9.2 Types of Elections

Types of Elections

Unit 9-2

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-NC.

Lesson Overview

Students Will Be Able To:

oDifferentiate between the purposes and functions of primary and
general elections.

oIdentify the differences between open and closed primaries, blanket
primaries, and caucuses.

oClassify the differences between winner-take-all and
proportional primaries.

Vocabulary:

oBlanket Primary, Caucus, Closed Primary, Delegates, Grassroots,
Midterm Election, Non-Partisan Election, Off-year Election, Open
Primary, Partisan Primary, Proportional, Recall Election, Referendum,
Special Polls, Super Tuesday, Winner-Take-All, Write-In Candidates

Q

yp

Essential Question- What are the different types of elections in America, how do they differ, and what are their purposes? 

Match

Match the following

• All members stand for election every two years.

• One third of its seats are up for election every two years.

• The office is filled by an elections every four years as set by the Constitution

• The office is filled every four years on a cycle determined by the individual states

House of Representatives

Senate

president

governor

• House of Representatives

• Senate

• president

• governor

The Election Rotation

Given the size of the U.S. federal system of
government there are elections of some kind
almost every year

oPresident- Every 4 Years

oHouse of Representatives- Every 2 Years

oSenate- 1/3 every 2 Years

Midterm Elections- they happen at the halfway
point of a president's term

Off-Year Elections- occur in odd-numbered
years, where there are no federal elections

Primaries

This is an election that narrows down a wide field of candidates
for the future general election

Partisan Primary- an election where candidates are selected by
the members of a political party

Example-

o2016 Election there were 16 Republican Candidates running for
president

o5 Candidates dropped out before primary voting began

o10 Candidates eventually suspended their campaigns

oDonald Trump became the Republican Candidate and went on to
become the president

There are different types of Primaries

Types of Primaries

Open Primaries- is a primary where any registered voter is
allowed to cast a ballot (vote)

oAllows anyone to vote, regardless of poltical party

oAdvocates of this say it allows for the candidates to better reflect
the will of the voters

Closed Primaries- is a primary where only registered party
members are allowed to cast a ballot (vote)

oAdvocates of this say it allows for a more closly aligned candidate
to the party values

oPA is a Closed Primary State

Blanket Primaries- elections where candidates are not
affiliated with a political party (Used in non-partisan elections)

oAnother name for this is a "Louisiana Primary"

oVoters can cast a ballot for any candidate that they like

Multiple Choice

Which type of primary requires voters to be a member of a political party in order to vote for one of their candidates?

• Closed primary

• Louisiana primary

• Open primary

• Blanket primary

When Do Primaries Take Place?

Primaries are scheduled by the
individual states so the dates can vary
from state to state

General Elections are scheduled by the
Federal Government and are on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in
November

Depending on how the days fall in
February and March there can be Super Tuesday- when the greatest number of states hold both primary elections and caucuses

Caucuses (not to be mistaken for the Caucasus
Mountains in Asia and Europe!)

Caucus- a type of primary where
party voters come together in a
meeting place to discuss
candidates and vote openly

The rules differ from state to state
on how these are run

Some people criticize caucuses
because they are at a set place
only and only at certain times
(making it harder for people to
get there)

Rock the Vote - Register to Vote, Find Election Info, and More!

You can open this webpage in a new tab.

Copy link

Open in new tab

Delegates

These people play a crucial role in the U.S. Presidential nominating
process

Delegates- represent the voices and preferences of party members

oThey attend the party's national convention where the formal nomination is
announced

oCandidates earn delegates based on the number of ballots they receive

Republicans and Democrats set their own party rules for the
conventions

Conventions are held in the summer of a presidential election year

Republicans

oWinner-Take-All- the winner of a state's primary gets all the state's
delegates

Democrats

oProportional Delegates- where candidate's share the available delegates
is based on their vote percentage

General Elections

Remember in this format eligible voters pick their candidates from those
that are on the ballot

oWrite-In-Candidates- people whose names are not on the ballot, but can be
written-in by the voters
oGrassroots- trying to build support for a candidate by spreading information
by word of mouth as opposed to organizers and consultants

On the designated day for voting, polling places/stations are set-up for
voters to cast their ballots

Voting methods can vary from state to state-

oPaper Ballots
oElectronic Voting Machines
oMail-In Ballots

Ballots are all collected and counted by election officials to provide both security, accuracy and fairness

Once all the votes are counted the results are released and a winner is declared

Special Elections and Recall Elections

Special Elections- take place outside of the
regular election cycle, often held to fill a vacancy
in an elected office or allow the public to vote on
a specific issue

Examples-

oA serving Senator dies in office and must be replaced

oA local government might call for a special election to
approve a new tax or bond measure

Recall Elections- allow voters to remove an
elected official from office through a vote

The process begins with a petition and the total
number of signatures differs from state to state

oMajor Recall Elections-

Arizona Governor Evan Mecham in 1988
California Governor Grey Davis in 2003

Essential Question- What are the different types of elections in America, how do they differ, and what are their purposes?

 In an open primary, any registered voter can vote for any
candidate, regardless of which party they belong to. In a
closed primary, only registered voters of a candidate's
party may participate in voting.

 The differences between a winner-take-all primary and a
proportional primary, and which party uses each.

 How a caucus is a type of public primary that differs from
a secret ballot primary in the way it is conducted.

 A general election takes place in November to choose
between the nominees from primary elections in the
spring.