1. Elections and Voting Chapter 12

2. I. Election Campaigns National elections are held every two years All members of the House of Representatives are elected 1/3 rd of the Senate is elected every two years

5. A. Electing the President Election Day – First Tuesday after the first Monday in November Electoral College – People from each state who actually elect the president

7. Number of electors is equal to the number of Senators and Representatives from each state + for D.C. 270 – Number of electoral votes a candidate must win to become president If a candidate wins the 11 largest states they become the next president

12. B. Original System Founders did not want common people voting for the president Believed they were uneducated and uninformed In early elections no popular vote was even counted – Electors got to vote for two people Person who received the most voted became president Runner-up became vice-president – Problem?

13. Twelfth Amendment (1804) – Electors cast separate votes for the president and vice president If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House chooses the next president

14. C. Electoral College Today Popular vote in each state determines who win the electoral votes Winner-Takes-All – Party that receives the most votes receives all electoral votes of that state Nebraska and Maine are the only exceptions to this rule Candidates who win the popular vote are not guaranteed to win the presidency

15. Presidents Who Lost the Popular Vote John Quincy Adams (1824) Rutherford B. Hayes (1876) Benjamin Harrison (1888) George W. Bush (2000)

16. I like the Electoral College how about You?

17. D. Financing Campaigns 2008 – 4.7 billion dollars were spent by the presidential and congressional candidates – Most in US history! Each individuals is only allowed to donate $2000 dollars to a candidate Soft Money – Money raised by a political party for a general purpose – not directly given to a candidate – NO LIMIT Political Action Committees – (PACs) – Organizations established by interest groups to support candidates