Democracy & Participation: Election Process 3-8

Question 1

What are strategies in choosing a vice presidential candidate?

Answer 1

• Balanced ticket: might be looked for in terms of geographical region, political experience, age, ideology, gender, race, or religion.
• Potential in gov: Focus more on long term impact of governing.
• Party unity.

Question 2

What are examples of a ‘balanced ticket’?

Answer 2

• Biden chose Harris as his running mate in 2020. She is the first female VP, African and Asian, and 58.

Question 3

What is the National Party Convention?

Answer 3

Attended by delegates from primaries and caucuses, where they formally nominate the president and VP. Also discuss potential party policy.

Question 4

Why are NPCs arguably ineffective?

Answer 4

• Increasingly presidential and vice presidential candidates are already known, as is the party platform.
• TV coverage increasingly reduced to acceptance speeches.
• It is seen as a ‘rubber stamp’ to policy.
  E.g. 2016 Republican NPC took 6mins to affirm party platform despite some questioning anti LGBTQ rhetoric.

Question 5

Why are NPCs effective?

Answer 5

• Often a multi million media event.
• Formally announce party candidate.
• Engage the party faithful.
• TV coverage allows national involvement.
• Candidates can make an impact with their acceptance speech. Sets out their ‘campaign narrative’.
  Obama’s 2007 acceptance speech had almost 40 million viewers

Question 6

What is an example of a battleground state, and what statistics prove this from 2020?

Answer 6

• Arizona: Biden won by 49.4%, Trump got 49%

Question 7

Define battleground and Bellwether states.

Answer 7

• Battleground: Result is not easily predictable.
• Bellwether: States which historically tended to vote for the candidate who ultimately will win the presidential election

Question 8

What statistics show how Battleground and Bellwether states have led to disproportionate spending and campaigns?

Answer 8

• In 2020, 2/3 of campaign events were held in just 6 states.

Question 9

What % average in national polls enable candidates to take part in presidential debates?

Answer 9

15%

Question 10

What example from 2000 shown the issue with the election day ballot paper causing issues?

Answer 10

Use of ‘butterfly ballots’ caused confusion which led to the election being decided by the SC. Bush v Gore 2000

Question 11

How have ‘faithless electors’ caused problems to the legitimacy of the electoral process?

Answer 11

• Only 30 states gave laws requiring their delegates to cast their vote for the candidate who won the state vote.
• Delegates who do not vote the same as their state are called ’faithless electors’. In 2016, there were 10.

Question 12

How many electoral college votes are needed to win the Electoral College?

Answer 12

270

Question 13

What statistics show issues with the Electoral College?

Answer 13

• Clinton beat Trump with 3 million votes, but he won 26 more ECVs, undermining the popular vote.
• Trump got an advantage due to high concentration in smaller states.

Question 14

What was the turnout for the 2000 election?

Answer 14

54%

Question 15

What was the turnout for the 2020 election?

Answer 15

67%

Question 16

What states usually vote democrat and what states usually vote Republican?

Answer 16

Democrat: Massachusetts, New York, California, Illinois
Republican: Texas, Kentucky, Kansas, South Carolina

Question 17

What two states have electoral college votes allocated by district?

Answer 17

Maine & Nebraska

Question 18

What is an example of the impact on independents if a proportional system to allocate Electoral College Votes was used?

Answer 18

Perot in 1992 would have achieved 100 ECVs

Question 19

What are incumbent advantages?

Answer 19

• Name recognition: already largely well known.
• Fundraising: face few challengers so they don’t have to worry so much.
• Campaign experience: already been through and won a campaign.
• Single candidate: usually unchallenged by their own party.
• Risk aversion: American voters are often unwilling to change through party polarisation.

Question 20

What examples show the role of incumbency for Obama?

Answer 20

• In 2012, Obama won even though polling was close between him and Romney.
• Romney was spending more money, and Obama performed poorly in televised debates.
• Obama, still being in gov, introduced DACA just months before the election.
• Hurricane sandy hit the east coast, and Obama was able to act presidentially in the media. Romney however, was criticised highly due to his policies regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He suggested it should be closed.

Question 21

What are positives of the electoral college?

Answer 21

• states will small populations are still relevant
• decisive outcome
• promotes a two party system (can be argued as good)
• it works as the founding fathers intended

Question 22

What are the negatives of the electoral college?

Answer 22

• winner may not have majority of votes
• tyranny of minority and tyranny of majority
• swing states are overly powerful
• disadvantages third parties

Question 23

Define the ‘October Surprise’.

Answer 23

A game changing event

Question 24

What was the 2020 October surprise?

Answer 24

• The New York Times published an investigation into Trump’s taxes which reported that he only paid $750 in taxes in 2016 and 2017.
• The article went on to state that the president was currently over 400 million dollars in debt.

Question 25

What was the 2012 October surprise?

Answer 25

• Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, and 24 states were effected. This occurred one week before election day. Obama was able to dominate the media and act presidentially.
• Romney had also previously suggested the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency responsible for coordinating a response to such disasters, should be closed.