Campaigning

Question 1

Battleground states

Answer 1

A state where the polls show a close contest between the Republican and Democratic candidate
- most competitive

Question 2

Swing states

Answer 2

Where levels of support for the parties are similar and elections usually swing back and forth between Democrats and Republicans

Question 3

Electoral College

Answer 3

Pledged slates of voters chosen in each state

Question 4

primary elections

Answer 4

Elections in which candidates compete for a general election nominee position in their political party

Question 5

Winner takes all

Answer 5

A system used by nearly all states (except for Maine and Nebraska) where the candidate who wins plurality of votes takes all EC votes

Question 6

What happens when a candidate doesn’t win the majority electoral votes?

Answer 6

Goes to the congress, HOR choose among the top three electoral vote winners. Each state gets one vote, and the candidate with a majority votes wins. Senate chooses Vice President

Question 7

Retrospective voting:

Answer 7

voting based on incumbents past performance/ track record

Question 8

Prospective voting

Answer 8

Voting based on predictions of how a candidate will preform in the future, by looking at campaign promises or policy initiatives

Question 9

Party-line voting

Answer 9

Voting based on your associated party
+: political parties are associated with a person’s identity; in group bias
-: you dont individually seek a candidate, or research them

Question 10

15 amendment

Answer 10

• recognized the right of black men to vote ; cannot discriminate voting rights on the basis of race

Question 11

17th amendment

Answer 11

Granted the people the right to vote senators into office

Question 12

19th amendment

Answer 12

Cannot discriminate voting rights on the basis of race; women get the vote

Question 13

24th amendment

Answer 13

• poll taxes abolished

Question 14

26th amendment

Answer 14

• raised the voting age to 18

Question 15

What are other ways states draw barriers for voting

Answer 15

• prohibit convicted felons of voting
• require identification such as a formal ID and document that proofs that you’re a resident of that state

Question 16

Rational choice voting

Answer 16

• person votes based on their individual self-interest; carefully study issues and platforms

Question 17

Four reasons that effect voters

Answer 17

• structural voting
  -political efficacy
• candidate performance in office; people who I elected turned out to be shit
• demographics

Question 18

Political Efficacy

Answer 18

citizen’s belief about whether their vote matters

Question 19

What are the four linkage institutions

Answer 19

1. Political parties
2. Interest Groups
3. Elections
4. Media

Question 20

Re-alignment

Answer 20

major shift in allegiance to the political parties that is often driven by changes in the issues that unite or divide voters.

Question 21

Open primaries

Answer 21

Any registered voter can vote in any president’s primary but not both

Question 22

Closed primaries

Answer 22

have to be registered to a specific party in order to vote in a party

Question 23

Electoral college is good because

Answer 23

• it pushes candidates to explore more states, not just the highly populated states and cities

Question 24

Electoral college is bad because

Answer 24

• it only makes presidents spend time and money in states that are swing states

Question 25

FECA

Answer 25

Federal election commission act
- regulate and oversee money being spent in campaigns

Question 26

FECA established

Answer 26

Limits on how much money could be given to a political candidate
And how much money a candidate could spend on their campaigns

Question 27

Buckley v Valeo

Answer 27

Spending money on political campaigns is tightly tied to first amendment free speech
- If I want to share my endorsement with the people of America, then I have to reasonably buy many of advertisements to do so
- created the issue of whoever has the most money, has the loudest voice

Question 28

Hard money

Answer 28

Contributions given directly to a candidate (what was being restricted)

Question 29

Soft money

Answer 29

Money not directly donated to a candidate, but to a party or interest group who can buy advertising on candidates behalf
- IE: SOCIAL WELFARE GROUPS (dark money)

Question 30

BCRA

Answer 30

Made it illegal for corporations to engage in electioneering communications for 60 days before an election or 30 days before primary

Question 31

Citizens united

Answer 31

Facts:BCRA was a violation of 1st amendment
Decision: yes, limitations put on corporations engagement is a violation of speech
Why it matters: money= speech; court is saying that those with the most money are in their fair ground to have more speech. Unlimited spending is thus allowed here.