas Secretary of State
April 3, 2012 = Primary (3/5/2012)
June 5, 2012 = Runoff Primary (5/7/2012)
30 days from registration (postmarked!)
NOVEMBER 6, 2012!!!!! (10/9/2012)
Open Primary (but…held to party in runoff)
You need to be 17yrs/10months to register and
18 yrs old to vote, of course : D
NO FELONIES
We have something called the ‘Texas Two Step’ and it involves the Democrats having both a caucus (1/3) and a primary (2/3) : /

6. Who Votes?
EDUCATION – higher the level, more likely to vote (most imp)
OCCUPATION / INCOME – depend on education level, white collar & higher income are more likely to vote than blue collar & lower income
AGE – older people more likely to vote
RACE – minorities are less likely to vote than whites
GENDER – women are more likely to vote than men
RELIGION – more active religion are more likely to vote
MARITAL STATUS – married people are more likely to vote
UNION MEMBERSHIP – encourage participation, vote regularly
COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP – well integrated ppl are more likely to vote than those that moved recently
PARTY IDENTIFICATION – strong sense of party are more likely
GEOGRAPHY – states w/ interparty competition, not one-party only

7. Who runs? Simply enough: Self starters Or
Those who have been recruited

8. Who can run?
President –Natural born citizen, at least 35 and a resident of the country for 14 years. VP – same as POTUS except they cannot be from the same state. HR – Citizen for 7 years, 25 years old and a resident of the state that elects you. Senator – Citizen for 9 years, 30 years and a resident of the state that elects you.

9. Party vs. Candidate
Movement away from party centered campaigns: Changes in the electoral system Increased importance of television in campaigns Internet Cost of campaigns

10. Presidential Elections
Exploration
Announcement
Presidential Primaries / Caucuses (presidential preference primary)
Nominating Conventions
Campaigning & General Election
Electoral College
*popular vote vs electors = senators + house reps
*DC = 3 electoral votes
*first Monday after 2nd Wednesday in December
*WINNER-TAKE-ALL
*270 majority WINS
*538 electors in US aka Electoral College
*House picks POTUS from top 3
*Senate picks VPOTUS from top 2

11. Campaign Finance $$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$ *before 1970; $ from anyone
*FECA in 1971 –
Federal Election Campaign Act –
restrict the amount of campaign funds that can be spent on advertising
disclosure of campaign contributions & expenditures
limit the amounts candidates and their families can donate to their own campaigns
taxpayers can designate a donation on their tax returns to major political party candidates, 1976

12. More campaign $$$$$ 1974 = Watergate FEC (Federal Election Commission)
enforce the act
est public financing
no foreign contributions
limits individual $
restricts PACs and their $
changed in 1976 & 1979
BUCKLEY v VALEO (1976)
Spending limits were unconstitutional
Violation of 1st / freedom of expression
Ban on self-financed campaigns was also unconstitutional

13. Campaign Finance $$ *1996 – soft money
*donations to political parties that CAN ONLY be used for general purposes – originally for voter drives, conventions, and issue ads – unlimited
*major issue in Congress
*2002 – BCRA – Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act
NO SOFT MONEY IN FEDERAL CAMPS
“527” = unregulated interest group
More $$ for individuals/groups

14. CITIZENS UNITED (2010)
LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF $$$ BUSINESSES, UNIONS, AND OTHER GROUPS CAN SPEND ON THEIR OWN EFFORTS TO ELECT OR DEFEAT CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
??FINANCIAL INFLUENCE OF BIG CORPORATIONS ON CAMPAIGNS WOULD BE ABLE TO OVERPOWER THE INFLUENCE OF CITIZENRY??