Election Basics
What is an election?
A formal process where citizens choose, or elect, their leaders.
Check it: SV p. 136
Success criteria: Accurately explain what an election is, the phases of an election, and the three different types of elections.
Name the four requirements to vote in U.S. Elections.
Be a U.S. citizen, be at least 18 on Election Day, be registered by the deadline, and meet your state’s residency rules.
Check it: SV p. 137
Day 1 success criterion: Correctly identify the qualifications for voting in the U.S. and the additional requirements in Louisiana.
What is the purpose of a Primary or Caucus?
To choose the candidate they want to run in the general election.
Pg. 141
How many electoral votes does a candidate need to become President?
270.
That is more than half of all electoral votes. The President is chosen by the Electoral College, not the national popular vote.
Check it: SV p. 145
Day 2 success criterion: Accurately explain how the popular vote and the Electoral College decide who becomes President.
What is the purpose of redistricting?
To redraw district lines so they match changes in population.
Check it: SV pp. 148–149
Day 3 success criterion: Accurately explain the purpose of redistricting and two ways it affects statewide and national elections.
What is gerrymandering?
Drawing district lines to give one party an unfair advantage.
Check it: SV pp. 168–169
Day 3 success criterion: Accurately explain how gerrymandering and at-large voting each challenge the election process, and how the Supreme Court has responded.
What is voter turnout? Which age group votes the least?
Voter turnout is the number of people who vote in an election. Ages 18–25 vote the least.
People over 65 vote the most. Experts use turnout to measure the health of our democracy.
Check it: SV pp. 160–161
Day 4 success criterion: Correctly explain issues and challenges associated with voter turnout.
Name the three types of elections. Which two are the phases most elections go through?
Primary, general, and special elections. Most elections have two phases: first the primary, then the general election.
Check it: SV p.136
Success Criteria: Accurately explain what an election is, the phases of an election, and the three different types of elections.
Louisiana adds its own voting requirements. Name two.
Any two: live in the parish where you are registered; register 30 days before Election Day in person or by mail (3 weeks online); you cannot vote while in prison for a felony or election fraud.
Louisianans can register at 16, but they cannot vote until 18.
Check it: SV p. 137
Day 1 success criterion: Correctly identify the qualifications for voting in the U.S. and the additional requirements in Louisiana.
How are primaries and caucuses different?
In a primary, you just cast a ballot. In a caucus, people give speeches first, then vote or split into groups.
Check it: SV pp. 141–142
Day 2 success criterion: Correctly compare primaries and caucuses, including the three types and Louisiana’s presidential preference primary.
How does a state get its number of electors?
One elector for each member of Congress: 2 senators plus its House members.
Check it: SV pp. 145, 147
Day 2 success criterion: Accurately explain how the popular vote and the Electoral College decide who becomes President.
How often does Redistricting take place?
It happens after the census, every 10 years.
Check it: SV pp. 148–149
Day 3 success criterion: Accurately explain the purpose of redistricting and two ways it affects statewide and national elections.
Which kind of Gerrymandering is legal, and which kind is illegal?
Partisan gerrymandering (by party) is legal. Racial gerrymandering (by race) is illegal.
Racial gerrymandering breaks the 14th and 15th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Check it: SV pp. 168–169
Day 3 success criterion: Accurately explain how gerrymandering and at-large voting each challenge the election process, and how the Supreme Court has responded.
Name one internal obstacle and one external obstacle to voting.
Internal: voter apathy (thinking your vote won’t matter) or voter fatigue (too many elections). External: convenience and access, like Election Day falling on a Tuesday or not having a ride.
Some say voter ID laws also make access harder for some voters.
Check it: SV pp. 161–163
Day 4 success criterion: Correctly explain issues and challenges associated with voter turnout.
In general, how does a candidate win an election?
By getting the most votes. This is called a plurality.
A plurality is the most votes, even if it is less than half.
Check it: SV p. 137
Day 1 success criterion: Correctly describe, in general, how a candidate wins an election.
Name the three requirements to run for President.
At least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen, and lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
The Founders wanted a President who was mature and loyal to the United States.
Check it: SV p. 138
Day 1 success criterion: Correctly identify the qualifications to run for President.
Name the three types of primaries and caucuses.
Open Closed Semi-closed
Check it: SV p. 141 (chart)
Day 2 success criterion: Correctly compare primaries and caucuses, including the three types and Louisiana’s presidential preference primary.
How does a state’s popular vote decide where its electoral votes go?
In 48 states, the candidate with the most votes in that state wins ALL of the state’s electoral votes.
Maine and Nebraska are different. They split their votes by congressional district.
Check it: SV p. 147
Day 2 success criterion: Accurately explain how the popular vote and the Electoral College decide who becomes President.
Redistricting affects statewide and national elections. Name two ways.
It can break up communities of interest, so their needs are not represented. It can change the mix of voters in a district, which changes which party wins.
When more members of one party win, it changes what state and federal governments focus on.
Check it: SV p. 149
Day 3 success criterion: Accurately explain the purpose of redistricting and two ways it affects statewide and national elections.
What two states Gerrymandered districts did we look at class?
North Carolina (Shaw v. Reno)
Tennessee (Baker v. Carr)
Check it: SV p. 170; Day 4 source and SV p. 168; Day 5 source
What is the difference between a public hearing and a public forum?
A public hearing is a government meeting where people learn about and speak on a proposed policy. A public forum is an event where candidates share their views on issues.
Check it: SV p. 157
Day 5 success criterion: Accurately explain the role of public hearings and forums.
