1. Elections and Voting

2. First, the last bit of Party Vocab
Incumbent: person holding political office
Constituents: A person that is represented by an elected official in government
Nomination: the act or process of selecting a person to serve in political office
National Convention: A meeting that is held by each major party in the U.S. This meeting occurs every 4 years in August, and during this meeting, the Parties announce their Presidential nominees and policy ideas

3. Elections Vocabulary (Chapter 7)
Political Action Committees (PACs)
Campaign Finance
Hard Money
Soft Money
General Election
Caucus
Direct Primary Election
Closed Primary election
Open Primary election
Runoff election

4. General Election and Primary
There are two different “steps” in the U.S. election process
The first step involves the political parties choosing their nominations (aka Primaries)
The second step is the final election. During this election, voters choose who they want to serve in a government office (aka general election)
The primaries happen from January-June on election years (the even years)
The General Election always happens in November

5. 5 ways a person can be nominated
Self announcement
Caucus
Convention
Direct primary election
Petition
Today, the most common way for a state party to nominate candidates is the primary election, the next most common way is for states to hold caucus meetings

6. Caucus Local communities hold small meetings to choose a party nominee
At the meeting:
The different candidates for the party are discussed
The people at the meeting vote for their preferred candidate
The candidate who wins a majority of the votes from each caucus meeting wins the nomination

7. the person who got the most votes at each caucus meeting
Discussion + vote =
final vote winner
Caucus meeting
Discussion + vote =
final vote winner
Caucus meeting
Discussion + vote =
final vote winner
Caucus meeting
Discussion + vote =
final vote winner
Caucus meeting
Discussion + vote =
final vote winner
And the Winner is….
the person who got the most votes at each caucus meeting

8. Primary Election This is an election that is held in each state
The purpose of the election is to pick the party’s nominees for different political offices
Most states: primary elections pick the nominees for Senate, House of Rep, Governor, and local offices as well
Primary election dates are established by the states
Open Primary and Closed Primary
Open = elections that ANY voter can participate in
Closed = only registered voters of the Party can participate in this nomination election

9. Primary Election
Depending on state party rules, delegates are proportioned in a couple of ways:
Proportional Representation: Voters choose the candidate they prefer and delegates are awarded based on the number of votes received. For example, a candidate that received 20% of the votes would get 20% of the delegates.
Winner Take All: (Only the Republican Party uses this method). The candidate that receives the most votes takes all of the delegates.

11. The nomination process
Step 1:
The nomination process
Convention
Primary Election
Caucus
Petition
Self Announcement
Open Primary Election
Closed Primary Election
Step 2:
The General Election

12. The National Convention
Both parties hold a national convention, and at this convention, the party nominee for President is officially announced
National conventions occur on the elections in which a President is nominated (every 4 years)

13. Getting Elected…
In order to be elected, most people first win their party’s nomination (during the primary election/caucus season)
Then, they run against candidates in the general election
They must campaign before both election events
During the primary, Democrats run against Democrats, Republicans v. Republicans
During the general election, Republicans run against Democrats
Of course, third parties can be on the general election ballot as well. Usually they do not run in a primary election

17. Super Tuesday
The Tuesday in which the greatest number of states hold their primary elections
IN 2008, 24 states held their primary elections on February 5th

20. What happens in Georgia?
The National Primary season begins in February
Georgia’s Primary Election
Open Primary
July 2010
The nomination for the party’s candidates for the Governor’s election
A runoff occurred in August
More recently, Georgia’s primary was held on March 6th, 2012, which was Super Tuesday for the Republican primary this year

21. National Elections
National elections are held in November of every even-numbered year
The “Tuesday after the First Monday” in November
This way, elections will never
Fall on Sunday
Fall on the first day of the month
States can set other dates for State-wide elections (like Governor), but most hold their elections at the same time as the national elections

22. Becoming the President
The Electoral College officially elects the President of the United States
After the General Election occurs in November, electors cast their “official” vote
Each state receives a number of electors that is calculated by their representation in Congress
Senate seats (2) + House seats (depends on population) = total electors each state gets
In GA, its (House seats) = 15 Electoral College Votes

23. Election Diagram (portfolio assignment)
Directions: In your portfolio, create a diagram that shows the election process for National Elections in the U.S. government
Your diagram must include:
The Primary contest step (election step)
Includes: Open primary elections, closed primary elections, and caucus meetings
National Convention
The general election step (election step)
Electoral College
Also include:
A definition of the step
Who the candidates are running against (#s 1 and 3 ONLY)
What they must do in order to move on the next step