AP Gov Elections, Campaigns, and Voting Test

forms of political participation

voting, volunteering, and running for office

examples of grassroots organizing

organizing campaign events, fundraisers, rallies, neighborhood leafleting, campaigning online, and GOTV drives

order of the election season

invisible primary → primaries/caucuses → candidate nomination → general election

factors in general election competitiveness

the presence of/strength of incumbency, the degree of party competition, and the level of the office

voting eligibility in primary elections

varies state-by-state

role of the delegate in the party nomination process

locally selected delegates decide who will receive the nomination

1968 democratic convention

anti-vietnam war activists protested herbert humphrey’s nomination outside the 1968 democratic national convention because humphreys did not win any primaries but was favored among the convention’s delegates (led to considerable primary reforms that increased voter influence)

caucuses

a meeting of party members held to select delegates to the national convention

open primaries

a type of primary in which both parties’ ballots are available in the voting booth, and the voters simply select one on which to register their preferences

closed primaries

a type of primary in which voting a primary’s party is limited to members of that party

timing of primary elections

determined by the states (sometime march-august)

super tuesday

the tuesday in early march on which the most primary elections are held, many of them in southern states

november

month of most general elections

day of the presidential election

tuesday after the first monday in november

votes needed to win a presidential election

who receives the most votes, even if it is not a majority

run-off elections

a follow-up election that is held when no candidate receives the majority of votes cast in the original election

referendum

an election in which voters in a state can vote for or against a measure proposed by the state legislature

initiatives

a citizen-sponsored proposal that can result in new or amended legislation or a state constitutional amendment

proposition

a proposed measure placed on the ballot in an initiative selection

recall

a special election in which voters can remove an officeholder before their term is over

balloting in the U.S.

the U.S. uses the australian ballot—a secret ballot prepared, distributed, collected, and counted by the government in an unbiased fashion

florida in 2000

the deciding state of the election, containing thousands of ballots that needed to be counted by hand

party-column ballots

ballots that organize candidates by party, which increases voters’ tendency to vote along party lines

office-block ballots

ballots that organize candidates by office, which increases voters’ tendency to split their tickets

oregon

first state to institute statewide vote by mail, which increased voter turnout

most accommodating region of the country for voters

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vote-by-mail criticism

voting before the end of the campaign, more potential for voter fraud, undermines feelings of civic engagement

motivations to run for office

sense of civic responsibility, sense of party loyalty, interest in increasing the candidate’s name recognition and stature in the community, and personal goals

age limit for president

at least 35 years old

requirements to be a vice president

must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and not a resident of the same state is the candidate for president with whom they will serve

formal eligibility for elected office

citizenship, age, and residency

informal qualifications for federal office

depends on the office—the higher and more prestigious the political office, the greater the informal eligibility requirements are (often includes college degree, professional experience, and strong communication skills)

roles in a political campaign

campaign consultant, campaign manager, fundraising consultant, media consultant

teapot dome scandal

in 1921, president warren harding transferred oil reserves at the teapot dome, wyoming, from the department of the navy to the department of the interior. the following year, harding’s secretary of the interior leased the oil fields without bidding because the leasee “loaned” him $100,000 to try to gain political influence (led to congressional efforts to limit the influence of money on politics)

political activities act

also known as the hatch act—banned partisan political activities by all federal government employees except the president, vice president, and senate-confirmed political appointees

federal election campaign act

a law that placed considerable limitations on both campaign expenditures and campaign contributions, and provided a voluntary tax return check-off for qualified presidential candidates

buckley v. valeo

the supreme court ruled that placing limitations on the amount an individual candidate could spend on their campaign violated first amendment protections of free speech

PACs

political action committees that use contributions from individual, corporations, and labor unions to spend unlimited sums independent from the campaigns, yet influencing the outcome of elections

soft money

unregulated political donations for the “general party” not a particular candidate

mccain-feingold act

banned nearly all soft money contributions

federal election commission v. wisconson right to life, inc.

ruled that advertising within the 30-60 day window before an election could not be prohibited

2016: individual candidate contributions

$2,700 donation maximum to each candidate or candidate committee per election

2016: national party candidate contributions

$5,000 donation maximum to each candidate or candidate committee per election

2016: PAC limits to national party committees

PAC (multi-candidate): $15,000 donation maximum to national party committee per calendar year

PAC (not multi-candidate): $33,400 donation maximum to national party committee per calendar year

501(c)4s

nonprofit organizations operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, including lobbying or engaging in political campaigning

527s

a tax-exempt group that raises money for political activities, much like those allowed under the soft money loophole

citizen united v. federal election commission

ruled that corporations and labor unions are entitled to the same first amendment protections that individuals enjoy, resulting in drastically increased spending through super PACs by corps and labor organizations

super PACs

political organizations that use contributions from individuals, corporations, and labor unions to spend unlimited sums independent from campaigns, yet influencing the outcome of elections

the electoral college

270 electors needed to win, 538 electors total (california has the most electors)

factors in voter participation

education level (number one predictor), age, race, ethnicity, income, and party competitiveness

age and voting in the united states

young adults are less likely to vote than americans who are middle-aged and older, although that figure has increased in recent years

voter turnout in the 2012 presidential election

as americans age, they are more likely to vote

prospective judgement

a method of voting in which voters focus on candidate’s positions on issues important to them and vote for the candidate who best represents their views

retrospective judgement

a method of evaluating candidates in which voters evaluate incumbent candidates and decide whether to support them based on their past performance

most important factor in how a person will vote

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salient issues

in relation to a voting issue—having resonance, being significant, causing intense interest

political campaigns in recent years

increasingly expensive and negative

length of presidential campaigns in the united states

more than a year, often three or four years

theories of voting

rational abstention thesis (costs of voting not worth benefits)