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Nominations, Campaigns & Elections (Campaigns (10 components of a well…

- - - - Direct Mail
        
        Definition: The use of targeted mailings to prospective supporters, usually compiled from lists
        of those who have contributed to candidates and parties in the past
      - Mailing lists allow candidates to choose an issue and write directly to those who are most concerned about it
  - - - The bipartisan Federal Election Commission (FEC) was created to administer
        campaign finance laws and enforce compliance with their requirements
      - Provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections by
        establishing the Presidential Election Campaign Fund
      - Limits were established for presidential campaign spending
      - All candidates must file periodic financial disclosure reports with the FEC,
        listing who contributed funds and how the money was spent
      - It limited contributions, with individual contributions restricted to $1,000; the
        McCain-Feingold Act raised this limit to $2,000 as of 2004. PACs can give up
        to $5,000 per federal candidate per election
    - - Campaign spending reforms have made campaigns more open and
        honest.
      - Small donors are encouraged, and the rich are restricted in terms of the money
        they can give directly to a candidate.
      - All contribution and expenditure records are open, and FEC auditors try to make
        sure that the regulations are enforced.
    - - A 1979 amendment to the original FECA made it easier for political parties to
        raise money for voter registration drives and the distribution of campaign
        material at the grass roots level
        
        Created "Soft Money"
        
        Definition: Money raised by political parties for voter registration drives and the distribution
        of campaign material at the grass roots level, now banned at the national level
        
        The 2002
        McCain-Feingold Act finally banned soft money after years of complaints by
        public-minded observers
      - "527 groups"
        
        Definition: independent groups that seek to influence the political process but are not
        subject to contribution restrictions because they do not directly advocate the election of a
        particular candidate
        
        Current loophole of choice for supporting campaigns
        
        They do not directly endorse candidates, but
        make strong and obvious attacks on their opponents
- - - - Must be 25 years old
      - Citizen of the USA for 7 years
      - 435 members are elected
    - - the first transition of power between parties accomplished by voters' ballots in the history of the world
      - the first peaceful transfer of power in the world between parties via the election process
  - - - make/ratify legislation
        
        Referendum
        
        An election whereby voters are given the chance to approve or disapprove some legislation act or constitutional amendment
        
        American Election do not have the vast majority of eligible citizens cast ballots, even for local races
      - select party nominees
      - select office holders from among party nominees
  - - - the electoral vote in the 1800, there was a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr
    - - On silver money
        
        debtors liked silver
      - economics was widely fought over in the election
      - William McKinley won the election
      - William Jennings Bryan's 'cross of gold' speech
      - left a legacy of a political alignment that endured for several decades where in the Democrats won the South and the West, while the Republicans won in more populous Northeast and Midwest
      - Did not result in the Democrats becoming firmly entrenched as the majority party in the Northeast and Midwest
    - - Bush's lead over Gore in the initial count was less than one-tenth of a percent
        
        Florida law mandated an automatic recount
        
        the US supreme court ruled that although a recount was legal, the same standards for evaluating ballots would have to be applied in all counties
      - war on terrorism was a major reason voters selected Bush in 2004
  - - - a high sense of civic duty
        
        Civic duty voters
        
        Those largely indifferent to the results of an election, but who decide to vote anyways to show support for democratic government
      - high sense of political efficacy
        
        refers to the belief that the ordinary people can influence government
      - able to see policy differences that affect their interests
        
        Anthony Downs' Theory
        
        rational voting behavior predicts that people will vote if they think one party will give them more policy benefits than the other
    - - prevent corruption associated with stuffing ballot boxes
        
        made elections more ethical
- - - - 2,472 Republicans or 4,763 Democrats OR the Supreme power within each of the parties
        
        The convention meets every 4 years to nominate the party's presidential and VP candidates
        
        Conventions are but a formality today
    - - Definition: Meetings of state party leaders for selecting delegates to the national convention
      - Organized like a pyramid
        
        Local Precincts --> Congressional Districts --> State Convention
      - Only a couple of states use a caucus (Open to all voters who are registered within a party
        
        IOWA = the first and most important caucus
    - - Definition: Elections in which voters in a state vote for a nominee (or delegates pledged o the nominee)
        
        Primaries began at the turn of the 20th century by Progressive reformers
        
        After 1968, the McGovern-Fraser Commission led to selection of delegates through the primary elections
        
        Superdelegates are democratic leaders who automatically got a delegate slot (occurred after 1980)
      - Frontloading
        
        Definition: The tendency of states to hold primaries early to capitalize on media attention
        
        New Hampshire is the first state to hold its Primary
      - Typically primaries are Elimination contests
    - - Disproportionate attention to early ones
      - Prominent politicians do not run
      - Money plays too big a role
      - Participation in primaries and caucuses is low and unrepresentative (20% vote in primaries)
      - The system gives too much power to the media
      - STRENGTH: The process is more democratic
    - - National conventions once provided great drama, but now are a formality
      - Significant rallying points for parties
      - Key note speaker on the 1st day of the convention
      - Party Platform: Statement of a party's goals and policies for the next 4 years
        
        The platform is debated on the 2nd day of the convention
      - Formal nomination of the President and Vice-President candidates are announced on the 3rd and 4th days of the convention