VOTING AND ELECTIONS

1. VOTING AND ELECTIONS

2. Types of Elections • Primary Election: • Members of political parties nominate candidates • Republicans can only vote for their favorite republican, democrats for their favorite democrat, and independents cannot vote. • General Election: • All registered voters can vote for whomever they choose • Initiatives, Referendums, Recalls • Initiative: citizens petition to vote on a specific law or amendment • Referendum: legislature asks citizens to vote on a specific law or measure • Recall: citizens petition to vote on removing a politician from office Republican primary candidates No democratic primary

3. Voting Basics • Voters must register • Why? • Stop voter fraud • Keep people from voting in elections that don’t affect them • Party registration • Voter I.D. Law – Pennsylvania • Pro arguments? • Con Arguments?

4. Voting Basics (cont’d) • Federal Election Day – Tuesday after the first Monday in November • Primary elections and local elections can be held anytime, but are usually in Spring • States make laws covering voter registration • Local Governments generally run elections • Everyone is designated a polling place based upon where they live • Different areas can have different ballot methods • For example: • Electronic • Punch cards • Lever machines • Paper ballots

5. Influencing Your Vote • Advertising • Posters, Bumper Stickers, Yard Signs, etc… • Personal Appearances • Direct Mail • Phone Calls • Television/Radio • Internet Ads • PACs • Political Action Committees • Independent Special Interest groups who donate money to specific candidates or causes that support their views • Federal law restricts how much money they can donate to candidates, but NOT how much they can spend campaigning on their own

6. Influencing Your Vote • Propaganda Techniques • Glittering Generalities • Plain Folks/Family • Bandwagon • Transfer/Comparison • Attack Ads: Card Stacking, Name Calling • Celebrity Endorsement • Humor? • Media Bias

7. Campaign Finance • Individual Donations • Limited to $2500 per person • Must report anyone who gives more than $200 • Political Parties • PACs FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION LIMITS

8. Electoral College Pros Cons • Allows States to elect President – Federalism • Reflects how congress actually works • Keeps small states involved • Usually provides a clear majority (1992) • Usually provides a more clear and certain result • Prevents need for recounts or runoffs in close elections • Popular choice can lose • Disenfranchises voters in “safe” states • Gives greater power to “swing” states • Based upon political considerations that are no longer relevant • Makes it difficult for a third party • If no one gets to 270, House of Representatives decides

9. Electoral College Alternatives • Popular Vote • Congressional District Method • Maine and Nebraska Other Ideas?

10. Faithless Electors • All potential electors are appointed by the political parties or the presidential nominees • When an elector casts a vote for someone other than the candidate to whom they are pledged, they are a faithless elector – this is rare • Can happen on accident or on purpose • 29 States have laws against this practice, though they have never been enforced • Faithless electors risk retaliation from their party • A faithless elector has never changed the result of an election