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Lesson 5A Elections

• Who Can Run? 

  • Requirements

    1. House of representatives: Must be 25 years old, been a U.S. citizen for 7 years, and has to live in the state they represent

    2. Senate: must be 30 years old, lived in the U.S. for 9 years, and has to live in the state they represent 

    3. President: Must be a natural born citizen of the United States, has to be 35 years old, and has to be a resident of the unites states for 14 years

• Incumbent is a current office holder who is running for re-election

• Non-incumbent a candidate who is not currently holding the office they are running for. 

• Primaries & Caucuses

  • Iowa Caucus The first major electoral event in the presidential primary season, where voters gather to select delegates for the national convention.

• Delegates Individuals chosen to represent their state at the national convention and vote on behalf of their state's voters.

• National Conventions Events where political parties officially nominate their candidates for president and vice president.

• General Election The final election where voters choose between the candidates nominated by the parties.

• Census Conducted every 10 years to count the population, which affects the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives and the distribution of federal funds.

• The Electoral College A group of electors who formally elect the president and vice president. Each state has a number of electors equal to its total number of senators and representatives.

• Battleground/Swing States States where the vote could go either way in a presidential election, making them crucial for candidates to win

• Inauguration The ceremony where the newly elected president is sworn into office, typically held on January 20th following the election.

Lesson 5B Campaign Finance

• FEC The agency responsible for enforcing campaign finance laws in the U.S.

• Campaign Finance 

• Dark money  Political spending by organizations that are not required to disclose their donors.

  • Montana A state that has been involved in legal battles over campaign finance laws.

  • Citizens United v. FEC A landmark Supreme Court case that allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns.

  • 501 (c) 4 A type of nonprofit organization that can engage in political activities without disclosing donors.

• PACs v. Super PACs  (pac) Organizations that raise and spend money to elect or defeat candidates. They have contribution limits. (super pac) Organizations that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money but cannot directly coordinate with candidates or parties.

• Grassroot campaign A campaign strategy that focuses on mobilizing local support and volunteers rather than relying on large donations.

Lesson 5C Voter Turnout

• Voter Turnout (Definition)

  • Gender Women tend to vote at higher rates than men.

  • Age : Older voters typically have higher turnout rates than younger voters.

  • Education Individuals with higher levels of education are more likely to vote.

  • Race Voter turnout varies among different racial and ethnic groups.

  • Wealth Wealthier individuals are more likely to vote than those with lower incomes.

• Popular Vote The total number of votes cast by the public in an election, as opposed to the Electoral College vote.

• Electoral College The system used to elect the president, where each state has a certain number of electors based on its population.

• House Reapportionment The process of redistributing seats in the House of Representatives based on population changes from the census.

• Redistricting The process of redrawing electoral district boundaries.

  • Gerrymandering Manipulating district boundaries to favor one party over another.

    • Cracking Splitting a group of voters with similar characteristics into multiple districts to dilute their voting power.

Packing Concentrating a group of voters with similar characteristics into a single district to reduce their influence in other districts.