How Elections Work

How Elections Work?

• Elections are essential because it's impractical for every U.S. citizen to vote on every issue.
• Elections enable citizens to elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf, embodying republicanism and popular sovereignty.
• The Constitution sets guidelines for elections, including qualifications for federal office and the number of representatives and senators.
• Federalism allows states to manage election implementation, but Congress can enact laws to change state practices.
• Election rules are determined by state laws, legal decisions, federal laws, and local administrative practices.

Types of Elections

• Election types vary based on the election cycle phase, participant eligibility, and whether it is a presidential election year.
• Caucus: Meetings where local party members discuss and vote on candidates, then send delegates to support the candidate at a county or state convention.
• Primary elections: Determine a political party's nominee for the general election.
• General election: Voters decide who will hold office from the candidates nominated by parties in the primary elections.

General Elections

• General elections have two types.
• Presidential elections occur every four years.
• Congressional, state, and local elections happen every two years. All House members are up for reelection every two years.
• Mid-term elections occur in cycles without a presidential election (e.g., 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014).

Constitutional Requirements

• Articles I and II of the Constitution specify eligibility rules for election to Congress or the presidency, including minimum age, residency, and citizenship.
• States and local governments establish their own requirements for offices like governor, city council, and mayor, which vary by state.

Primaries and Caucuses

• Multiple candidates from each party usually compete for the presidential nomination.
• Parties hold caucuses or primary elections in each state to select the best candidate to represent the party.
• Open Primaries: Voters can participate in either the Democratic or Republican primary, regardless of party affiliation.
• Closed Primaries: Voters can only participate in the primary for the party they are registered with.
• Semi-closed Primaries: Allow unaffiliated voters to participate in a party primary.
• Open primaries are thought to encourage voter participation and greater turnout, while critics argue they can lead to party-crashing.
• Party-crashing: When voters from one party vote in another party's primary to influence candidate selection, typically voting for a candidate unlikely to win the general election.

National Convention

• U.S. presidential primaries and caucuses operate similarly to the Electoral College, where voters choose delegates rather than directly voting for candidates.
• Delegates represent voters at the party's nominating convention or national convention.
• Some states use a "winner-take-all" system to allocate delegates, while others allocate delegates based on the percentage of the popular vote.
• Each state has automatic delegates, called superdelegates in the Democratic Party, who include elected officials, notable party members, and members of the Democratic National Committee; these delegates can support any candidate.
• The Republican Party allots three additional delegates to each state, who initially could support any candidate, but since 2012, they must support candidates based on the voters' will in their respective states.
• At the national convention, party delegates select the final presidential nominee, who then chooses a Vice Presidential candidate or running mate.

General Election

• In general elections, voters choose between candidates selected in primary elections and national conventions.
• In congressional and most state legislature elections, the candidate with the most votes wins.
• Counties and local governments have their own policies for determining the winner, which vary by state.
• The Electoral College determines the winner of the presidential election.

Electoral College

• Each state receives electoral votes based on its representation in Congress: one for each member in the House of Representatives and one for each Senator.
• The total number of electoral votes is currently set at 538 by federal law.
• A presidential candidate needs a majority of 270 electoral votes to win.
• Most states use a "winner-take-all" system, awarding all electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state, except Maine and Nebraska.
• Maine and Nebraska use a "district system," where electors vote based on the popular vote in their district, with two additional votes based on the state's popular vote.

Concerns Regarding the Electoral College

• In 5 out of 49 presidential elections between 1824 and 2016, the popular vote winner did not win a majority of electoral votes, leading to controversy.
• The framers of the Constitution avoided letting Congress or state legislatures choose the President to maintain separation of powers.
• They also avoided direct popular vote due to concerns that people would not be informed about candidates from outside their state and would favor local candidates.
• The Electoral College was intended to balance power between smaller and larger states.

Electoral College: Historical Context

• The Constitution initially allowed states to decide how electors were selected.
• Each elector cast two votes for different candidates; the candidate with the most votes became President, and the runner-up became Vice President.
• The Twelfth Amendment changed this due to the rise of political parties, providing separate runs for President and Vice President.
• The amendment also outlined how a winner would be chosen if no one received a majority of electoral votes.

Influences on Voters

• Several factors influence voter choice, including incumbency advantage, the coattail effect, and the reverse-coattail effect.
• Incumbents often have advantages such as media attention, name recognition, control over government, and campaign experience.
• Incumbency effect: the higher likelihood of an incumbent winning reelection.
• Differences in voter behavior are evident between presidential and mid-term election cycles.
• Coattail effect: During a presidential election year, a popular presidential candidate can help other candidates from the same party win lower-level offices.
• Reverse-coattail effect: In mid-term elections, if people are unhappy with the president, they may blame the president's party, affecting their votes.
• Incumbency advantage, the coattail effect, and the reverse-coattail effect also apply to state and local elections.
• Example: The success or failure of a gubernatorial candidate can affect elections for state legislatures, county commissions, or mayoral seats.
• In 2008, Barack Obama's election led to the Democratic Party gaining 21 seats in the House of Representatives due to the coattail effect. In the 2010 mid-term election, the Republican Party retook control of the House due to the reverse-coattail effect.

Congressional Elections

• The framers considered Congress the most important part of the national government because it is closely tied to the people.
• In every mid-term election, all House seats and one-third of the Senate seats are up for potential replacement.
• Voter turnout is consistently lower in mid-term elections than in general elections due to incumbency and media coverage.
• Members of Congress do not face term limits, unlike the president.
• Presidential elections receive more media coverage because there are fewer people to cover, making them more exciting to media audiences.
• Representatives pass new laws, and voters can hold them accountable by participating in elections.
• Congressional elections can affect presidential elections as seen when Republicans retook Congress in 2014, foreshadowing the 2016 election results.