Central Dauphin High School

Mr. McCormack

American Government

Central Dauphin High School

Chapter Seven – The Electoral Process

I. The Nominating Process

A. The nominating process is a critical part of our democracy

1. The first step toward selecting a candidate

2. Considered one of the primary functions of a political party

3. Also considered the major difference between interest groups and parties

B. Nominations can be more important than elections

1. The right to vote for the candidate of your choice is theoretically unlimited, but in reality the two major party nominees are the only choices most people have

a. The power to nominate is also the power to limit voters’ choices

b. In areas where one party dominates, the nomination practically guarantees the election

2. Dictatorial or one-party systems control their people by controlling the nominating process, since there is only one candidate for each office in the general election

C. There are five nominating methods in the United States

1. Self-announcement

a. Anyone who wishes to hold public office, or someone close to that person, announces the desire

b. Used since colonial times, this is the oldest form of the nominating process in the United States

c. Not so commonly used method today

i. Now used primarily at the smaller, local level

ii. Sometimes used by those who failed to win the party nomination

iii. Sometimes used by those who oppose the party nominee

iv. Often requires a “write-in” campaign

d. Four prominent presidential candidates have used this method recently

i. George Wallace

1. Four-time Democratic governor of Alabama

2. Ran for the American Independence Party

3. Won 13% of the popular vote in 1968

ii. Eugene McCarthy

1. Former Democratic senator from Minnesota

2. Won 0.9% of the popular vote in 1976

iii. John Anderson

1. Former Republican representative from Illinois

2. Won 6.7% of the popular vote in 1980

iv. Ross Perot

1. Billionaire businessman from Texas

2. Won 19% of the popular vote in 1992

2. Caucus

a. A group of like-minded people who meet to select a candidate

b. The first nominating caucus occurred in the later colonial period

i. Most likely in Boston in the 1720s

ii. The term “caucus” probably comes from the fact that the Boston Caucus met in a room used by shipyard caulkers (people who used caulk to make the ships water-tight)

c. The caucus evolved from meetings of a few influential men to include all of the local party members

d. Nominations to the national level were usually made by the parties’ state legislative caucuses

e. Presidential nominations were soon made by the parties’ Congressional caucuses

f. Many began to criticize the caucuses for their closed, secretive process

i. The presidential election of 1824 was the last for nominations by Congressional caucus

ii. The leading contenders, Jackson, Adams, and Clay, all boycotted it, and fewer than 1/3 of the Congressmen attended

iii. The caucus winner, William Crawford of Georgia, finished third in the election

iv. The caucus slowly withered away at the state and local level as well

g. Modern caucuses, where they endure, bear little resemblance to the original caucus

3. Convention

a. Local party members elect delegates to attend nominating meetings at higher levels

b. The first convention to nominate a presidential candidate was held in 1831

i. The Anti-Masons, a third-party, held their convention in Baltimore

ii. The Whig Party (National-Republicans) held one later that year

iii. Democrats held their first convention in 1832

c. By the 1840s, the convention was the principal means of making nominations at every level

d. Theoretically, the conventions enact the will of the party membership that selected the delegates

e. Party bosses soon found ways to dominate the process, essentially controlling them by the late 1800s

f. Despite criticism, conventions are still used in some states (Connecticut, Michigan, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia) and, at least formally, at the national level

4. Direct Primary

a. An intra-party election

b. Wisconsin adopted the first State-wide direct primary law in 1803

c. Every state now uses the direct primary to some extent

i. In most states, political parties are required to use them to select nominees for US House and Senate, state offices, and even local offices

ii. Some states allow different combinations of direct primary and convention

d. The states set primary dates and run primary elections

e. There are two kinds of direct primaries

i. Closed Primary

1. Only permits qualified voters who are registered party members to participate

2. Some states allow voters to change party registration on primary election day, so that more people can participate

3. The Supreme Court ruled in 1986, Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut, that a state cannot force a party to run a closed primary if wishes to be open

4. Closed primaries are used in 24 states, including Pennsylvania

ii. Open Primary

1. Allows any qualified voter to participate in any one party’s primary election

2. Some states require you to publicly declare the party in which you intend to vote, but others allow you to make that choice in the privacy of the voting booth

3. Washington, Alaska, and California tried using “blanket primaries,” in which every candidate for every office, regardless of party, appears on the same ballot

a. This allowed you to help select one party’s nominees for some offices, and the other party’s nominees for others

b. The Supreme Court ruled in 2000, California Democratic Party v. Jones, that a state cannot force a party to run an open primary if it wished to be closed

No state attempts to use the blanket primary any longer

4. Louisiana has an “open election”

a. Combines the primary and general election into one vote

b. Everyone desiring the office is listed on the same ballot

c. If anyone wins more than 50% of the votes, that person wins

d. If no candidate wins the majority, the top two finishers, regardless of party, hold a run-off election

5. Open primaries are used in 26 states

iii. Evaluating the Options

1. Arguments in favor of Closed Primaries

a. Prevents other parties from “raiding” a primary and nominating unsatisfactory candidates

b. Helps to keep the candidates more loyal to party members and platform

c. Forces voters to make thoughtful choices over which party to support

2. Arguments in favor of Open Primaries

a. Allows independent voters to participate in the process

b. Allows voters to keep their party affiliation more private

f. In most states, the candidate with the plurality of votes wins the primary

i. Ten states force the top finishers into a run-off primary, so that the top-candidate must have a majority

ii. Iowa requires the party to hold a nominating convention if no primary candidate wins more than 35% of the vote

iii. North Carolina sets the threshold for avoiding a run-off at 40%

iv. South Dakota requires candidates for governor, US Representative, and US Senator to win at least 35% to avoid a run-off

