1. The Functions of Elections
Most change in the United States comes about on the basis of elections.
Elections generally allow us to avoid
Riots
General strikes
Coups d'etats
Elections serve
to legitimate governments
to fill public offices and organize governments
to allow people with different views and policy agendas to come to power
to ensure that the government remains accountable to the people.

2. Different Kinds of Elections
Primary Elections
General Elections
Initiative, Referendum, and Recall
Initiatives allow citizens to propose legislation and submit it to popular vote.
A referendum allows the legislature to submit proposed legislation for popular approval.
Recall elections allow citizens to remove someone from office.

3. Presidential Elections
Choosing the nation’s chief executive is a long, exhilarating, exhausting process that often begins even before the previous election ends!
The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

4. Primaries Selection: Types of Primaries Scheduling: Early vs Late
Party Delegates for Presidential Candidates
Party Candidates for Other Offices
Types of Primaries
Winner Take All
Proportional Representation
Party Caucus
Scheduling: Early vs Late
The Race for Relevance (Presidential)
Time to organize challenging an incumbent

6. National Conventions Selection of the Party Presidential Nominee
Generally determined by primaries; ratified by ballot at convention
Selected by ballot if no clear winner; after the first ballot, delegates usually free to vote on own
Party Platform
Role of the Media
The Delegates: Wealthier, better educated, less moderate than the rest of us.

7. Electoral College
The Electoral College was a compromise between popular election and Congressional selection. Framers created it to ensure that the president was chosen intelligently and with the input of each of the states (Similar to the “Great Compromise”)
The number of electors is determined by the federal representation for each state.
For example, California has 52 members of the House of Representatives and 2 Senators – 54 electoral votes.

8. Electoral College
There are a total of 538 electoral votes (535 members of Congress and 3 for the District of Columbia)
Each state’s votes counted separately
Candidate winning in each state (by big or small margin) chooses “Electors” from that state that vote in December
A majority of 270 wins the presidency.

9. Electoral College
Since voting count and electoral vote apportionment is by state, not overall count, a candidate can win a majority of electoral votes with a minority of popular votes and still be elected to the office.
George W. Bush in 2000
Harrison in 1888
Hayes in 1876
“Faithless” Electors can and do occasionally vote against their state’s wishes, but this has never effected the election outcome

10. Presidential Election 2000
Al Gore (D)
50,996,116 votes
48%
21 States Won
266 Electoral Votes
George Bush (R)
50,456,169 votes
48%
30 States Won
271 Electoral Votes
Does your vote matter?

12. Presidential Election 2004
John Kerry (D)
59,028,109 votes
48%
20 States Won
252 Electoral Votes
George Bush (R)
62,040,606 votes
51%
31 States Won
286 Electoral Votes
Does your vote matter?

16. Congressional Elections
In Congressional elections:
candidates tend to be less visible.
most candidates are or were state legislators.
name recognition is often the most important battle of the campaign.
candidates receive little media coverage.

17. Electoral Systems Single-member districts - Advantages - Disadvantages
Proportional representation

18. Incumbency
Incumbency advantage – the electoral edge afforded to those already in office…gained via…
Edge in visibility
Experience
Organization
Fund raising ability

20. Voting Behavior Voter Participation
About 40% of the eligible adult population votes regularly.
About 25% are occasional voters.
About 35% rarely or never vote.

21. Who Votes?
Income – people with higher incomes have a higher tendency to vote.
Age – older people tend to vote more often than younger people (less than half of eligible year olds are registered to vote).
Gender – Since 1980, women have a higher tendency to vote for Democrats than Republicans.
Race – in general, whites tend to vote more regularly than African-Americans (this may be due to income and education not race).

22. Does Low Voter Turnout Matter?
Is low voter turnout a problem in a democracy?
Do we want the uninformed or poor and uneducated voting? Mightn't they make bad decisions?
Low electoral participation means that many Americans are turning away from the political system?
Or, the decline may mean that Americans are basically satisfied with the system?