1. Elections

2. Steps in the Election Process • Announcement • State Caucuses or Primaries • Conventions • Nomination 4.5. Campaigning 5. General Election 6. Electoral College Votes 7. Inauguration

3. 1. Announcement • A person decides to run for office and tells the public about it • TV • Radio • Speech • Political Events • Must be qualified • Natural born US citizen • Resident for 14 years • 35+ years old

4. 2. Caucuses and Primaries • Caucus- a local meeting where registered party members gather to vote for their preferred party candidate • Series of small meetings designed to select candidates and delegates to attend the National Convention • Used in only 14 states and Washington DC • Primaries- intra-party elections • Political parties hold elections in states to select a candidate for their political party • State regulates these elections to stop fraud and manipulation • These don’t actually allow people to vote directly for a candidate…they’re voting for who they want their state delegates to vote for at the national nominating convention

5. 2 main types of primaries Closed Primaries • Voters can only vote for the party they are registered with • Only people registered with the political party can vote • Can only vote for your declared party Open Primaries • Any qualified voter can vote • Voter can determine which party they are voting for New York has a semi-open primary- a registered voter doesn’t need to publicly declare which primary they’re voting in before entering the voting booth. When they identify themselves to election officials, they must request a party’s specific ballot

6. First Primary/Caucus • New Hampshire holds the first primary (2/9/16), Iowa holds the first caucus (2/1/16) • These get tons of media attention • Candidates focus on these states • Establish a front runner, gives candidates momentum • States used to wait as long as possible to hold their primaries/caucuses because the longer you wait, the greater input you have on the nomination, but states have recently begun frontloading their primaries and caucuses • New York’s primary date is set for April 19, 2016 • https://youtu.be/_95I_1rZiIs

7. Super Tuesday • Refers to the Tuesday in February of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections • This cycle, it would be Tuesday March 1 as of right now, with 13 primaries/caucuses happening • Traditionally, candidates that do well on this day win their party’s nomination and do very well in the general election

8. 3. Conventions • Major-party presidential nominees are selected • President and VP are chosen Steps • County Convention (select delegates for State) • State Convention (select delegates for National) • National Convention (delegates vote for nominee)

9. 4. Nomination • Nomination- party’s official endorsement of candidate to run for office • Nomination is the major function of political parties • To win a party’s nomination, a candidate must win the majority of delegates’ support at the National Convention • Plurality- the most votes • Majority- one more than half the votes

10. 5. General Election • 1st Tuesday following the 1st Monday in November every fourth year (Congressional elections- even numbered years) • Voters cast their votes- popular vote • Federal government sets dates, time, and secret ballots • State government decides how to administer the election • Electronic, mail, online, paper/pencil • Restricts population of voting districts/precincts to ensure that elections are held in an orderly manner • Absentee voting- covers those who are too ill/disabled to get to polls, those who expect to be away, and those in the armed forces

11. How the Electoral College Works • https://youtu.be/_95I_1rZiIs

12. Problems with the Electoral College • https://youtu.be/7wC42HgLA4k

13. 6. Electoral College Votes • Electoral college is set up in Article II of the Constitution • Number of electors in each state is equal to the number of representatives and senators in each state • NY: 2 Senators + 27 Representatives = 29 electoral votes • HoR is capped at 435 members. Senate is set at 100. DC gets 3 votes. So... you need 270 electoral votes or more to win the presidency (435+100+3=538)/2 = 269 • Most states have a winner-takes-all system  whatever candidate gets the most (not the majority of) votes in the state gets all of it’s electoral votes • It is possible to lose the popular vote and win the electoral college

14. For example…

15. The most recent example…

16. 7. Inauguration • The ceremony in which a new President takes office • Happens on January 20 following an election year • Prior to the 20th amendment, a new president wasn’t inaugurated until March 4 (when the Constitution first took effect in 1789) • The only element of inauguration required by the Constitution is the oath of office—everything else has happened by precedent/tradition • “I <name> do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States”