g. Non-Partisan Primaries, in which the candidates’ party affiliations are not listed on the ballot, are used in most states to select judges, school boards members, and municipal officers

h. The Presidential Primary is unlike other primaries because it is not technically for a nomination

i. Voters select delegates to attend the national convention

ii. In most states, voters express a preference for the nomination, but that preference could, theoretically, be ignored

i. Criticisms of the Primary

i. Small turn-outs

1. Typically, primary elections draw about half of the voters that come for general elections

2. Voters resent declaring a party affiliation

3. Voters dislike long ballot forms

4. Independents cannot vote

ii. Primary elections can be very expensive

iii. Primary election fights weaken a party’s general election campaign

iv. Primary voters are not as well informed as general election voters

5. Petition

a. Candidates must circulate petitions and receive a certain number of signatures from qualified voters for their name to be on the ballot

b. The minimum number of signatures needed by third-party candidates is usually much higher than for the major parties

II. Elections

A. Administering Elections

1. American elections are far more frequent than many realize

a. There are more than 500,000 officeholders are in the United States

b. There are more than 87,000 units of government at the state and local levels

2. The government tries to ensure that elections are free, honest, and accurate

3. The process by which an election is conducted can have an impact on the outcome

4. State and Federal Election Laws

a. Most election laws are state laws

b. There are many federal election laws

i. The Constitution gives Congress the power of setting the times, places, and manner of holding elections for its members

ii. Congress determines the time for choosing presidential electors

iii. Congress regulates other aspects of the presidential election process

iv. Elections for federal offices are held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November

1. This avoids holding elections on November 1st, which is the Christian Feast of All Saints

2. Avoids holding an election on the Sabbath of religious voters

3. The first of the month is often a day for paying bills and collecting paychecks, which used to take much more time

4. Alaska may, because of the possibility of severe weather, choose to hold its elections in October, but has never done so

v. Secret ballots are required

vi. Voting machines may be used

vii. Campaign finances must be regulated

viii. The right of all people, regardless of minority status, has been protected

c. Help America Vote Act of 2002

i. Federal law drafted in response to the bizarre 2000 presidential election controversies

ii. All lever-operated and punch-card voting machines should have been replaced by 2006

iii. Required better training of local election officials

iv. Improved voter identification to avoid fraudulent voting

v. Provided for provisional voting, so that a challenged voter can still vote until eligibility has been verified

5. Election Day

a. Most states hold elections on the same day set for federal elections in even-numbered years

b. Some states hold major elections in odd-numbered years

c. Some states hold elections in the spring

d. Many argue that Election Day should be a holiday, or should span an entire week, to improve voter participation

e. Others argue that state and federal elections should occur on separate days to help focus attention on the different offices

6. Early voting

a. Millions of Americans cast ballots before Election Day

b. Twenty million voters did so in 2004

c. More than half the states allow voters to cast ballots at their polling place over the course of several days before Election Day

d. Absentee Voting even allows people to vote from outside the district

i. Originally intended to help a small group of voters (infirm, deployed military, etc.)

ii. Now broadly used as a matter of convenience

7. Coattail Effect

a. Occurs when enthusiasm for a party’s major nominee (i.e. governor or president) translates into support for the party’s other nominees

b. Ronald Reagan’s popularity in 1980 and 1984 helped many Republican candidates

c. A reverse coattail effect can also hurt a party

B. Precincts and Polling Places

1. A precinct is a voting district, the smallest geographic unit for conducting elections

2. State laws usually restrict their size

a. Size is usually determined by population, not by area

b. Anything between 500 to 1000 voters is typical

3. A precinct may allow voters to cast ballots at any number of locations called polling places

4. Polling places are supervised by election boards

a. In Pennsylvania, a Judge of Elections and Inspectors from both parties directly supervise the polling places

i. These officers run the voting machines and verify voter eligibility

ii. When the polls close they tally the results of the election in the precinct

b. Representatives of the parties often frequent polling places to challenge suspicious voters

c. Elections are ultimately conducted by the County Board of Elections (or the County Commissioners)

5. The hours of operations for polling places are set by state law

C. Casting the Ballot

1. A ballot is the device by which a voter registers his choice in an election

a. The term “ballot” comes from the Italian word ballota, referring to small black or white balls that were dropped in a box to indicate a choice

b. The term “blackball,” meaning to ban someone from participating, came from the same practice

2. Every state provides for a secret ballot (voters make their choices in private)

a. Through much of history, votes were declared publicly

i. At times paper ballots were too expensive and literacy too low

ii. Voting was viva voce – by voice

iii. At other times, party ballots were easily discerned by color

b. Private voting is preferred for being less susceptible to intimidation and corruption

3. The Australian Ballot

a. First used in Victoria, Australia in 1856

i. Brought to the United States by an elitist group of Republicans known as Mugwumps

ii. Mugwumps split from the Republicans in 1884 to protest the nomination of James Blaine

iii. The term comes from the Algonquin word for “chief or person of honor”

b. Adopted by nearly every state by 1900, and still used by most today

c. Four essential features

i. Printed at public expense (not by the parties)

ii. Lists the names of all candidates in an election

iii. Is distributed only to qualified voters and only at the polls

iv. Is marked in secret

d. Two variations are used

i. Office-Group Ballot

1. Used by most states

2. Also known as the Massachusetts Ballot

3. All of the candidates for one office are grouped together under the title of that office

4. Favors split-ticket voting (voting for candidates from more than one party)

ii. Party-Column Ballot

1. Used by only a handful of states

2. Also known as the Indiana Ballot

3. All of a party’s candidates for office are listed together in a column under the party’s name

4. Favors straight-line voting (voting for all of the candidates of a single party)

4. Bilingual Ballot (ballots printed in more than one language)

a. Since 1975, bilingual ballots have been required under certain conditions by federal law