U.S. Presidential Elections
Outline of where we’re going
1. The U.S. Political System – 3 branches 2. The President’s place within the system 3. Electing the President
Who can be president? (legal requirements) Phases of the election process
4. Election Day and Beyond
The U.S. Political System
Back to the roots
Founding fathers’ main objectives:
Representation of the people Avoid TOO MUCH power in one place (oppressive rulers)
Satisfy varying needs Encourage unity (compromise)
What they came up with:
3 Branches of Government Spread out the power Each has its roles/jobs Each can check and balance the powers of the others
Branches of Government
Judicial – Supreme Court and lower courts
Legislative – Congress – representatives of “the people” Executive – most notably, the president, but includes many other offices, departments, and organizations
Legislative branch - two houses of Congress
House of Representatives
The Senate
Representatives are elected in proportion to state’s population 2-year terms More directly reflect the peoples’ interest from local districts 435 voting members
2 senators are elected from each state, regardless of population 6-year terms Larger area represented 100 members
Executive Branch
The President and Vice President White House staff and executive offices
(about 2,000 positions, appointed, no congressional approval required)
The Cabinet (secretaries of 15 executive departments –
appointed by the president, approved by Congress)
Approximately 2.7 million civilian employees and 1.7 million military employees
Executive Branch website: http://www.loc.gov/global/executive/fed.html
Separation of Power
Checks and Balances
A closer look at the presidency
Head of State Commander-In-Chief Legislative leader Chief Administrator Power to appoint personnel Must work with Congress (compromise!)
White House official website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/
The election process
To Become President, you must…
Be a natural-born citizen of the U.S. Be at least 35 years old Have lived in the U.S. at least 14 years Not by law, but sort of unofficially… so far you must be a white male (and being Protestant helps)
The Road to the White House
“Testing the waters” Declaring Candidacy Primaries and Caucuses National Conventions – nominations Campaigning Debates Election Day Election Confirmation Inauguration
- 2 years - 1.5 years Feb – June (except: Iowa, NH) late summer Sept-Nov Octoberish Nov – 1st Tues after first Monday December-Jan January 20
“Testing the Waters”
Potential candidates try to get a feel for how their chances would be at winning their party’s nomination Intra-party competition Seeking out:
Large amounts of money Broad base of support
Considerations
“Incumbent”
Opposition Parties
Connections Established Fewer contenders (sometimes not challenged) Blame or credit for state of affairs Likely to have support of party
Relatively unknown figures Raise support “from scratch” Full-blown campaign with many challengers Huge investment of time and money Only one “winner”
Declaring Candidacy
Timing - maximum publicity Location – supporters, hype Appear elect-able! Generate excitement among voters
Who wants to be the Democratic Nominee?
Primaries and Caucuses
Primaries open closed Caucuses local, district, state Each caucus selects delegates to the next level Iowa’s impact
New Hampshire
“Super Tuesday”
Primaries - a process
National Conventions
Developed through tradition – not part of the constitution or founding fathers’ plan Build unity Party platform Nomination – in recent years, this has already been decided Running mate declared
National Conventions cont’d
About 3 months before Election Day Publicity more than actual decisions Opportunity for direct media exposure Build excitement among party members
Democratic National Convention
http://dems2004.org/
Speakers
http://www.dems2004.org
Convention excitement
DNC Protesters
Republican National Convention
Most Talked About
Zell Miller, former Democrat turned Republican, turned heads with his passionate endorsement of George W. Bush and his stinging criticisms of John Kerry - “Spitwads” comment left people talking for weeks watch him in action: http://www.2004nycgop.org/rewind/wed.shtml
Why was his speech so powerful/effective?
RNC Protesters
Candidates chosen… now what?
The game of campaigning begins! The goal: score 270 electoral votes!!
What are electoral votes?
270
The Electoral College
Electoral College
Voters choose a presidential candidate Actually are selecting a list of electors pledged to vote for that candidate (sometimes the
names are on the ballot, sometimes not – varies by state)
Electors later meet together to cast their official votes Electors in most states are not bound to vote as they pledged, but they almost always do
Electoral Votes by State
Electoral College
What? A system by which the president is not elected directly by the popular vote of the people, but instead by “electoral votes” cast by electors Who are electors? Generally those chosen are electors are prominent people who are highly active in their political parties. They are chosen by different methods in different states. http://www.avagara.com/e_c/ec_statelaws.htm
Electoral College cont’d
Why?
