CAMPAIGNS, ELECTIONS, AND

SUFFRAGE

Election Day

First Tuesday following the first Monday in November- Election Day

Electoral College Electoral Votes- votes of the electors (Electoral College) Total number of representatives a state has in the House

of Representatives and the Senate. The total number of electoral votes are 538 (435 in HOR+

100 Senate+ 3 for DC=538 A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the

presidency VA has 13; CA 55; NY 29; TX 38; FL 29; RI 3--- a

candidate must campaign harder in large states (states that have a large number of electoral votes because they must get to the 270 needed to win the presidency.

The formal election is when the electors vote. The Monday after the second Wednesday in December.

Popular vote

Popular votes-the People’s vote. The candidate who wins the most votes in a state wins all of the state’s electoral votes

Campaigning

Federal Election Campaign Acts- A presidential candidate can

receive public funding for elections

A limit is set on how much a candidate can spend

Candidates must disclose or record all spending

Campaigning

Political Action Committee (PAC)-organizations that financially support candidates

A PAC can only donate up to $5000 to one candidate

Campaigning

“soft money”—unlimited amounts of money that a group can give to a political party; not to an individual

McCain-Feingold bill—legislation to limit “soft money”

Campaigning

Candidates and the media- the media can give a positive or negative image for candidates.

The first televised debate was in 1960 between Kennedy and Nixon

Campaigning

Undecided voters of the electorate- Electorate- people entitled to vote

Campaigns are aimed towards the undecided voter because they do not know how they will vote.

Electoral College

Article II, Section 1—Established the Electoral College. It provided that each state would choose electors. They would meet and cast votes for two presidential candidates

Electoral College

The Original System—Candidates receiving a majority of the electoral votes would be President. Candidates with the second highest votes would be Vice PresidentProblem—the President and

Vice President could come from different political parties

Electoral College The 12th amendment—

fixed the problem with the original system. Electors would cast separate ballots for President and Vice PresidentPresidential Ticket-

Candidates from a political party run for President & Vice President together

Electoral College

# in Electoral College—538===435(House of Representatives) + 100 (Senators) + 3 (DC)Winning-the Presidential

candidates must have a majority of electoral votes to win—270

Electoral College The Formal Election—

when electors voteMonday after the Second

Wednesday in December at the Capitol Building

January 6—both houses of Congress meet in the House Chamber to count ballots.

Electoral College

Election by the House—if a tie occurs in the Electoral votes or no candidates gets a majority, the House of Representatives votesEach of the 50 states gets

one vote—the candidate with the majority wins

If a tie occurs in the House vote—the Vice President breaks the tie

Electoral College Ideas for reforming the Electoral

College--Voting by districts—candidates receive a

vote for each district won (ex: VA has 11 districts—McCain gets 4 electoral votes for the 4 districts won/Obama gets 7 electoral votes for the 7 districts won. No winner take all)

Proportional voting—candidate wins the percentage of electoral votes based on the % of the popular vote (ex: If Obama won 60% of the electoral vote in VA, then he would get 60% of VA 13 electoral votes and McCain would get 40% of VA’s electoral votes)

Eliminate the Electoral College—the popular vote would determine the president

SUFFRAGE (THE RIGHT TO VOTE)

BARRIERS

Before the American Revolution

Blacks, women, and white males who didn’t own property could not vote

By the Early 1800s

property and religious tests for voting were outlawed

By the Mid 1800s

all adult males who were white could vote

1870-15th amendment (no state could deprive any citizen the right to vote on the basis of race)

So many states used other methods to deprive blacks the right to vote:

○Grandfather clause (could not vote, if grandfather had not voted before 1867)

○Literacy tests○Poll tax

1915- Supreme Court ruled the grandfather clause was unconstitutional

1919-19th amendment gave women the right to vote

1965 –Voting Rights Act of 1965, 1970, 1975, 1982

○Ended literacy tests and poll tax (24th amendment)

○Federal government could register voters in districts with less than 50% blacks voting

○Outlawed unfair division of election districts

○Poll watchers○Ballots printed in Spanish

1971-26th Amendment –lowered the voting age to 18

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE VOTING

1. QUALIFICATIONS

18 YEARS OLD US CITIZEN NOT A CONVICTED FELON (VA) LEGALLY SANE (VA)

2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REGISTER? ENROLL WITH THE APPROPRIATE

LOCAL AUTHORITY Some states also have residency

requirements. You may have to live in an area for a certain amount of time before voting.

YOU CAN REGISTER AT THE POST OFFICEDMVVOTER REGISTRAR

3. HOW DO WE VOTE?

WE USE A SECRET BALLOT (AUSTRALIAN BALLOT)

SHOW ID INSERT BALLOT (CARD) MAKE CHOICE -STATES CHOOSE

METHOD OF VOTING (MAY BE ELECTRONIC OR PAPER)

INSERT BALLOT INTO READER GET A “I VOTED” STICKER

4. What is “The Ticket”? The list of candidates nominated for

political office When voting, voters look at the

Democratic or Republican tickets. Ticket-splitting is voting for candidates

from different parties.

5. WHAT IF I CANNOT GO TO THE POLLS TO VOTE?

ABSENTEE BALLOTS CAN BE USED W/O GOING TO THE POLLS, BUT ONLY FOROUT OF TOWNHOSPITALIZEDPHYSICALLY

HANDICAPPEDIN JAIL FOR A

MISDEMEANORRELIGIOUS HOLIDAY

6. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

• PERSONAL BACKGROUND– AGE– RACE– GENDER– RELIGION– INCOME– EDUCATION– FAMILY

**cross-pressured voter- one who is caught in conflict between elements in their life

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

LOYALTY TO POLITICAL PARTY --straight party voter—always vote

with their party --Strong party voter--usually vote

with party --weak party voter—sometimes vote

with party (also may be called an independent)

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

Issues-the media keeps us more informed today

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

Image- the candidate should have an image of trust, honesty, and a leader