the electoral system Flashcards
(21 cards)
what sort of activities might take place during the invisible primary?
debates, media campaigns and books
what are 5 characteristics of USA elections?
fixed elections (every 4 years or 2)
volume (half a million election every 2 years)
money
two party domination
primary elections
what is a pledged delegate?
a delegate instructed to carry out the wishes of their state
where is the democratic national committee based?
Washington District of Columbia
where is the republican national committee based?
Washington District of Columbia
what is Super Tuesday?
a Tuesday in February or march when a number of states coincide their presidential primaries
what is a primary?
a state based election to choose a party’s candidate for the presidency
what is a caucus?
a state based series of meetings for the selection of a party’s presidential candidate for the presidency
how many delegate votes are needed to win nomination?
1,215 votes
what are the requirements to be a member of congress?
25 years old
been a citizen of the USA for 7years
must inhabit the state you are running to represent
how long are house of representative terms?
2 years
how long are senator terms?
6 years
what are the requirements to run for president?
natural born citizen
35 years old
have been a resident of the USA for at least 14 years
what is a psephologist?
election expert (looks at the data of elections)
factor which determine the winner of the presidential election?
winning the invisible primary
winning the presidential debate
what’s the campaign finance quote from Mark Hanna (former US senator)
“there are two things important in politics. The first one is money and I can’t remember what the second one is”
what is hard money?
regulated and goes directly to candidates
what is soft money?
unregulated which is donated to the campaign and is used for party building activities
how much money did Bloomberg spend on his campaign?
500 million of his own money
characteristics of congressional elections?
fixed nature
frequency
primary election
money
incumbency and rate of re-election
what is direct democracy ?
the form of democracy in which people decide on policy initiatives directly as opposed to indirectly through their representatives
