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US Politics > Presidential Elections > Flashcards

Presidential Elections Flashcards

1
Q

How often are US presidential elections?

A

every 4 years

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2
Q

When was the first US election?

A

1788

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3
Q

What kind of constitution does the US have?

A

Codified

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4
Q

When are elections held?

A

On the tuesday after the first monday in november of every 4th year

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5
Q

What are the requirements for being an American president?

A
  • Natural born American citizen
  • 35 years old
  • Residency qualification of 14 years
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6
Q

What are the extra constitutional requirements for being the President?

A
  • political experience
  • major party experience
  • personal characteristics
  • ability to raise large funds
  • effective organisation
  • oratorical skills and telegenic
  • relevant policies
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7
Q

What are invisible primaries?

A

Period between candidates declaring an intention to run for the presidency and the first primaries or caucuses
- get as much media attention
- raise money for advertising
- normally clear front runner by the end

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8
Q

What is a primary?

A

election to choose candidate for a party

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9
Q

What is a caucuses?

A

meeting for selection of party candidate

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10
Q

What states hold caucuses?

A
  • Iowa
  • North Dakota
  • Nevada
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11
Q

What is the issue with caucuses?

A

Lower turnout

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12
Q

What is the timing of primaries?

A
  • mid-january to beginning of June
  • each state has to pick own date
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13
Q

What was super Tuesday?

A

2016 - first tuesday of march 11 states arranged primaries on the same day

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14
Q

What is a closed primary?

A

only democrats can vote in a democrat election and vice versa

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15
Q

What is an open primary?

A

anyone can vote

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16
Q

What is a semi-closed primary?

A

People with the party affiliation and people with no party affiliation can vote

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17
Q

What is a proportional primary?

A

awarded delegates in proportional to the votes they get

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18
Q

What is a winner-takes all primary?

A

whoever has the most votes wins all delegates

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19
Q

What are delegates?

A

A points system

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20
Q

Where do the early primaries happen?

A

Iowa and New Hampshire

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21
Q

Why is New Hampshire important to win?

A

Said can’t win overall if don’t win
Obama didn’t win New hampshire

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22
Q

What is an incumbent president?

A

A person who holds office and is re-running

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23
Q

What result did Obama receive in 2012 in the primaries?

A

Received less than 90% in 14 states - embarrassed as normally secure votes as an incumbent president

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24
Q

What increased voter turnout?

A

McGovern Fraser reforms

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25
Q

Who is more likely to vote?

A
  • better educated (N.Carolina 2016 - 50% Republican voters has a college degree)
  • higher income
  • older (3/4 45 older - 6% younger than 24)
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26
Q

What affects voter turnout?

A
  • Demographic
  • Type of primary
  • Competition
  • Timing - early in the calendar year attract more votes
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27
Q

What is the importance of primaries?

A
  • only route to becoming presidential nominance (used to be through multiple conventions)
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28
Q

What are the strengths of the new nomination process changed by the McGovern-Fraser commission?

A
  • increased participation (1968 11.7 million - 2016 61 million)
  • increased choice (1968 5 candidates - 2016 22 candidates)
  • open to outsiders (e.g. Barack Obama)
  • gruelling race (test for demanding job)
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29
Q

What are the weaknesses of the new nomination process from the McGovern-Fraser commission?

A
  • became theatrical
  • ‘blood sport’
  • widespread voter apathy
  • voters are unrepresentative of voting age population
  • process is far too long
  • process expensive
  • dominated by the media
  • develops into personal battles
  • lack of peer review
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30
Q

What are superdelegates?

A
  • introduced by democrats in 1984 delegates
  • attempt to bring back peer review
  • can support any
31
Q

How can the nomination for presidency be improved?

A
  • declared by David Atkins 2016
  • abolish caucuses and replace with primaries to increase turnout and be more representative
  • get rid of closed primaries
  • rotate order of primaries - increase geographic and demographic diversity
  • tie superdelegates to primary results
  • allow candidates to pick their own delegates (2016 - some of Trump’s delegates didn’t support him)
32
Q

How did the vice president used to be decided?

