Elections in the American Political System
- # Role of Elections
- ensure the persistence of democratic norms
- shape policy outcomes and control the behavior of politicians serving in office
- the process of seeking public approval to continue serving in office compels politicians to listen to their constituents and incorporate their interests into these broad party platforms
- # Campaign Trail Practice Theories
- ## [[Convergence Theory]]
- argues that candidates should focus on crafting their appeals to the hypothetical [[median voter]] who resides directly in the center of the ideological spectrum
- strong partisans on both sides of the aisle will almost always support the candidates who share their party identity.
- This strategy is useful for candidates in specific contexts, namely the [[general election]]
- ## [[Divergence Theory]]
- argues that candidates should cater to their committed supporters to sustain their presence on the campaign trail until the end of the election season
- Individuals with strong commitments to their respective [[political parties]] will be more likely to donate money to campaigns and turn out to vote in the election than voters without strong ties to a political party
- ensure high rates of voter turnout, and it also gives them the ability to garner financial support from their most fervent supporters
- useful in specific contexts, especially the [[primary elections]]
- Individuals who vote in primaries tend to hold more extreme ideological viewpoints and stronger party identities.
- # Electoral Institutions
- ## The Two-Party System
- the combination of single-member districts and plurality rule produces a [[two-party system]] in the United States
- most states contain [[single-member districts]], which means voters select one person to represent them in the [[House of Representatives]].
- these states primarily use [[plurality rule]] to determine the winner of a race, so the candidate who collects the most votes wins, regardless of whether or not they receive a clear majority of votes from the relevant population
- [[Duverger’s Law]] explains that the composition of the district as well as the method of selecting a victor on Election Day directly influences the number of political parties that will compete across election cycles
- ## State Election Laws
- the Constitution grants states the authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of elections
- state legislatures can redraw congressional district lines following the Census
- grants the ability to [[gerrymander]], or shift the allocation of seats in Congress in favor of the dominant political party
- control the implementation of technology and other logistical concerns throughout election season
- influences the perceived cost of voting
- convenience
- accessibility
- reduced wait time
- # Primary Elections
- In the past, primary nominees selected by party elites until the adoption of the [[direct primary]] granted the mass public the ability to choose a nominee from a slate of party candidates before the [[general election]]
- The logistics of primary elections vary across states, as states implement disparate rules regarding access to primary election
- may motivate specific political behaviors
- ## Open vs. Closed Primaries
- [[open primaries]] allow all registered voters to participate, regardless of their party affiliation.
- [[closed primaries]] require Democrats and Republicans to register prior to voting
- ## Semi-Open vs. Semi-Closed Primaries
- Many states select to hold their primaries in a semi-open or semi-closed manner in order to maximize turnout while minimizing strategic voting from the opposing side.
- [[Semi-closed primaries]] allow unaffiliated voters to vote in the major party primary of their choice, but they prevent registered partisans from voting in the opposing party’s primary
- [[Semi-open primaries]] also allow unaffiliated voters to participate in the primary of their choice, but they do not require the voters to declare an affiliation prior to voting.
- ## Frontloading
- States compete for national attention by attempting to [[frontload]] their primaries, meaning they vie for a spot early in the year
- States that hold primaries earlier in the year see higher levels of turnout and increased interest among registered voters
- # The Evolution of Campaign Finance Laws
- As the country transitioned from an agrarian society to a nation centered around various industries, campaigns became more sophisticated.
- Legislation surrounding campaign finance aimed to create institutions that constrained the behavior of politicians, parties, corporations, and even individuals in order to improve the transparency of the electoral process.
- There have been two major campaign finance periods:
- ## Pre-Citizens United Decision (1907-2010)
- ### Campaign Finance Legislation (1907-1925)
- The [[Tillman Act]] of 1907 stated that banks and corporations could not contribute to campaigns.
- The **[[Federal Corrupt Practices Act]]** of 1911, later amended in 1925, built upon the Tillman Act and served as the first law that offered disclosure requirements for campaign donations.