Which level of government has the main power to regulate elections? Who can change those rules?
The states. Congress can change the rules.
Article I, Section 4, lets states decide things like when and where elections are held.
Check it: SV p. 136
Day 1 objective: I can explain the election process in the United States.
How old must you be to run for the U.S. House? The U.S. Senate? How long must you be a citizen for each?
House: 25 years old, a citizen for 7 years. Senate: 30 years old, a citizen for 9 years.
Both must live in the state they represent. The Founders wanted senators to have more experience.
Check it: SV pp. 150–151
Day 6 objective: I can explain the qualifications and terms for Congress at the federal and state level.
Who can vote in each type of Primary or Caucuses?
-This allows voters to cast ballots across party lines.
Closed: -Voters must be registered party members to vote in that party's primary or caucus. -They are limited to voting for candidates from their own political party.
Semi-closed: -Political parties may decide if independent voters can participate in their primary or caucus before the election cycle begins.
Pg. 141 Chart at bottom
Semi-closed
“A small number of persons, selected by their fellow-citizens from the general mass, will be most likely to possess the information and discernment requisite to such complicated investigations.”
— Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 68 (1788)
Why did Hamilton want electors, not voters, to directly choose the President? Does his idea support or limit consent of the governed?
Hamilton thought a small group of electors would have better information and judgment than most people, so they would choose a good President.
Limits: the people do not choose the President directly. In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote but lost. Supports: citizens still choose the electors.
Check it: SV pp. 145, 148; Day 2 Federalist No. 68 source
Day 2 success criterion: Explain how one step in the process supports or limits consent of the governed, using evidence from the text.
Name three rules a redistricting plan must follow.
Any three: all parts of a district are connected (contiguous), populations are as equal as possible, every part of the state is included, and the plan follows the 14th and 15th Amendments and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Check it: SV pp. 149–150
Day 3 success criterion: Correctly describe how states draw and approve Congressional districts, including Louisiana’s steps and the criteria a plan must follow.
In Baker v. Carr (1962), Tennessee had not redrawn its districts in 60 years. What did the Court decide? What rule came two years later?
Courts can hear cases about unfair district lines (14th Amendment, equal protection). Two years later came one person, one vote: districts must have about the same number of people.
Baker did not decide what Tennessee’s districts had to look like.
Check it: SV p. 168; Day 5 source
Day 3 success criterion: Accurately explain how gerrymandering and at-large voting each challenge the election process, and how the Supreme Court has responded.
Day 4 success criterion: Accurately explain how the Supreme Court has responded to issues and challenges related to redistricting.
Explain these ballot measures: initiative, referendum, recall. Which one does Louisiana allow?
Initiative: citizens propose a new law. Referendum: voters decide on an existing law. Recall: voters remove an official before the term ends. Louisiana allows only recalls.
A petition, a list of signatures, is how citizens get these measures on the ballot. In Louisiana, judges cannot be recalled.
Check it: SV pp. 158–159
Day 5 success criterion: Accurately explain the different types of ballot measures (initiatives, referendums, recalls, and petitions).
What role do political parties play in elections? Name the two major parties.
Parties are groups of like-minded people. They try to shape public policy and help their candidates win. The two major parties are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
Parties set up national, state, and local committees to find candidates and help them win.
Check it: SV p. 138
Day 1 success criterion: Accurately explain the general role of political parties in elections.
What is the differences between the requirements and terms for the Federal Supreme Court Justices and a Louisiana State Supreme Court Justices?
Federal-Requirements=None Term=Lifetime
State-Requirements= Practiced law for a minimum of 10 years and Resident of related district for a minimum of one year
Term= 10 years
Pg. 155
What is 1 Pro and 1 Con of the 2 main types of Primarys?
Open: Pro-Voters have more flexibility to vote Con-Voters from one party can influence the nominations of another party's candidate
Closed: Pro-Strong party organization is encouraged Con-Independent voters may not participate.
Pg. 141 Chart at the bottom
In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote, but George W. Bush became President. Does the Electoral College support or limit consent of the governed? Use evidence.
Limits: the candidate with the most votes can lose, like Gore in 2000, and candidates focus on swing states. Supports: voters still choose the electors, and states with fewer people get a fair voice.
Check it: SV p. 148
Day 2 success criterion: Explain how one step in the process supports or limits consent of the governed, using evidence from the text.
Evaluate districting. Give one way it supports consent of the governed and one way it limits it.
Supports: districts must have equal populations, so each vote counts about the same, and people can join meetings and submit maps. Limits: gerrymandering lets lawmakers draw lines that help their party, so fewer voters can control more seats.
In Shaw v. Reno (1993), how did the Supreme Court respond to North Carolina’s oddly shaped district?
The people who sued could take their case to court. States cannot take unnecessary actions to redistrict based on race.
The Court did not decide if the map was legal. A district drawn mainly by race, without a good reason, can break the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
Check it: SV p. 170; Day 4 source
Day 3 success criterion: Accurately explain how gerrymandering and at-large voting each challenge the election process, and how the Supreme Court has responded.
Day 4 success criterion: Accurately explain how the Supreme Court has responded to issues and challenges related to redistricting.
How do public hearings, public forums, and ballot measures support consent of the governed? Give one example.
They give people a direct say beyond voting for candidates. At a hearing, people speak on a policy. At a forum, they question candidates. With a ballot measure, they vote on a law or an official themselves.
Check it: SV pp. 157–159
Day 5 success criterion: Evaluate how public forums, public hearings, and ballot measures support consent of the governed.