5.1.1 - Elections - Primaries, Caucuses, and National Conventions Flashcards
1
Q
Primary elections - What are primaries and caucuses
A
- Two most common choices of election are primaries and caucuses - decided on a state by state basis
- Caucuses are a kind of town hall meeting where you move from one candidate to another - public voting at a specific time
- Primaries are standard elections - polls, lines, secret ballot, etc
2
Q
Who can vote in which elections?
A
- National pres elections - all Americans over 18 can vote
- Most states in primaries will only let you vote if you are a member of the party - closed primaries - independents can’t vote
- Some have semi-closed primaries where independents can choose one party to vote for but no crossover voting is allowed
- A few states have open primaries where any citizen irrespective of party allegiances can pick a primary to vote in
3
Q
When are primaries held, who has the first primary and why, who has the first caucus and why, what is the big milestone?
A
- Primaries spread throughout the year
- NH always always the first primary as they have written into state law that their primary will be at least one week before everyone else’s
- Iowa is technically the first primary but they run a caucus so satisfies NH law
- Next big milestone is Super Tuesday where loads of states announce results at the same time
4
Q
How are votes cast in primaries/caucuses?
A
- Votes go to delegates instead of candidates
- Some states require delegates to vote the same way as the people but others don’t
- The delegates then all go to the national party conventions in order to decide the party’s nominee for Pres
5
Q
What are super delegates?
A
- Super delegates are top members of the party such as Congressmen or former Pres who represent the party establishment and can vote however they want
- When there is more than one candidate in the running for nomination super delegates are very important
6
Q
Advantages of primaries? (3)
A
- Secret ballots ensure voting is not affected by majority bias or pressure
- Very simple to run and count the votes
- Not able to be affected by members of other parties (unless it’s an open primary)
7
Q
Disadvantages of primaries? (2)
A
- Wasted votes as some candidates don’t meet the threshold required to be a significant candidate
- Open ballots have the possibility to be affected by members of opposite party (tho this is very unlikely)
8
Q
Advantages of caucuses? (3)
A
- Wasted votes are not a factor as people can get up and move if their first candidate does not have enough support
- Favours the politically engaged and can be useful to understand more about various candidate’s positions through spending the day at the caucus
- Representative of variety of candidates
9
Q
Disadvantages of caucuses?
A
- Public voting allows for pressure to vote for a candidate
- Can be quite difficult to organise and properly ensure democratic system of voting
- People may not have the time or want to go to a caucus all day
10
Q
How has the role of national conventions changed over the years?
A
- In the past it was not a sure thing going into a convention who would win so party bosses had a large amount of sway at the convention - smoke filled room politics
- Modern party conventions emerged after the 1968 Dem convention
- After this Dems issued a set of rules making primaries more important than conventions for picking a Pres nominee - Reps then followed suit
11
Q
The role of conventions today?
A
- The last time a convention started without a clear nominee was over 45 years ago in 1976 at the republican convention
- Today conventions highlight the presidential nominee and provide a chance for a party to showcase its future talent and rising stars EG Barrack Obama in 2004
- This shows that the impact of conventions can extend well beyond the presidential tickets
- Even though we know what the outcome is going to be its still a chance for the parties to highlights and showcase their party, message, and plans for the future in front of a much larger audience
