The Electoral Process

The Nominating Process

• Process of candidate selection• the naming of those

who will seek office

• function of the political parties

• limits the choices voters can make in an election

Types of Nomination• Self-announcement

• oldest form• used by George Wallace in 1968 and Ross

Perot in 1992

• Caucus• private group of like minded people who

choose their candidate• Convention

• party members meet to select local candidates and select delegates to state convention who select state candidates and delegates to national convention

Types of Nomination• Direct Primary

• election held within the party to select candidate for general election

• State governments regulate and conduct primaries• Types

• Closed primary - only declared party members may vote• Open primary - any qualified voter may vote• Blanket primary - can vote for candidates of either party• Runoff primary - held if absolute majority is needed to win• Nonpartisan primary- elections in which candidates are not

identified by party• Presidential primary - voters elect some or all of the delegates to

the party’s national convention and/or make their preference of candidate known

Types of Nomination

• Petition• candidates are nominated by petitions signed

by a certain number of qualified voters

• found most often at local level

• method by which minor party and independents candidates get on the ballot in the various States.

Elections• Most election law is

State law• Federal election law

• Congressional elections• election of presidential

electors• require the use of secret

ballots • protect the right of all to

vote • prohibits various corrupt

practices and regulates the financing of campaigns for federal offices

Elections• Congress has set date for

national elections• November of every even-

numbered year

• Tuesday after the first Monday

• Coattail Effect

• Precinct• voting district

• State law regulates size

• Polling Place• where voters in precinct

actually vote

Ballots• Device by which a voter registers a choice in an

election• Australian Ballot

• printed at public expense• lists the names of all candidates to all offices• given out only at the polls, one to each voter• voted in secret

• Types• Office-Group Ballot• Party-Column Ballot• Sample Ballot• Long vs Short

Ballots• Voting Machines

• Invented by Thomas Edison

• Used in some form by all States

• Advantages• Do away with the need for manual vote counting

• reduce the number of persons needed to administer

• speed up the election process

• Electronic Vote Counting• punch cards or scan sheets

• Vote-by-Mail • pros -increases turnout and reduces costs• cons -open to fraud and not very secret

Money and the Election Process• Sources of Campaign

Funds• Private Givers

• Small contributors - only about 10%

• Wealthier givers • Candidates themselves• Political action

committee - special interest groups

• Temporary organizations - formed for campaigns

• fund-raising events, telethons, and direct mail campaigns

• Public Funds• from federal and State

treasuries

Regulating Campaign Finance• Laws

• Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) 1971

• FECA Amendments of 1974

• FECA Amendments of 1976

• Federal Election Commission• administers federal

campaign finance law• six members appointed by

the President and confirmed by the Senate

Disclosure Laws• no contributions in the name of another person• no contributions from foreign sources• no cash gifts of more than $100• all ads must carry the name of person groups

who paid for it• any contribution or loan of $200 or more• any expenditure of $200 or more• any contribution of $5000 or more must be

reported within 48 hrs.• any independent group spending more than

$250 must file with the FEC• labor unions and corporations may not

contribute but their PACs can

PACs• Political Action

Committee• gather contributions

from members• give contributions to

candidates that support policies favorable to the group

• no PAC may contribute more than $5000 to any one federal candidate

• independent PACs may spend an unlimited amount

Limits on Contributions

• No person can give more than $1000 to a federal candidate in a primary

• No person can give more than $1000 to a federal candidate in a general election

• No person can give more than $5000 to a PAC or $20,000 to a national party committee

• Any one persons contributions are limited to $25,000 in any one year

Limits on Expenditures• Federal law limits campaign spending for those

candidates that accept public funds• Provided for in the Revenue Act of 1971

• Preconvention period - to be eligible must raise $100,000 from individuals in $5000 lots in each of at least 20 States. Each lot built from donations of not more than $250.

• Convention - if major party asks it receives grant to pay for convention

• Presidential campaign - subsidy will cover cost of campaign but candidate can spend no more than subsidy and can not accept funds from any other source