elections and voting
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Elections 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. 3 Special elections. Initiatives - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Elections and Voting
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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
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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
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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
• General Elections– Purpose: vote between the nominees of the
different party• Ex: Mitt Romney(R) v. Barack Obama (D)
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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
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Presidential ElectionsLO 13.2: Outline the electoral procedures for presidential and general elections.
Primaries and Caucuses• Delegates to convention chosen
by election or caucus.• Elections may be winner-take-all
or proportional.• Caucuses are better for the party
organization.• Trend toward front-loading.
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Figure 13.1: When do states choose their nominee for president?
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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
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Electing a President: The Electoral College
• Representatives from each state who select president.
• Electors equivalent to senators plus representatives.
• Framers favored system to remove power from people.
• The 1876 and 2000 elections raised concerns about system.
LO 13.2
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Figure 13.2: How is voting power apportioned in the Electoral College?
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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?
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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
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Congressional ElectionsLO 13.3: Compare and contrast congressional and presidential elections, and explain the incumbency advantage.
The Incumbency Advantage• Support from a paid staff.• Incumbents are more visible.• “Scaring off” other challengers.– name recognition– large war chests– free constituency mailings– Previous campaign experience
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Why Incumbents Lose
• Redistricting can pit incumbents against one another.
• Scandals.• Presidential coattails.• Midterm elections.
LO 13.3
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Patterns in Vote ChoiceLO 13.4: Identify seven factors that influence voter choice.
• Party identification• Ideology• Income and education
• Race and ethnicity• Gender• Religion• Issues
Many factors impact voter choice.
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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 = ???
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Voter TurnoutLO 13.5: Identify six factors that affect voter turnout.
• States regulate voter eligibility.• Factors that affect voter turnout: – Income and education– Race and ethnicity– Gender– Age – Civil engagement– Interest in politics
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Toward Reform: Problems with Voter TurnoutLO 13.6: Explain why voter turnout is low, and evaluate methods for improving voter turnout.
• Voter turnout in the United States is low. Why?– Other commitments: People are too busy.– Difficulty of registration– Number of elections– Voter attitudes: apathy, satisfaction, lack of a pressing
issue– Weakened influence of political parties
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Analyzing Visuals: Why people Don’t Vote
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Ways to Improve Voter Turnout
• Make Election Day a Holiday
• Enable Early Voting• Permit Mail and Online
Voting• Make Registration Easier• Modernize the Ballot• Strengthen Parties
LO 13.6
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