- ### Campaign Finance Legislation (1939-1971)
- In response to opposition of the aforementioned regulations, Congress passed the **[[Hatch Act]]** of 1939 to claim their authority in regulating elections and campaign contributions
- The **[[Taft-Hartley Act]]** of 1947 prevented unions from contributing to elections as well with strict regulations
- The [[Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA)]] of 1971 continued the practice of filing disclosure reports, as it required campaigns to submit these reports every quarter
- established [[political action committees]]
- placed limits on individual contributions to campaigns, as well as limits on the amount of money politicians themselves could spend on their campaigns
- ### [[Buckley v. Valeo]] (1975)
- affirmed spending as a form of speech under the [[First Amendment]] in the Bill of Rights, and it outlawed campaign limits for candidates
- allowed the limitations on individual contributions to continue, echoing popular sentiment that allowing unlimited contributions from individuals would undermine democratic norms in elections
- ### [[Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act]] (2002)
- contained various components designed to curtail the undue influence of money in election and to improve transparency and reduce corruption in elections
- also known as the[[ McCain-Feingold Act]]
- distinguished between hard money and soft money
- [[Hard money]] refers to campaign contributions directed at a candidate
- [[soft money]] functions as general contributions to a political party to assist general activities like voter mobilization efforts
- outlawed soft money
- placed limits on [[electioneering communications]]
- outlawed ads directly related to a candidate from popular media within 60 days of the general election or 30 days prior to a primary
- aimed to curb the influence of negative ads run close to the election in an effort to encourage individual thinking and evaluation of issues
- ## Post Citizen United Decision (2010-Present)
- ### Citizens v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
- denounced BCRA’s limits on electioneering communications, claiming it violated the First Amendment
- ruled that the costs of limiting speech outweighed the benefits of limiting corporate donations
- corporations can now spend unlimited sums of money on political campaigns as long as they do not coordinate with the candidates in a formal or official manner
- contrary to previous decisions which affirmed the government’s right to limit corporate donations in an effort to reduce corruption
- ### Super PACs
- Corporations can form [[Super PACs]], which are designated “independent expenditure-only political action committees” that can spend unlimited sums of money on campaigns provided they do not coordinate with a candidate.
- opponents view Super PACs as an assault on the average voter’s freedom of speech and argue that candidates may feel compelled to address the interests of these institutions over those of their constituents who do cannot donate large sums of money to their reelection campaigns
- [[McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission]] (2014) outlawed the aggregate spending limit portion of the BCRA which places a cap on individual donations to parties, candidates, and political action committees in a two-year election cycle
- argued the costs of limiting speech outweighed the benefits of reducing the power of the wealthy in elections
- # Campaign Strategies
- candidates must decide how to spend the contributions they receive in order to maximize their percentage of the vote share
- may hire campaign consultants
- help to craft successful appeals to their respective constituents and members of their respective political parties
- must pursue a successful rhetorical strategy and develop advertisements to promote their name and policy agenda prior to Election Day
- must incorporate new technology in order to use their resources in an efficient manner.
- ## Rhetoric and Advertising
- Effective campaigns highlight the candidate’s issue positions and their personality traits in a positive light, while they expose their opponent’s issue positions and background in a negative light
- Advertising their message on television, social media, podcasts, and other popular sources of news allows candidates to remain relevant in the minds of the voters
- Despite the public’s disapproval of negative advertising, both parties usually promote negative ads throughout the campaign
- A Prisoner’s Dilemma scenario emerges, as both sides do not coordinate with one another, which results in both sides running negative ads to ward off attacks from their opponents
- positive ads may be popular in the public, but negative ads ultimately function as the more effective option as negative information lasts longer in an individual’s short-term memory than positive information
- about five positive considerations must exist in order to outweigh the effects of one negative consideration
- ## Technology
- Electronic media, including social media management, can maximize the viewership of their campaign messages by promoting them across social media platforms and other electronic media
- a consistently poised image across social media and television increases the appeal of a candidate to voters across demographic groups
- candidates also should practice traditional methods of outreach to maximize their appeal
- door-to-door methods of campaigning remain a successful strategy candidates can use to target voters from specific groups and their general constituencies.