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VOTING AND ELECTIONS

VOTING AND ELECTIONS. Chapter 13 O’Connor and Sabato American Government: Continuity and Change. VOTING AND ELECTIONS. In this chapter we will cover … The Purposes Served by Elections Different Kinds of Elections Presidential Elections Congressional Elections Voting Behavior

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VOTING AND ELECTIONS

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  1. VOTING AND ELECTIONS Chapter 13 O’Connor and Sabato American Government: Continuity and Change

  2. VOTING AND ELECTIONS In this chapter we will cover… • The Purposes Served by Elections • Different Kinds of Elections • Presidential Elections • Congressional Elections • Voting Behavior • Reforming The Electoral Process

  3. The Purposes Served by Elections • Most change in the United States comes about on the basis of elections. • Elections generally allow us to avoid: • riots • general strikes • coups d'etats • Elections serve • to legitimate governments through the mandates of the electorate • to fill public offices and organize governments • to allow people with different views and policy agendas to come to power • to ensure that the government remains accountable to the people.

  4. Different Kinds of Elections • Primary Elections • General Elections • Initiative, Referendum, and Recall • Initiatives allow citizens to propose legislation and submit it to popular vote. • A referendum allows the legislature to submit proposed legislation for popular approval. • Recall elections allow citizens to remove someone from office.

  5. Presidential Elections • Choosing the nation’s chief executive is a long, exhilarating, and exhausting process that often begins even before the previous election ends. • The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

  6. Electoral College • The Electoral College was a compromise created by the Framers to ensure that the president was chosen intelligently and with the input of each of the states. • The number of electors is determined by the federal representation for each state. • For example, California has 52 members of the House of Representatives and 2 Senators – 54 electoral votes.

  7. Electoral College • There are a total of 538 electoral votes (535 members of Congress and 3 for the District of Columbia) • A majority of 270 wins the presidency. • Just as George W. Bush did in 2000, a candidate can win a majority of electoral votes with a minority of popular votes and still be elected to the office.

  8. Al Gore (D) 50,996,116 votes 48% 21 States Won 266 Electoral Votes George Bush (R) 50,456,169 votes 48% 30 States Won 271 Electoral Votes Presidential Election 2000 Does your vote matter?

  9. Patterns of Presidential Elections • Party Realignmentsare rare occurrences in which existing party affiliations change dramatically. • Secular Realignmentis the gradual shifting of party coalitions.

  10. Congressional Elections In Congressional elections: • candidates tend to be less visible. • most candidates are or were state legislators. • name recognition is often the most important battle of the campaign. • candidates receive little media coverage.

  11. Congressional Election Results, 1948-2002

  12. Incumbency Incumbency advantage – the electoral edge afforded to those already in office…achieved through: • Higher visibility • Experience • Organization • Fund-raising ability

  13. Voting Behavior Voter Participation • About 40% of the eligible adult population votes regularly. • About 25% are occasional voters. • About 35% rarely or never vote.

  14. Voter Turnout in Presidential and Midterm Elections

  15. Who Votes? • Income – people with higher incomes have a higher tendency to vote. • Age – older people tend to vote more often than younger people (less than half of eligible 18-24 year olds are registered to vote). • Gender – Since 1980, women have a higher tendency to vote for Democrats than Republicans. • Race – in general, whites tend to vote more regularly than African-Americans (this may be due to income and education rather than race).

  16. Does Low Voter Turnout Matter? • Is low voter turnout a problem in a democracy? • Do we want the uninformed or poor and uneducated voting? Might they make bad decisions?

  17. Reforming the Electoral Process • Some possibilities: • Abolition of the electoral college • The establishment of a permanent congressional district scheme • The elimination of the elector system • Nomination process by lottery… New Hampshire not always first • Restructuring campaign finance laws

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