A
  • 30 years ago
  • used to be announced during the national party convention
33
Q

When and what changed the system for choosing a vice president?

A
  • 1984 Walter Mondale announced Geraldine Ferraro as vice president 4 days before the Democrats party convention
  • carried on after
  • Republican changed to this system in 1996
34
Q

What are the strategies for choosing a vice president?

A
  • balanced ticket (geograpic region, political experience, age, ideology - Joe Biden (65) and Obama (47) different experience and age)
  • potential (what they would bring to the white house - G W Bush chose Dick Cheney who served as chief of staff to Ford and Secretary of Defence to his father)
  • party unity (choose former rivals - Ronald Reagan chose GHW Bush in 1980)
35
Q

When are the national party conventions and how long are they?

A
  • during July - early September
  • 3-4 days
  • tradition for challenging party tp hold first
  • venue decided a year before (2016 Trump Cleveland and Clinton Philadelphia)
  • each day as a theme
36
Q

What are the formal functions of a national party conference?

A
  • choosing party presidential candidate
  • choosing vice presidential candidate
  • deciding party platform
37
Q

What are the informal functions of a national party convention?

A
  • promoting party unity
  • enthusing party faith
  • enthusing ordinary voters
38
Q

How is a presidential candidate chosen at a national party conference?

A
  • state delegates announce who their party have voted for
  • '’committed delegates’’ vote for candidate decided by first ballot
  • to win must have absolute majority
  • convention confirms rather than chooses
  • if no majority is a brokered convention
  • if this happens delegates vote freely
39
Q

What is a party platform?

A
  • document containing policy
  • put together by platform committee
  • hold hearings around country during first 6 months of the year to help them decide
  • 2008 - Democrats held 1600
  • the national committee then decides on draft platform
  • debates on various parts of the platform
  • 2016 - Democrats - pro-choice, Republican - sexuality
40
Q

How is party unity promoted at the national party convention?

A
  • heal wounds from personal battles during primaries
  • 2016 - Sanders booed Clinton and vice versa - Sanders then made a speech endorsing Clinton
41
Q

How is the party faithful promoted at the national party convention?

A
  • campaigners feel motivated/committed to the 9 week campaign
  • 2016 - speech by Michelle Obama brought delegates to their feet
42
Q

How are ordinary voters enthused at the national party convention?

A
  • acceptance speech by chosen candidate - nationally televised on last night of the convention
  • most voters don’t pay attention in primaries so first look at the party
  • 2016 Trump presented picture of violence, Clinton ‘stronger together’
43
Q

What is the post-convention bounce?

A
  • opinion polls register immediate effect of conventions
  • increase in poll rating as compared to pre-convention poll known as bounce
  • 1980-2012 average increase of 6%
  • 2016 Trump +1% Clinton +4.5%
  • Importance can be exaggerated
44
Q

How was Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign corrupt?

A

Funded by fat cats - caused the rules to be changed (Watergate scandal)

45
Q

What was the Federal Election Campaign act 1974?

A
  • limited the contributions - reduced the reliance on a few wealthy
  • equalise amount of money spent by both major parties
  • law had many loopholes - weakened by the supreme court and congress
46
Q

What are PACS

A
  • political action committees
  • 527 organisations
  • any money raised for the campaign go into the PAC
  • federal law
  • become when more than $1000 donated to influence an election
  • state level elections reported to PAC according to state election laws
47
Q

What is the federal election committee?

A

Registers for donating money (policing)

48
Q

When do mid-terms happen?

A

Every 2 years

49
Q

What is the importance of the midterm elections?

A

Determine balance of power within congress and whether the president will have power over the legislature

50
Q

What is a run-off?

