Government -Chap 5-Module 3

The Electoral College
-Deciding how the president would be elected caused a lot of debate:
-Information was too hard to disseminate to the entire country
-Did not want congress to directly elect the president
-Believedelections held in each state assembly would just result in nominating a "favorite son"
-All led to electoral college
-Constitution says that a group of representatives, electors, from each sates and the District of Columbie shall assemble every fours years for presidential election
-Number of electors is electors is equal to the number of congressman for each state
-Supposed to vote according to the will of their constituents
-Constitution originally required each electors to vote for two separate candidates
-The highest one would be president the second place winner would be VP
-12th ammendment in 1804 changed this
-All but two states have a winner-take-all system
-Main and Nebraska split their votes based on the candidates statewide performance
-Electors meet six weeks after the popular vote to vote
-There are a total of 538 votes
-If no candidate gets 270, the House determines the winner
-Has happened only two: 1800 and 1824
2000 Election:
-Al Gore won popular vote, but Bush got the electoral vote
-Criticism of Electoral College:
-Large states have more influence
-Small states feel ignored
-States that have a dominent political party have greater power
-Benifits:
-Easy to find a winner
-Recounts are rare
-Maintains a two-party system
-Popular Vote:
-Many candidates
-The winner would be unlikely to receive more than half all votes
-The president would hardly be one that could clam his election was a "mandate" from the people

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Primaries, Caucuses, an the Conventions

• Process is done through primary election:
• Most common:
• Three types:
• Open: Voters can cast ballots for a candidate from any political party
• Closed: Voters may only vote for candidates representing the political party with which the voter is registered
• Blanket: Candidates from both parties are listed on the same ballot

• Caucuses:
• Selected members of a political party represent the voters will
• Only 12 states use
• Corrupt wrought by political machines stopped

• Primaries and Caucuses:
• Iowa Caucus/New Hampshire Primary:
• Held in late January or early Feb.
• Those who do well will gain momentum and get a boost in support
• Critics believe that the two states hold too much power the elections
• Elections suffer because many candidates withdrawn after doing poorly at these elections

• Super Tuesday:
• Second Tuesday in March
• Clear favorite in front
• Trailing candidates will usually withdraw
• Critics:
• Early timing: Extends the length of the campaign forcing candidates to need more money
• Voters lose interest with the extended election time
• Voters will their vote is worthless because those voting at the end will already have a single candidate singled out

• National conventions:
• Held for two reasons:
• Party platform: Set of directions, values, and tenets the party believes in, and intends to promote during the remainder of th campaign
• Create unity
• Establish agenda

• Candidate selection:
• Official nomination of party's presidential and vice presidential candidates:
• Vote taken among delegates, which cast a vote for the candidate selected in the states primary of caucus
• If the vote does not get a winner a second vote is taken in which the delegates can vote for who ever they want
• A mere formality

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General Elections:

• After convention the candidates are ready to go
• Tuesday after the first Monday in November
• Debates, maneuvering, posturing, and posing takes place
• Most elections feature an incumbent against the challenger
  
• Incumbents Presidents:
• Advantages:
• Free press coverage
• Acting presidential at national and international conferences and meeting to present themselves as confident and capable
• The can improve image through crisis management
  
• Credit claiming, when they get credit for positive events they may or may not have influenced
• Disadvantage:
• Blame for economy
• Endure policy criticism
• Approval rating decreases over term of office
• Challengers:
• Advantage:
  
• Able to attack the presidents policy record
• Promote their own political record
• Momentum from primaries and caucuses hat can fuel a challenger's surge in polls
• Extensive media exposure in the true primary
• Claim of being Washington outsider to get the trust of those who don't trust the government
• Carter and Clinton
• Disadvantage:
• Difficult to raise money for campaign because people are less willing to sponsor an uncertain campaign
• Have not been able to prove they can succeed at a national and international level
• Regionalism: Identified with where they come from
• Third party candidates

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TERMS TO KNOW:
Horserace reporting: Practice that occurs in the media where candidates must finish in the top three of the primary to continue to receive media attention