Voting and elections

Voting and elections Step 1 • Have to be registered—2 weeks before • Increase turnout? • Ease registration, voting? • Require voting? • Holidays? Partisan versus non-partisan elections • local elections and state judges are often “non-partisan” State elections-More “Progressive” legacy • special elections • recall • Initiatives • • The voice of the people or special interests? Constraining the role of legislators? Primaries and General Elections • Primary: Choosing the candidates to compete in the General Election • General Election: choosing among the candidates to hold office Presidential primaries (including caucuses) • Each state and the parties choose how to elect delegates to the national convention • primary or caucus • Primaries can be “open” (blanket), “closed” or “semi closed” The Party Convention • in most cases now delegates are “committed”, according to result of state’s primary • so outcome of convention is pre-determined-just a pep-rally with a platform General Election for President: Electoral College • Each state gets as many electors as it has members of US House and Senate-minimum of 3 per state • Almost every state awards its votes “winner take all”, so again electoral vote need not equal popular vote • Abolish or Reform? Congressional elections • Incumbents re-elected over 90%, receive most of the money • 435 House districts, reapportioned every 10 years by census, reflecting pop change • State legislature determines their own districts, and for their state’s congressional reps • Redistricting or “Gerrymandering” Mystery state A: 60% Rep and 40% Dem Version A--three safe Rep districts Version B--two safe Rep, one safe Dem district 1 3 2 Gerrymandering, contd • Current trend: • Computers exacerbate gerrymandering • Types • • • Partisan Racial Incumbent Incumbency Advantage • Why? • Self-fulfilling prophecy • term limits? • at state level, not federal • Good and bad Who votes? • • • • The old The educated The wealthy The white Who Can’t • The incarcerated, on probation or parole, or felons--depending on the state Campaign finance • Campaigns increasingly expensive--mostly for TV ads TV political ads in millions Attempts to fix the problem • Since 70s, contributions are registered, limited, and if by corporations or unions, routed through PACs • 1976 USSC throws out mandatory spending limits • Present effort to buck Buckley • 2002 Campaign finance--McCain Feingold abolishes “soft money” in federal elections, continues contribution limits • but campaign spending continues to grow Election Reform • Money--public funding for candidates-”clean elections”--including funds to match opponents private funding