Lesson 5.3 Campaigns and Elections Friday, May 26

​Lesson 5.3

Campaigns and Elections

Friday, May 26

An election is the process of voting to choose someone to be their political leader or representative in government.

Election

A campaign is the means by which a candidate prepares and presents their ideas and positions on issues to the voters in the period preceding election day.

​Campaign

Multiple Choice

The data in the graph best illustrates which of the following common criticisms of modern elections?

• The influence of social media has made it easier for people seeking political office to raise money, leading to a rise in the costs of campaigns.

• The role of political consultants in campaigns has led to candidates for office raising money for their help to win a seat in Congress.

• The rising costs of political campaigns make it harder for unknown challengers to beat incumbents who have had years to fundraise for their reelection campaigns.

• The election cycle has become significantly shorter as fundraising efforts have declined because of caps set by Congress.

Multiple Choice

Based on the information in the bar chart, which of the following is the most likely implication of long election cycles in the United States?

• Candidates running for reelection spend a significant portion of their terms campaigning for reelection.

• Terms in the House of Representatives have increased to allow people seeking reelection enough time to campaign.

• Incumbents no longer have an advantage in name recognition in elections, as voters can get to know all candidates.

• Voter turnout has increased as people know well in advance when an election is happening in their communities.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is a potential consequence of the trend illustrated in the bar chart?

• An over-reliance on political parties as they have to campaign for candidates up for reelection

• An increase in voter turnout as people can get to know candidates better as they run for office

• A shift towards grassroots fundraising and campaigning as candidates can spend time in small communities

• An increase in campaign costs as candidates tend to run for at least a year before the election

Multiple Choice

Based on the information in the line graph, which of the following is the most likely implication of the increasing dependence on political consultants?

• A shift away from relying on polling data to determine campaign messaging towards relying on social media trends

• A change in how candidates work with political parties and interact with voters

• A decline in campaign spending as consultants have the tools to curtail unnecessary spending

• A new strategy in which candidates try to separate themselves from the party’s policy agenda

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the chart?

• The US government is placing limits on election cycles to match the cadence of other major countries.

• The United States election cycle lasts significantly longer than other countries around the world.

• Election cycles tend to fluctuate as major events speed up or slow down the process.

• Election cycles in the United States have gotten longer over the past fifty years.

​Types of Elections

Primary

Primary elections determine which candidate will represent each political party in advance of a general election. There are two main types of primaries: closed and open.

In a closed primary, voters may only cast their ballot for the party in which they are affiliated. An open primary allows voters to cast their ballot in either primary regardless of party affiliation, meaning a registered Democrat can vote in a Republican primary and vice-versa.

Caucus

A caucus is a meeting of supporters of a specific political party who gather to elect delegates to choose whom they believe should be the candidate in a given election.

​Types of Elections

General

A general election is where voters of all parties participate and all voters decide the final winner to hold elected office. This will include the winning candidates from Republican and Democratic party primaries and caucuses.

​Challenges in the Election System

• Negative campaigning

• Campaign cost

• Low voter turnout

• Felon disenfranchisement

​Political campaigning in which a politician focuses on criticizing another politician rather than emphasizing their own positive qualities

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Negative Campaigning

​Political spending in the 2020 election totaled $14.4 billion, more than doubling the total cost of the record-breaking 2016 presidential election cycle.

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Campaign

Cost

​Turnout in the United States is below average among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a grouping of mostly high-income countries.

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Low Voter Turnout

​Felon disenfranchisement is the denial of the right to vote for those convicted of felony crimes. Each state has different laws determining if felons lose the right to vote.

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Felon Disenfranchisement