A

When no one gets a majority during a mid-term that there has to be another election

51
Q

Describe the structure of state government

A
  • governor (elected)
  • gov administration includes secretary of state, lieutenant governor and attorney general (elected in some states however some are chosen by the governor)
  • within some states there is a house of representative and senate
  • have state courts
52
Q

Define gubernatorial

A

related to the governor

53
Q

Define toss up

A

An election where the votes are so close you can’t predict a winner

54
Q

Define special election

A

If someone gives up their seat before and election and has to be re-elected (never with president as there is a line of succession)

55
Q

Define redistricting

A

Changing the boundaries of congressional districts

56
Q

Define state-wide

A

being elected into a position with power over the whole state

57
Q

Define lame duck session

A

The time between a midterm election in November and the sitting of new session

58
Q

What was different about the 2022 midterms compared to the previous 10 years?

A
  • congressional district boundaries changed
  • different proportions in the house of representatives
59
Q

What was surprising about the Democrats performance in the 2022 midterms?

A

The incumbent president usually loses a lot of seats and there was not the anticipated red wave

60
Q

Why did New York get increased attention in the 2022 midterms?

A

The Democrats did not easily win the seat like normal. Republicans tackled crime increase that the Democrats had ignored

61
Q

What was badly surprising for the Republicans?

A

Republicans backing Trump were not supported by voters

62
Q

What were 3 factors relevant to the 2022 midterm election outcomes?

A
  • Abortions (roe vs wade)
  • Election Rejection (Trump storming the Capitol building)
  • Stronger young voter turnout
  • Climate Change
  • Concern over extremism
  • Economy/inflation
  • Biden’s popularity
63
Q

What do the 2022 midterm result mean?

A
  • What Biden can and can’t get done for the rest of his presidency
  • De Santos could take the votes away from Trump in the primaries
  • Abortion is the 2nd biggest issue (stopped red wave)
  • Power taken away from Trump going into the presidential race
64
Q

Where do Democrats tend to stand on social and moral issues?

A
  • progressive
  • support protection of individual liberty and prevention of discrimination
65
Q

Where do Democrats tend to stand on economic policy?

A
  • call for greater government intervention
  • provides social justice
  • bring social/economic benefits to those on a lower income
  • capitalism and free market positive
  • emphasise need for protection for those in need
  • support increase in federal minimum wage
66
Q

Where do Democrats tend to stand on provisions of social welfare?

A
  • favour government provision of social welfare
  • economic system doesn’t promote interests of everyone
  • government has responsibility to support everyone
67
Q

Where do Republicans tend to stand on social and moral issues?

A
  • conservative approach
  • resist change
  • promote traditional values
68
Q

Where do Republicans tend to stand on economic policy?

A
  • restricted view of government intervention in national economy
  • emphasise personal responsibility and personal freedom from government control
  • favour tax cuts - focus on wealthier groups
69
Q

Where do Republicans tend to stand on provisions of social welfare?

A
  • emphasise personal responsibility and governments infringement on individual freedom restrict
70
Q

What are the three factions of the Democrat party?

A
  • moderates (new democrats)
  • liberals (social democrats)
  • conservatives (blue dogs)
71
Q

What are the views of new democrats?

A
  • sometimes known as centrists
  • take middle ground on economy and welfare
  • more willing to end government initiatives
  • may accept limitations to civil liberties
  • greater restrictions on abortion
  • more acceptance of anti-terrorist laws
72
Q

How, where and why were the new democrats created?

A

It was organised around the Democratic Leadership council created in 1985 as reaction to the second defeat to Ronald Reagan. They realised they needed a more moderate approach to win.

73
Q

What are the views of the social democrats?

A
  • more radical left-wing elements
  • use federal government to achieve social justice by providing welfare, health and education for the disadvantaged
  • want to increase taxation on the wealthy
  • more government intervention in economy
  • less intervention in deploying military abroad
  • most supportive of social and economic equality
74
Q

What are the views of the conservative democrats?

A
  • dying out
  • once very conservative as influenced by the southern win
  • conservative on moral issues (guns and religion)
  • disagree with republicans on tax and trade
  • pre-civil war/great depression
  • many from pro-slavery south

US Politics (3 decks)

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