Campaigns and Elections

ballot initiative campaigns

Where voters decide to support or oppose specific policy changes

interest group

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy

constituency

the people and interests that an elected official represents, or the group of the electorate an interest group claims to represent

Negative Partisanship

loyalty to a party driven by hatred of the other party

role of party in government

parties run national government, influence election outcomes

coordinated expenditures

Money that political parties spend to help cover a candidate's campaign costs in a federal election. Such expenditures are limited by law.

role of party as organization

recruit and fundraise for candidates, mobilize voters

role of party in electorate

volunteer base, straight ticket voting

ordinary citizens who identify with the party

party in government

all of the elected and appointed officials who shape party policy

contrast advertisements

advertisements in which supporters of a candidate seek to favorably compare their candidate's record and positions to their opponents' record and positions

open seat race

An election in which an incumbent is not running.

retrospective voting

voters look backward at how things are going and vote on the incumbent accordingly

persuadable voters

Voters open to changing their political preferences.

vote targets

Estimates of how many votes a candidate will need to win the election

Campaign Strategy

a candidate's planned pathway to victory

electioneering communication

larger scale than public communication; refers specifically to a candidate and made within 60 days of a presidential and 30 days of a primary election

501(c)4 group

social welfare organization that can devote to more that 50% of its funds to politics; sometimes referred to as "dark money" groups because they don't have to disclose donors - dedicated to promote social welfare

clean elections system

A system of campaign finance whereby candidates who raise a minimum amount of private donations qualify for public funding from the government; once candidates accept public funding, they cannot spend any more money raised from private donors

Buckley v. Valeo

Case that said candidates can use as much of their own money on their own campaigns.

527 organizations

Organizations that, under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, raise and spend money to advance political causes

independent expenditure committees

Political action committees that can raise unlimited donations from various sources and then spend money to advocate for or against candidates

magic words

words that make an advertisement subject to campaign finance laws and regulations

Super PACs

political action committees established to make independent expenditures

Citizens United v. FEC

A 2010 decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that independent expenditures are free speech protected by the 1st Amendment and so cannot be limited by federal law. Leads to creation of SuperPACs & massive rise in amount of third party electioneering

issue advocacy

arguments for positions on a particular issue

Express Advocacy

directly states support for one candidate

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)

a law that limits hard-money contributions during each election cycle for individuals and PACs

Federal Election Commission (FEC)

a bipartisan body charged with administering campaign finance laws.

Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)

Passed in 1971, this is the primary law that regulates political campaign spending and fundraising. The law originally focused on increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns.

Political Action Committees (PACs)

Groups that raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to candidates that the group supports. PACs must register with the FEC and report their donations and contributions to it.

Tillman Act

1907 law banning corporate contributions to political campaigns

soft money

Campaign contributions unregulated by federal or state law, usually given to parties and party committees to help fund general party activities.

hard money

Political contributions given to a party, candidate, or interest group that are limited in amount and fully disclosed.

delegates

representatives at convention

battleground states

The key states that the presidential campaigns focus on because they are most likely to decide the outcome of the Electoral College vote.

strategic voting

voting for your most preferred candidate who has a realistic chance of winning

majority-minority districts

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Single-member districts

An electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official.

absentee voting

The casting of a ballot in advance by mail in situations where illness, travel, or other circumstances prevent voters from voting in their precinct.

early voting

the option in some states to cast a vote before the election

automatic voter registration

People are automatically registered to vote when they interact with any government agency.

agenda setting

the ability to manipulate outcomes by constraining political choices

Free choice

citizens have a choice between at least two candidates

representative democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives, or leaders, to make decisions about the laws for all the people.

active recruitment

chairs recruiting candidates to fill the ballot

passive recruiting

chairs not actively recruiting candidates

Candidate centered parties

parties are centered around candidates, primary elections to decide them

Political Machines

Corrupt organized groups that controlled political parties in the cities. A boss leads the machine and attempts to grab more votes for his party.

median voter theorem

most voters lie somewhere in the middle of the spectrum

main options for candidates

choose positions that appeal to median voter, persuade voters to your POV, highlight positions that put you in a favorable light

issue ownership

the tendency of one party to be seen as more competent in a specific policy area

Invisible Primary

The period before any votes are cast when candidates compete to win early support from the elite of the party

Nascent political ambition

considering running for office

Expressive Ambition

actually choosing to run for office

proportional representation

An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote.

Bourda Count

unique form of proportional representation. Order of merit, positional voting, points depending on rank

Roll off Effect

as people get further down the ballot, they don't know the candidates

Roll Call vote at convention

official vote in which party's candidate is selected

Front loading

states want earlier primaries/caucuses to gain more power

Unpledged/unbound delegates

free agents not bound by state vote

semi-closed primary

A primary where anyone who is a registered member of the party or registered as an Independent can vote.

Closed primary

a primary election in which voters must be registered with the party in order to vote in that party's primary

Open primary

A primary election in which voters may choose in which party to vote as they enter the polling place

Primary elections

elections held to select a party's candidate for the general election

Caucus

A meeting of local party members to choose party officials or candidates for public office and to decide the platform.

Duverger's Law

The principle that in a democracy with single-member districts and plurality voting, like the United States, only two parties' candidates will have a realistic chance of winning political office.

Majority Rule

candidate must get the majority of the vote, often leads to runoff

Plurality Rule

a type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets the most votes in an election, but not necessarily a majority of the votes cast

Shaw v. Reno

NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.

Gray v Sanders

Supreme Court case that invalidated the County Unit System

Baker v Carr

case that est. one man one vote. this decision created guidelines for drawing up congresional districts and guaranteed a more equitable system of representation to the citizens of each state

Malaportionment

drawing the boundaries of legislative districts so that they are unequal in population

Redistricting

Redrawing districts

Reapportionment

the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census

permanent campaign

elected officials are always focused on getting reelected, rather than governance

Voting Rights Act of 1965

disallowed all discriminatory election measures

Democratic values of elections

Free choice, political equality, deliberation, freedom of speech

Democratic Backsliding

A decline in the quality of democracy, leaders constrain democracy to keep their power

partisanship in elections

areas that vote for a candidate of one party likely to vote for that party in other races

Tasks of Presidential campaign

secure party nomination, win electoral college

convenience voting

Flexible opportunities to vote besides traditional in-person voting at the polls on Election Day- has not proven to have significant increase to voter turnout

Four pillars of Election Analysis

Rules, Realities, Strategies, Choices