Framers of the constitution wanted to ensure that men of sound judgment (electors appointed by states) would choose wisely A check on popular opinion, a way to clarify (amplify) a decision of the people
How does it work?
Each state gets 2 votes (as they have 2 senators) plus the number of representatives they have in the House of Reps
Campaign “Strategery”
Role of media/polls Advertising Financing a campaign Handling of issues – very carefully!! “Swing states”/ “Battleground States” The great quest to sway public opinion, to attract voters without losing others
The (beloved) Media
Networks – ABC, CBS, NBC, FoxNews Printed media – Time, Newsweek, New York Times, Washington Post, other publications Cable – CNN, MSNBC, C-Span (1 and 2) Pollsters – Gallup, independent, private Internet – whole new realm of information dispersal “spin” and slant – satirical “news” shows – eg: The Daily Show – where many young Americans get their news http://thedailyshow.com
Media: These photos are from the same website – each taken
from the candidate’s personal profile. Which do you think this site prefers? Bush-Cheney or Kerry-Edwards?
From www.planet.nl/show/
All-important “Photo ops”
And by all means, HOLD PEOPLE’S BABIES!
Campaign ads
Target important voting audiences Highlight areas of vulnerability in opponent Highlight strengths of candidate
http://bush-cheney2004.com
http://johnkerry.com
Campaign Finance
Where does the money come from? Matching Funds - yes or no? Figures from this year and elections past
donations and spending by candidate http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/index.asp
The Major Issues
Foreign Policy Economy / Jobs Health Care http://special.msn.com/msn/votertools.armx http://cnn.com/elections2004/ http://bbc.com/us/elections04/
Issues as dividers
Often used to reach out to specific groups of people Interest groups and campaigns Negative ads often point out (or create the impression of) weaknesses on issues Debates are the most issue-focused
“Winner-take-all”
Exceptions: Maine and Nebraska
Where would you focus your energy and campaign the hardest?
“Battleground States”
Also “swing states” States that are still “undecided” in who is likely to capture their electoral votes. Rather than waste time and money on sealing a larger margin of victory in “guaranteed” states, candidates tend to focus on winning these all-important regions.
Source: http://www.time.com/time/election2004/battleground/
The Debates
1. U. of Miami – Thursday, September 30 Topic: Foreign Policy / Iraq
Best site for watching the debates:
2. Washington Univ. St. Louis, MO “Town Hall” Debate
http://news.yahoo.com/elections/
3. Arizona State U. – Wednesday, October 13 Domestic Policies, Economy
I am the debate champion But I’m still the likeable, simple all-American guy people identify with
Election Day…
Election Day
Time zones – polls close in the Eastern time zone hours before they close in the west Exit polls – informal polls try to predict the election outcome by asking voters who they voted for Voter turn-out – many factors work together to determine whether an individual voter will actually get out and vote! Voting method – absentee ballots, plus a variety of voting machines, mean that different voters use slightly different ballots; in 2000 there was great controversy of the “butterfly ballots” in some parts of Florida
Ballot from Florida 2000
Aftermath of elections 2000
…and beyond
Maryland’s 2000 electors
Individual states’ electors meet to cast their official votes (the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December) Separate ballots are cast for president and vice Votes are certified by each state’s governor and forwarded to the President of the Senate (i.e.: the current vice president)
Official decision is confirmed
January 6, (unless a Sunday), in a joint session of Congress, certificates are opened and votes tallied
If no candidate for president receives a majority – House If no vice-presidential candidate receives a majority – Senate
Inauguration Day
January 20
Inauguration Ceremony at the Capitol Building - oath of office - inaugural address
Inaugural Parade through the streets of Washington, DC
Inaugural Balls in Washington.
Oath of Office Ceremony
Pictures from www.secretservice.gov/
Inaugural Festivities
Parade
Inaugural Ball
Arrival at the White House
Just in case you think elections are a solemn occasion…
Elections are also a great supplier of material for the creative people in the comedy business!
Look for special election coverage and sketches from these comedy sources: www.jibjab.com www.thedailyshow.com
The End