OB- US ELECTIONS Flashcards
(33 cards)
how often are presidential elections
-every 4 years in nov with formal inauguration taking place in January so that electors and presidents can get there
how often are congressional elections
-every 2 years
-those taken place between president elections are known as midterms
what do primaries do
-select candidates for each party
-most importantly for presidential elections but also congressional
where did primaries emerge from
-primary elections came from the progressive era
-breaking away from the ‘smoke filled rooms’ which were undemocratic and elitist’
what are caucuses
-meetings to select candidate
-but these have become increasingly rare
-stand in a particular corner if you want that person to win
timings of primaries and caususes
-iwoa (caucus) and New Hampshire (primary) guard their ‘first in the nation status’
-as it holds more influence to the final election
voter turnout in primaries
-secret ballot
-higher turnout
-personality is a driving factor + ethnicity and gender
what is a national nominating convention/ party convention
- when the successful candidate is formally endorsed as their party candidate
-jsut act as a seal of approval
-held in major statuims
what system does us electoral systems employ and hows it decided
-nearly all us elections employ a majoritarian system eg fptp
-the arrangement of elections are state based and are no federal requirements
swing state fact
-in 2016 2/3 of campaigning events were held in just 6 states
financial stats about 2020 us election
-total price for election was 14 billion
-bidens campaign became the first to raise over 1 bill from donors helping him pepper swing states with ads
strength of new nomination process
-increased participation (12 mill in ‘68 to 35 in ‘88)
-increased choice (5 candidates in 68 to 22 in 2016)
-open to outsiders (people who don’t have a background in politics eg Obama)
weakness of new nomination process
-voters are unrepresentative of the voting age population (most voters are old rich and educated)
-primaries can easily develop into personal battles (trump and rondesantos)
what are super delegates
-they can influence the public on who to vote for
-in an effort to bring back some peer review into the selection process
formal functions of national party convention
-choosing the party’s presidential candidate ( to win have to receive absolute majority of delegate votes)
- choosing the vp candidate
- deciding the party mandate ( manifesto)
informal functions of national party covnetion
-promoting party unity
-publicity/media
-enthusing the ordinary voters
what did the federal election campaign act of 1974 do
-limited contributions that individuals or unions could give
-reduing candidates reliance on very few wealthy donors
what are matching funds
-from 1976-2008 presidential campaigns were mainly funded by matching funds
-federal money administered by the newly formed federal election commission (FEC)
-paying out 240 mill in 2000
bipartisan campaign reform act 2002
-national party conventions were banned from raising or spending soft money
-foreign contributions were banned
PACS and super PACS
-new organisations came to be formed that made indepedant expenditures of there own due to restrictions
-most pacs represent business or ideological groups
landmark Supreme Court decision citizens united V federal election commission (FEC)
-granted corporate organisations the same rights of political free speech has individuals
-spending money to support a party is guaranteed under the 1st amendment
how pacs work
-the money doesn’t go directly to the candidate
-money gets spent on adverts in crucial swing states EG elon giving trump 75 mill 2024)
when was the first presidential debate
- 1960 between Jfk and Nixon
importance of debates example
-getting airtime +media coverage ( trump vs Harris Harris seamingly won trump saying eating cats and dogs , causing trump to say he would never do another debate with her again which is devastating for her since she desperately needs airtime to show face and popularise herself)
