Elections and VotingElections and Voting

Election Day USA

• Federal elections are held on the first Tuesday in November of every even numbered year

• Every federal election we vote for our Representatives and 1/3 of the Senators

• Every 4 years we vote for President (and NC Governor)

Requirements for registering to vote in Forsyth County:

   

You must be a citizen of the United States.

   

You are a person 18 years of age or older.

   

You are a person 17 years of age who will be 18 by the date of the general election.

   

You have been a legal resident of Forsyth County of North Carolina for 30 days before the election.

In order to vote in an election, the voter registration form must be:

    Postmarked at least 25 days before the election, or

   

Delivered to the local board of elections office no later than 5:00 PM on the 25th day before the election

Elections

• Primary Elections– Purpose: to determine who will represent the

party in the General election• Ex: Hillary Clinton v. Barack Obama for the

Democratic nomination in 2008

• General Elections– Purpose: vote between the nominees of the

different party• Ex: Mitt Romney (R) v. Barack Obama (D)

Open and Closed primaries

• Closed primary:– Only registered party members can vote

• Open primary:– Any registered voter can vote, regardless of party

• Runoff:– In most states, a candidate needs a plurality– In some, candidate needs a majority

The National Conventions

How does the National Convention work?

• Delegates from state parties meet to choose a Presidential candidate

• In modern times, there is little suspense as the state primaries have already made it clear who the nominee will be

Flashback: OBAMA for President in 2008???

“No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.”

--- Barack Obama delivering the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Mass

Campaigning

• Canvassing– Door to door or telephone

contact with potential voters– Done mainly by volunteers– Purposes

• Identifying supporters• ‘Get out the Vote’• Explaining positions• Signing up new members

Campaign Financing

• Where does the money come from?– Small individual contributions– Wealthy individuals and families– The candidates

• Ross Perot spent $65 million of his own $$$ in 1992

– Political Action Committees (PACs)– Political Parties

• Fundraisers, internet requests, direct mail, etc.

Campaign Finance Reform

• The Federal Election Commission oversees the following:– Disclosure: candidates must tell where money

came from– Limits on contributions ($2100 for individual)

Problems with Finance Reform…

• Special Interest Groups and PACs– Special interest groups

represent a particular industry or cause

– PACs are the fundraising arm of an Interest Group

• “Hard” money v. “Soft” money– “Soft” money is money

spent on issue awareness and getting out the vote

– There is almost no limit on ‘soft’ money

• No incentive for politicians to ‘fix’ the system because it benefits those already in power

• The courts have held that campaign contributions are protected as “free speech”

Special Interest Group examples

• Abortion– Planned Parenthood v.

National Right to Life

• Environment– Greenpeace v.

American Land Rights Association

• Gun control– NRA (National Rifle

Association) v. Coalition to Stop Gun Violence

2010 Special Interest Spending

Lobbyists• Def: Lobbyists are

employed by Special Interest Groups to influence lawmakers to vote for or against legislation– The name came from

the fact that they worked in the lobbies of Congress

• There are many rules that regulate what lobbyists can and cannot do

• Biggest criticism: they have too much influence on lawmakers

Voters and Voting Behavior• Def: Electorate

– The electorate is defined as all eligible registered voters

• Def: Absentee Voting– If you will be out of

your voting area on election day, you can file an absentee ballot

What influences how people vote?• In general:

– Education• Less = D More = R

– Gender• Female = D Male = R

– Race• White = R Af Am = D Lat = ??

– Income• Lower = D Higher = R

– Religion• Protestant = R Catholic, Jewish = D

– Geography• South = R Northeast = D West Coast = D

Heartland/West = R Midwest = ???

2008 Presidential Election

2008 Presidential: Another view

Who Votes?

Why do some people choose NOT to vote?

• The United States suffers from voter apathy:

But there are some encouraging signs…

The Media and Elections

• Public Opinion: attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics

How is public opinion formed?

• Family– Fundamental attitudes, including religion

• Schools– First ‘outside’ influence

• Media– What a person sees and reads

• Peers– What are the attitudes of your friends and colleagues?

• Opinion Leaders– Well known people, Celebrities, etc.

• History– Ex: The Great Depression, 9/11

How is public opinion measured?

• Elections• Polling

– Relies on a random sample of responses– How reliable are polls?

• If questions worded properly, they are fairly accurate

– What purpose do they serve during campaigns?

• They inform the candidates of how well they are doing and what issues are most important to the voters

But sometimes….

What role does the media play?

• The media should present an unbiased view of the candidates and issues to the American people

• But…

PROPAGANDA• Bandwagon:

“Everyone’s doing it!”

PROPAGANDA• Name calling: “Criticizing the opponent”

PROPAGANDA• Endorsement: “I’m a famous celebrity and

I support…”

PROPAGANDA

• Card stacking: “Here’s all the ways I’m better than my opponent…”

PROPAGANDA• Glittering Generalities: “Vague terms that

don’t really mean anything…”

PROPAGANDA• Plain folks: “I’m a regular person just like

you…”

PROPAGANDA• Transfer: “This symbol = ME!”

3 Special elections

• Initiatives– Ideas that come from the public and are voted

on during elections

• Referendums– Ideas that come from lawmakers that are

voted on directly by the public

• Recalls– A special election called to remove an elected

official from office

The Electoral College

• The framers created the electoral college because they were afraid voters would be uninformed on national elections

• How does it work?– Each state has a set number of electoral votes (# of

Reps + # of Senators)– Whichever candidate gets the most votes in a state

gets ALL of the electoral votes– You need 270 to win– If no one gets 270, the House of Representatives

picks the President

The Big Question…

• Do we still need the electoral college?– Many argue that with modern elections and

vote counting, the person who earns a plurality of the votes should win

– Candidates don’t campaign in states they don’t think they can win

– What do you think?

North Carolina 2008