Assignment SB 1.6 5.8- Electing a President

TOPIC 5.8- ELECTING A PRESIDENT

​

Party Nomination Process

• Presidential Primaries

• In the early 1800s, congressional leaders held a caucus to select presidential candidates.

• Supporters of Andrew Jackson criticized the caucus system for being elitist. During the 1830s, the Jackson Democrats and the Whigs held party conventions to nominate their presidential candidates.

• Party bosses soon dominated the conventions. During the early 1900s, progressive reformers promoted primary elections as a way of giving voters a greater role in the nomination process.

• Today, 40 states hold presidential primaries. The first primary is traditionally held in New Hampshire. In a process called frontloading, three-fourths of the primaries are now held between February and mid-March.

Primaries

• In a closed primary, voters are required to identify a party preference before the election and are not allowed to split their ticket.

• In an open primary, voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contest.

• Open primaries can lead to operatives from party casting their vote for the worst candidate of the opposing party.

Caucuses

• Some states use a complex system of local caucuses and district conventions to select delegates.

• Iowa holds the best known and most influential caucus.

Multiple Choice

Any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, can participate in the caucus meeting.

• Open primary

• Open caucus

• Closed primary

• Closed caucus

Multiple Choice

Very affordable for the political parties, but quite expensive overall

• Primaries

• Caucuses

Multiple Choice

Once in the voting booth, any registered voter can mark their choices in one party’s section on a multiparty ballot.

• Open primary

• Open caucus

• Closed primary

• Semi-open primary

Multiple Choice

Primary elections are different than general elections because...

• primaries elect candidates, general elections elect winners

• primaries elect winners, general elections elect candidates

• general elections are held every four years, primaries are held every two years

• all states hold primaries, only certain states hold general election

Importance

• Only about 25% of adult citizens cast ballots in primary elections. Primary voters tend to be party activists who are older and more affluent than voters in general elections.

• The more extreme members of parties tend to vote most often in primaries. This leads the candidates to veer away from moderate positions during the primaries, only to return to the middle for the general election.

• Critics argue that candidates devote too much time to Iowa and New Hampshire.  

• Although both states are relatively small, they play a crucial role in generating media attention.

Counting Delegates

• In the past, most presidential primaries were winner-take-all elections in which the candidate with the most votes won all the delegates.

• The Democratic Party has now replaced winner-take-all primaries with a proportional system that awards delegates based on the percentage of votes a candidate receives.

• The Republican Party currently uses both winner-take-all and proportional representation elections.

• The Democratic Party uses some delegates known as superdelegates, whose votes for the nominees are not pledged to the popular vote.

National Conventions

• In the past, party conventions selected their presidential and vice-presidential candidates after days of tense and often dramatic bargaining.  

• As a result of victories in the primaries and caucuses, the leading contender now almost always has the nomination locked up before the convention begins.

• Major functions of the convention include formally naming the party’s candidates, adopting a platform, unifying the party, and generating positive publicity and momentum.

Presidential Elections

• Electoral College

• The president and vice president are not elected by a direct vote of the people. Instead, the winning ticket must receive a majority of the votes in the Electoral College.--270 to WIN

• The Framers created the Electoral College to safeguard the presidency from direct popular election.

  Each state has as many electoral votes as its combined total of representatives and senators.

Presidential Elections

• Electors were originally chosen by the state legislatures. Today, they are selected by the parties.

• Although the Framers expected electors to be independent, they are now expected to vote for their party’s candidates for president and vice president. For example, since President Trump won Ohio in 2016, the state sent 20 Republican electors to cast Ohio’s electoral votes.

Winner-Take-All System

• The Electoral College is a winner-take-all system. The presidential candidate who receives the most votes wins all of a state’s electoral votes.

• Candidates devote a disproportionate amount of time and resources to closely contested states, swing states, and competitive states.

• Candidates emphasize issues that may swing a key bloc of voters in a pivotal state.

Winner-Take-All System (CONT'D)

• The winner-take-all system severely restricts the prospects of third-party candidates.

• The winner-take-all allocation of votes per state (except Maine and Nebraska) under the setup of the Electoral College compared with the national popular vote for president raises questions about whether the Electoral College facilitates or impedes democracy.

Multiple Choice

Total amount of electoral votes in the electoral college.

• 270
• 538
• 3
• 269

Multiple Choice

What is the magic number of electoral votes that must be earned by a candidate in order to win the election?

• 200

• 270

• 350

• 538

Multiple Choice

What two states use the "congressional district method" of splitting their electoral votes?

• Alaska and Hawaii

• New York and Florida

• California and Texas

• Maine and Nebraska

Multiple Choice

Most states have a "winner-take-all" system for determining electoral votes, which means _______________.

• Candidates get an electoral vote for each district they win in a state

• The candidate that wins the popular vote in a state receives all that states electoral votes

• Two electoral votes are given to the winner of the popular vote and the others are awarded district by district

Persistence of the Electoral College

• It would require a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College.

• The Electoral College collectively benefits the small states that are guaranteed at least three electoral votes.

• The Electoral College benefits racial minorities and interest groups located in key states.

• There is no consensus on how to reform the Electoral College.

Open Ended

Explain how each of the following limits the president’s influence in policy making.

Civil service employees

The Supreme Court