CFU #5: Elections

What advantage do congressional incumbents have over challengers

• Access to federal campaign funding that the challenger does not

• Name recognition accrued from years of service

• automatic prime-time coverage for local broadcasts

• total party support

Answer explanation

Congressional incumbents have many advantages in a general election, one of which is name recognition. Name recognition comes from years of service, the ability to use the franking privilege, and being in the public eye. Incumbents also can raise money easily, using the funds to buy ads and elevate their public exposure.

Which elections tend to bring out the highest voter turnout?

• local elections

• primary elections

• midterm elections

• presidential elections

Answer explanation

Although American democracy calls for citizens to participate in many elections, presidential elections generate the highest turnout by far. The year 2020 saw a record for a presidential election, where 66.1% of eligible voters participated. In the 2018 election, 49.4 percent of eligible voters participated, the highest since 1914.

In the major party system, what is the mechanism that formally nominates a candidate for president?

• State primaries

• the national convention

• state caucuses

• The Electoral College

Answer explanation

In the major party system, the candidates who wins a majority of delegates in the state primary system becomes the nominee, but the entire process is formalized by the national convention. Now the national convention has become a stage to launch the nominee into the general election season.

If no candidate has a majority of votes in the Electoral College (270 votes), what is the next step in a presidential election?

• the country revotes

• the House of Representatives decides the election, with each state getting one vote

• The Senate, by a majority vote, selects the president

• Each state legislature selects one candidate to support for the president

Answer explanation

According to Article II of the Constitution, if no candidate wins a majority of Electoral votes, the election goes to the House of Representatives, where each state's congressional caucus receives one vote. The candidate who wins a majority of the states votes becomes president. This has happened only twice, in 1800 and 1824.

A criticism of the Electoral College is that the election really comes down to the results of four to seven states. Those states are called

• critical states

• toss-up states

• battleground states

• do-or-die states

Answer explanation

The four to seven states that could go for either presidential candidate are called battleground states and usually determine the Electoral College. Battleground states change from time to time and are identified well before a presidential election. To the surprise of political observers, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, usually democratic strongholds, wen to the Republican candidate, Donald Trump in 2016. In 2020, these states became battleground states and reverted back to the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.

Generally speaking, what is the result of midterm elections, that is, elections held in the middle of a president's term?

• The president's party gains seats in Congress

• Governors' elections usual swing to the president's party

• the president's party loses in Congress

• Third-party candidates gain seats in Congress

Answer explanation

Generally speaking, midterm elections see the president's party lost seats in Congress. This was last witnessed in 2018, when both chambers of Congress went Democratic, denying the Republicans the unified government they enjoyed from 2017 to 2019. Midterm elections usually witness a push against the president in power and his party.

In 1980, many southern states voted for the Republican candidate versus the Democratic candidate. Prior to that year, Democrats reliably won southern states. This is known as what type of election?

• An outlier election

• A realigning election

• A midterm election

• A general election

Answer explanation

When there is a large bloc of voters who switch party affiliation in an election year, it's called a realigning election. In 1980, many of the normally southern conservative voters who voted Democratic switched to the Republican Party. This election made it the "Solid South," but for the Republicans, not the Democrats.

When a state moves its primaries and caucuses up to an earlier position in the presidential nomination process, the state is engaging in

• frontloading

• redistricting

• apportionment

• gerrymandering

Answer explanation

The primary and caucus season has gotten shorter because of frontloading . For states to become players in the presidential nomination process, they must move their primary/caucuses earlier in the cycle.