5.1.1 - Elections - General Elections, Midterms, and the Electoral College

Question 1

Seven stages of a Pres election

Answer 1

1) Invisible primary
2) Primaries and caucuses
3) Choosing VEEPs
4) National party conventions
5) General election campaign
6) Election day
7) Electoral college voting

Question 2

1 - Invisible primary - Who announces, what does this do, what happens as part of this, what type of debates, when

Answer 2

• Candidates announcements
• Increasing name recognition
• Fundraising
• Intra-party TV debates
• Occurs a calendar year before an election

Question 3

2 - Primaries and caucuses

Answer 3

• Show popular support for candidates
• Choose delegates to attend national party conventions
• Jan/Feb to early June

Question 4

3 - Choosing VEEPs

Answer 4

• Pres candidate announces choice of running mate
• Occurs some days/weeks before a convention

Question 5

4 - National party conventions

Answer 5

• Confirms Pres and VEEP candidates
• Approves party platforms
• Acceptance speech delivered by Pres candidate
• Usually occurs in July/August for about 4 days

Question 6

5 - General election campaign

Answer 6

• Campaign between the candidates of the various parties
• Occurs for the rest of the year until the first week of Nov

Question 7

6 - Election day

Answer 7

• Registered voters go to the polls
• Occurs on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of Nov

Question 8

7 - Electoral college voting

Answer 8

• Electors vote in their state capitals to choose Pres and VEEP
• Occurs on the first Monday after the second Wednesday of Dec

Question 9

What is the electoral college?

Answer 9

The institution established by the FFs to elect the Pres and VEEP indirectly - electors cast their ballots at the state capital

Question 10

Examples of electoral college going against the popular vote?

Answer 10

Trump 2016 and Gore 2000

Question 11

How does the electoral college work?

Answer 11

Each state is awarded a certain number of Electoral College votes equal to that state’s representation in Congress - to win a Pres candidate needs 270 votes

Question 12

What is the winner-takes-all rule and where are its exceptions?

Answer 12

The winner takes all rule is the rule that the most popular Pres candidate in a state takes all of that state’s votes - the exceptions are in Maine and Nebraska where the Electoral College votes are handed out proportionally with two for the winner and the rest to the winner in each congressional district

Question 13

Example of close electoral college results?

Answer 13

In 2016 if 77,000 Trump voters had voted for Clinton in Michigan, Pensilvania, and Wisconsin, Clinton would have won - in 2020 if 60,000 Biden supporters had switched to Trump in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, Trump would have won the election

Question 14

Examples of the electoral college being in need of reform - How many votes to win one EC vote in CF vs WY?

Answer 14

The system is skewed in favour of smaller population states which are most won by Reps - EG in California, Biden needed 308,000 votes to win each electoral college vote whereas in Wyoming Trump needed just 120,000 for each electoral college vote - the EC does not uphold the democratic principle of one person one vote

Question 15

What are midterm elections?

Answer 15

Midterms occur in the middle of a Pres’ term and see a third of the Senate and the whole House up for reelection

Question 16

Midterms historically

Answer 16

• Historically the Pres’ party does not do well at the midterms - loses on average 27 House seats (2022 Dems lost only 9 House seats) and 3.6 Seante seats (Dems didn’t lose any in 2022 and even gained one)
• Last massive win was Bush in 2002 which saw him gain 8 House seats and 2 Senate seats off the back of 9/11

Question 17

What is redistricting?

Answer 17

Redistricting is the process of drawing up new district lines (can easily turn into gerrymandering) - for the 2020 census Dems have upped their gerrymandering efforts - Rep bias down to 2-3 points from 5-6 points

Question 18

How does incumbency advantage influence midterms, and what has incumbency reelection rate averaged over the last 40 years?

Answer 18

• Incumbents get way more media time and have more name recognition and find it easier to raise funds (House incumbents outspent their challengers 7 fold in 2020)
• Over the last 40 years incumbency reelection rate has averaged 95%

Question 19

2022 Midterms - Incumbency reelection rate?

Answer 19

94.5% House
100% Senate

Question 20

2022 Midterms - How many Rep candidates accepted the results of the 2020 election?

Answer 20

Of the 502 Reps on the ticket for reelection in 2022, only 31% accepted the results of the 2020 election

Question 21

What was the impact of gerrymandering on the amount of ‘highly competitive’ seats in the 2022 midterms?

Answer 21

The number of ‘highly competitive’ seats in the 2022 midterms dropped from 46 to 40 of the 435 House seats up for grabs - shows the partisan nature of gerrymandering