chapter 9: government in america

choosing a candidate

1. assessing their chances

2. entering the race

3. primaries and caucuses

4. national nominating conventions

Invisible Primary

• money primary (focused on fundraising)

• time when elites attempt to/do exert their influence over candidate section

primaries and caucuses

• candidates don’t have to run in every state all at once

• allows politicians to engage in retail politics — direct interaction with voters

• provides momentum: more media, more donors

national nominating conventions

party currently in office goes last

• nominate candidate

• create platform

other goals in national nominating conventions for the out-party

what is wrong and why change is needed

other goals in national nominating conventions for the in-party

highlight success and plan for continuation

how many electoral votes

535

how are electors determined

by number of House and Senate seats, chosen by each state

electoral college winner-take-all

• 48 states

• winner gets all electoral votes

how many electoral votes do you need to win

270 electoral votes

malapportionment

poor distribution of electoral votes

gerrymandering

parties can draw to favor themselves/disadvantage opponent

house districts must be drawn so:

• roughly same number of people

• contiguous and respect communities

• they do not dilute the power of minorities

incumbency advantage

the person who currently holds office and is running for reelection tend to win whenever they run

strategic retirement

many incumbents who are destined to lose just choose not to run

direct effects

electoral effects of resources available to the incumbent just because he.she holds office

selection effects

electoral effects that occur indirectly via candidate deterrence

Federal Election Campaign Act (1974)

• must disclose who contributed and how money was spent

• limits on individual and interest group contributions

• regulations on PACs

• created the Federal Election Commission

soft money

individuals gave to party → party gave to candidate

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

banned soft money and banned corporations & unions from spending own money on campaigns

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)

ruled that spending by corporations & unions is protected speech, followed by a rise of independent expenditures

independent expenditures

money that is met without coordinating with the campaign

the voting calculus

P*B + D > C

P*B + D > C

P = probability vote matters

B = benefit of your candidate winning

D = duty or benefits derived from the act of voting

C = cost, related to ability and opportunity

individual factors affecting ability and opportunity

1. education

2. age

3. race/ethnicity

4. income

5. marital status

6. government employment

institutional factors affecting ability and opportunity

1. electoral competition

2. electoral rules

partianship

party overwhelmingly decides the way that people vote

partisanship model

The Michigan model of voting

retrospective

looking backwards in time

prospective

looking ahead in time

pocketbook voting

thinking about your own personal finances

sociotropic voting

thinking about the economy in general

which type of economic voting more common?

sociotropic voting

proximity voting

voters are going to vote for the candidate closest to them in the policy space between extremely liberal and extremely conservative

requirements for proximity voting

• clear sense of your own preferences

• knowledge of where candidates stand

• clear differences between the candidates

• voting for the candidate closest to your own preference