VOTING AND ELECTIONS

Chapter 13O’Connor and Sabato

American Government:

Continuity and Change

In this chapter we will cover…• The Purposes Served by Elections• Different Kinds of Elections• Presidential Elections• Congressional Elections• Voting Behavior• Reforming The Electoral Process

VOTING AND ELECTIONS

1. The Purposes Served by Elections

• Most change in the United States comes about on the basis of elections.

• Elections generally allow us to avoid: – riots– general strikes– coups d'etats

• Elections serve – to legitimate governments through the mandates of the

electorate– to fill public offices and organize governments– to allow people with different views and policy agendas to come

to power– to ensure that the government remains accountable to the

people.

2. Different Kinds of Elections• Primary Elections

• General Elections

• Initiative, Referendum, and Recall– Initiatives allow citizens to propose legislation

and submit it to popular vote.

– A referendum allows the legislature to submit proposed legislation for popular approval.

– Recall elections allow citizens to remove someone from office.

3. Presidential Elections

• Choosing the nation’s chief executive is a long, exhilarating, and exhausting process that often begins even before the previous election ends.

• The presidential election is held every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

Electoral College• The Electoral College was a compromise

created by the Framers to ensure that the president was chosen intelligently and with the input of each of the states.

• The number of electors is determined by the federal representation for each state.

• For example, California has 52 members of the House of Representatives and 2 Senators – 54 electoral votes.

Electoral College

• There are a total of 538 electoral votes (535 members of Congress and 3 for the District of Columbia)

• A majority of 270 wins the presidency.

• Just as George W. Bush did in 2000, a candidate can win a majority of electoral votes with a minority of popular votes and still be elected to the office.

Presidential Election 2000

Al Gore (D)• 50,996,116 votes

• 48%

• 21 States Won

• 266 Electoral Votes

George Bush (R)• 50,456,169 votes

• 48%

• 30 States Won

• 271 Electoral Votes

Does your vote matter?

Patterns of Presidential Elections

• Party Realignments are rare occurrences in which existing party affiliations change dramatically.

• Secular Realignment is the gradual shifting of party coalitions.

4. Congressional Elections

In Congressional elections:

• candidates tend to be less visible.

• most candidates are or were state legislators.

• name recognition is often the most important battle of the campaign.

• candidates receive little media coverage.

Congressional Election Results, 1948-2002

IncumbencyIncumbency advantage – the electoral

edge afforded to those already in office…achieved through:• Higher visibility• Experience• Organization • Fund-raising ability

5. Voting Behavior

Voter Participation

• About 40% of the eligible adult population votes regularly.

• About 25% are occasional voters.

• About 35% rarely or never vote.

Voter Turnout in Presidential and Midterm Elections

Who Votes?• Income – people with higher incomes have a higher

tendency to vote.• Age – older people tend to vote more often than

younger people (less than half of eligible 18-24 year olds are registered to vote).

• Gender – Since 1980, women have a higher tendency to vote for Democrats than Republicans.

• Race – in general, whites tend to vote more regularly than African-Americans (this may be due to income and education rather than race).

Does Low Voter Turnout Matter?

• Is low voter turnout a problem in a democracy?

• Do we want the uninformed or poor and uneducated voting? Might they make bad decisions?

6. Reforming the Electoral Process

Some possibilities:• Abolition of the electoral college• The establishment of a permanent

congressional district scheme• The elimination of the elector system• Nomination process by lottery… New

Hampshire not always first• Restructuring campaign finance laws