Political Systems p. 3 ELECTIONS in the US
suffrage :: the right to vote
disenfranchisement :: take away voting rights
who can vote?
US citizens over at least 18 years of age who are not convicted felons or deemed mentally incompetent
there is nothing written in Art 1 of Constitution which limits voting rights
voting registration is handled by individual states, so it varies
election law is determined by states, Constitution doesn’t have any power
Primary Residence
where you will cast your vote and pay taxes
if you have more than one house, you might choose the place with lesser taxes
politicians move to match their political ideologies with their state’s leaning
you must prove you are a resident of a state to vote in any election
Proving Residence :: you can provide a drivers license, and if no DL, then you can provide bills addressed to your address
states that have restricted voting access :: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin
Motor voting :: passed in Clinton’s era 1993, when you get your DL, you can go to the DMV and register to vote as well, and DE has online registration for 10 years, no real fraud
purging the registration :: every so often the states purges all records to get rid of stagnant registration of felons and deceased people, but sometimes voters don’t know about purges until election day, and they are ineligible to vote in that election
how can you vote? :: early voting, absentee voting, mail-in voting, traditional poll voting
early voting :: starts in October in DE, until voting week, each county has a polling place during that weekend, is a good option because people are busy
absentee voting :: ask commission to give you an absentee ballot, must be requested, can be done from DE DoE site, good for college students or immobilized people or military
Mail-In voting :: given ballot at home, and you mail it in, different from absentee because it is the norm in some states
traditional poll :: walk in, prove identity, press buttons in booth
NOMINATION
convention nominating :: not used by any states anymore, major parties used to hold conventions in each state to have the party “boss” choose each state’s nomination
Caucus :: used by some states, traditional, public meetings, some people convince others to come to their candidate’s side
Primary :: most common method, calling a private vote, held on Tuesday, polling place close to where you live, assigned when you register, better for big states
Open primary :: once in the voting booth, any registered voter can mark their choices in one party’s section on a multiparty ballot
semi-open primary :: any registered voter must declare which party’s ballot they want before entering the voting booth
semi-closed primary :: registered party members vote using their party’s ballot, unaffiliated voters may participate by choosing one party’s ballot
closed primary :: registered party members may vote using their own party’s ballot, independents are not allowed to participate at all
open caucus :: any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, can participate in the caucus meeting
closed caucus :: registered voters can only participate if they are members of that party
democrat caucus :: any candidate’s group that doesn’t have at least 15% of the votes is disbanded, and those supporters are sent to other candidates, until 2 are left and 1 wins
republican caucus :: vote by secret ballot, but is different from primary because persuading is allowed
primary average participation :: 20%
mid term average participation :: 40%
general election average participation :: 60%
Electoral System Steps
in November, people come together and vote in presidential election, voting for a ticket of candidates for P and VP
outcome of the vote in each state determines a slate of electors who then, in turn, make the actual choice of P and VP. Each state has as many electors as sens and reps, country total is 538
in December, electors meet in their respective state capitols to cast their ballots for P and VP, states may or may not require their electors to be faithful, and may or may not use district method or winner-take-all
ballots opened and counted in January 6
if no candidate wins a majority or if top are tied then House of Reps takes over and each state’s delegation has a single vote, senate elects the VP.
why not popular vote :: the framers didn’t think the people were capable of making such a big decision as electing the president, so they entrusted it in the hands of electors and state legislatures in the beginning
suffrage :: the right to vote
disenfranchisement :: take away voting rights
who can vote?
US citizens over at least 18 years of age who are not convicted felons or deemed mentally incompetent
there is nothing written in Art 1 of Constitution which limits voting rights
voting registration is handled by individual states, so it varies
election law is determined by states, Constitution doesn’t have any power
Primary Residence
where you will cast your vote and pay taxes
if you have more than one house, you might choose the place with lesser taxes
politicians move to match their political ideologies with their state’s leaning
you must prove you are a resident of a state to vote in any election
Proving Residence :: you can provide a drivers license, and if no DL, then you can provide bills addressed to your address
states that have restricted voting access :: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin
Motor voting :: passed in Clinton’s era 1993, when you get your DL, you can go to the DMV and register to vote as well, and DE has online registration for 10 years, no real fraud
purging the registration :: every so often the states purges all records to get rid of stagnant registration of felons and deceased people, but sometimes voters don’t know about purges until election day, and they are ineligible to vote in that election
how can you vote? :: early voting, absentee voting, mail-in voting, traditional poll voting
early voting :: starts in October in DE, until voting week, each county has a polling place during that weekend, is a good option because people are busy
absentee voting :: ask commission to give you an absentee ballot, must be requested, can be done from DE DoE site, good for college students or immobilized people or military
Mail-In voting :: given ballot at home, and you mail it in, different from absentee because it is the norm in some states
traditional poll :: walk in, prove identity, press buttons in booth
NOMINATION
convention nominating :: not used by any states anymore, major parties used to hold conventions in each state to have the party “boss” choose each state’s nomination
Caucus :: used by some states, traditional, public meetings, some people convince others to come to their candidate’s side
Primary :: most common method, calling a private vote, held on Tuesday, polling place close to where you live, assigned when you register, better for big states
Open primary :: once in the voting booth, any registered voter can mark their choices in one party’s section on a multiparty ballot
semi-open primary :: any registered voter must declare which party’s ballot they want before entering the voting booth
semi-closed primary :: registered party members vote using their party’s ballot, unaffiliated voters may participate by choosing one party’s ballot
closed primary :: registered party members may vote using their own party’s ballot, independents are not allowed to participate at all
open caucus :: any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, can participate in the caucus meeting
closed caucus :: registered voters can only participate if they are members of that party
democrat caucus :: any candidate’s group that doesn’t have at least 15% of the votes is disbanded, and those supporters are sent to other candidates, until 2 are left and 1 wins
republican caucus :: vote by secret ballot, but is different from primary because persuading is allowed
primary average participation :: 20%
mid term average participation :: 40%
general election average participation :: 60%
Electoral System Steps
in November, people come together and vote in presidential election, voting for a ticket of candidates for P and VP
outcome of the vote in each state determines a slate of electors who then, in turn, make the actual choice of P and VP. Each state has as many electors as sens and reps, country total is 538
in December, electors meet in their respective state capitols to cast their ballots for P and VP, states may or may not require their electors to be faithful, and may or may not use district method or winner-take-all
ballots opened and counted in January 6
if no candidate wins a majority or if top are tied then House of Reps takes over and each state’s delegation has a single vote, senate elects the VP.
why not popular vote :: the framers didn’t think the people were capable of making such a big decision as electing the president, so they entrusted it in the hands of electors and state legislatures in the beginning
