1. Chapter 7
The Electoral process

2. Facts 5 major nominating methods are used in American politics:
Self-announcement, caucus, convention, direct primary, and petition
The most widely used method today is the direct primary
The nominating process is vital to democratic gov’t
Corruption spurred changes in the American Political process and led to development of modern nominating procedure
Nominating process determines which candidates can appear on the ballot in local, State and Nat'l elections

3. There are 5 ways to get yourself on a ballot to be nominated
Guiding Question: What methods are used to choose candidates for public office?
There are 5 ways to get yourself on a ballot to be nominated
1. Petition- collect a specified amount of signatures from voters to qualify in a general election
2. Self-announcement- candidate announces his/her intent to run for office
3. Convention-local districts select delegates to per them at a higher level meeting where a delegate is chosen
4. Caucus- Party members/supporters debate the merits of the candidates and vote to select a nominee
5. Primary- qualified voters cast ballots, most votes is nominated

4. 3 types of primaries Direct primary : nomination within a party
Wisconsin was first
Used by most states to choose senate nominees
Presidential primary is an off shoot of direct (it’s a part of the process that the candidate is chosen)
Open primary
AKA crossover primary
Any qualified voter can cast a ballot
Can be a private or public vote
Closed primary
Only declared party members can vote
Primary election is closed to all but party members
Sub primaries
Runoff- no majority winner, another race is held to determine party nominee
Nonpartisan- candidates not identified by a party label

5. 7.2
ELECTIONS

6. Facts
Elections are regulated mostly by State law, though federal laws apply to federal elections
Most voting takes place at precincts across the country, though some occurs by mail, by absentee ballot, or by early voting procedures
All States now use the Australian ballot, usually with the office-group format, though sometimes with a party-column format
Electronic voting and vote counting are common now

7. Types of Ballots Office Group Ballot Party-Column Ballot
All candidates for an office are grouped together
Party-Column Ballot
Aka Indiana Ballot, lists candidates under party name

8. 7.3
Money and Elections

9. Facts Money has always played a key role in politics
Campaign money comes from public and private sources, including political action committees, the wealthy, candidates themselves, and temp organizations
The Federal Election Commission administers federal election laws
Candidates and contributors sometimes use loopholes in campaign finance laws to avoid regulation

10. Watergate President Nixon used campaign funds to
Break into the Democratic National convention
Give funders prominent positions (ambassador)
The big picture problem was that he covered it up and lied
Both Nixon and his VP S. Agnew both resigned (1st American Pres. To resign)
Watergate Changed the way Americans view the Government
This made changes including all meetings be done in public, that the president must document what he is doing, etc.