1. Political Campaigns and Elections
Unit 10
Essential Question:
Why should elections and voting matter to you?

2. Voting history Colonial days, voters were…
Men
White men
Land-owning white men
Church members, land-owning white men voted
George Washington’s days (1770s), voters…
No longer had to be church members, so…
Land-owning white men voted

3. Cont. Andrew Jackson’s days (1820s), voters…
No longer had to own land, so…
White men voted
After Abe Lincoln/Amendment 15 (1870), voters…
No longer had to be white, so…
Men voted
After Amendment 19 (1920), voters…
No longer had to be men, so…
Adults voted

4. Cont. On paper, adults voted after 1920.
The reality—discrimination remained.
Indian Citizenship Act (1924) helped bring voting to Amer. Indians
Participation in politics for women was slow
1950s/60s Civil Rights Movement emerged
Few African-Americans voted at that time in the South
Amendment 24 (1964) banned poll taxes (tax to vote)
Voting Rights Act (1965) gave federal officials power to run voting in the South
Amendment 26 (1971) – you can vote at age 18

5. Voting today Requirements to vote today…
U.S. citizen
18+ years old
Resident of the state
Legally registered voter
Voter turnout in the U.S. is low
Presidential elections – 50 to 60% of voters vote
(Europe: about 70%)
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
54%
60%
62%
58%
61%

6. Primaries & Caucuses
Each party (Dem. & Repub.) has several candidates each year
Goal – pick 1 party candidate
Primaries = voting for your preferred candidate
Open primary – everyone can vote
Closed primary – ONLY party members can vote
Caucuses = similar, but all-day events
Party members gather to hear speeches, then vote

7. Electoral college
Officially, “electors” elect the president, not people.
They are bound to vote the way the people vote
Why?
1700s – education was poor
1700s – communication was poor
So, it might help to have educated, informed people vote
Does this still apply today?
Each state gets a number based on people in Congress
Math...
100 Senators
435 House members
3 from D.C. –Amendment 23 – Wash. D.C. gets electors as if it were a state
…so, we have 538 electors
To win, a majority (1 over ½) is needed… 270 is the magic number.

8. Steps to run
Exploratory committee – advises candidate on chances of winning
Announcement
Often a “staged” event
Nowadays, social media is common
Get organized
A team at the top
People in local communities
Money
Ads and campaigns cost $, $, $
Candidates must fund-raise

9. Cont. 5. Get a plan Make a “platform”—statement of positions
Tone – positive or negative?
Theme – simple, memorable
Targeting – who should hear the ads?
Appeal to “party base” (hard-core party people) or…
…go mainstream (appeal to more people)?

10. Calendar Iowa – 1st caucus is in Jan/Feb
New Hamphsire – 1st primary is in Jan/Feb
Though small, these matter because they are 1st!
Evidence – Howard Dean and his “Dean Scream”
Candidates start dropping-out (no votes, no $)
Super Tuesday – several states, largely in the South
More drop-outs
Summer…it’s usually clear who will win
August – nominating convention formally picks 1 candidate

11. General election In a 1-on-1 race, candidates must…
Keep “the party base” happy (the hard-core folks)
Gather voters “in the middle”
Create a “stump speech” – basic go-to speech
Go to “battleground states” – these decide the election
Win the electoral vote…(next slide)