Elections
What is the magic number of electoral votes that a candidate must win to win the electoral college?
270 out of 538
What is the purpose of political parties?
Does the United States typically have higher or lower voter turnout compared to other industrialized nations?
Lower - most presidential elections, we are lucky to get about 50-55% voter turnout. For midterms, we are lucky to get about 35-50% voter turnout.
What characteristics could describe people who participate in primaries and caucuses?
Affluent/wealthy
Activist/extremely engaged
Educated
What is one reason why some Americans despise the Electoral College?
It is an elitist institution
It puts too much emphasis on swing states
It can work against popular sovereignty when a candidates wins without winning the most votes nationwide
Why do candidates not want voters to split their tickets?
It leads to a divided government (ex: President (D); Senate (R); House (D))
A divided government leads to difficulty enacting policy --> in the example above, the Senate could block policy proposals by Democrats
Have parties become weaker, stronger, or has there been no change? HOW DO YOU KNOW?
Parties are becoming weaker!!!!!
1968 --> Humphrey's nomination
More people are identifying as independents
Describe how money can influence an election.
Money = influence
If you have more money, you have more influence!
Caucus - you gather with your community to debate, discuss and physically move around to show support for a candidate
Some believe that 'allowing corporate influence to flow unfettered into federal campaigns will only undermine the confidence the American people have in their government..." A critic of this statement would say what?
Why are third parties unlikely to win seats in elections?
The single member district system (winner-take-all) makes it so the candidate with the most votes wins - there is no seats for second, third, or fourth place.
Are interest groups a form of:
A) pluralism
B) elitism
C) participatory democracy
Pluralism - there are a variety of interests coming together to try to influence policy. Representatives listens to the broadest number of groups - large and small, single-issue and multi-purposed - to make determinations on what policy to support.
True or False: Corporations are not considered to be people so they do not have the ability to exercise their 1st Amendment right to donate as they wish.
FALSE! Corporations are considered to be people, and people have the 1st Amendment right to donate as they wish; therefore, corporations are people too and can donate to campaigns. --> Citizens United v. FEC
What do closed primaries try to promote?
Party loyalty. By having to declare which party you are affiliated with, this can prevent sabotage from outsiders and do not produce extreme ideological nominees.
What is one criticism of voter ID laws?
Voter ID laws:
- impact disproportionately impacts different groups
- make it too difficult for people to exercise their right to vote
- are costly
- there is already very little fraud in U.S. elections so voter IDs are an extra burden on voters
Here are the 2020 presidential results:
Mr. Campione (D) - 292 Electoral Votes - 48.2% of Popular Vote
Ms. Beckerman (R) - 243 Electoral Votes - 49.1 % of Popular Vote
Mr. Modelski (Green Party) - 3 Electoral Votes - 2.7% of Popular Vote
Who is the President-Elect?
Mr. Campione - He won more than 270 electoral votes to win
Name at least 2 roles the media plays as a linkage institution.
Watchdog
Agenda Setter
Gatekeeper
Name two barriers to voting.
Difficult registration process
Long-lines at the poll
Voting on a Tuesday
Strict ID laws
Why are Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina meaningful to candidates during the primaries?
They are the first 4 states to hold a primary - their vote is consequential if candidates can viably continue on in the primary?
(Think of it like this, in baseball, there are 162 games in a season. If a team loses the first two games, the team is okay. Whereas if a candidate loses the first two primaries, their campaign is likely over.)
If Mr. Modelski only votes for Democrats, even if he does not like the candidate themselves or their positions, he is voting based on:
Party Line Voting. Regardless of the candidate or their policies, he is voting for them based on party.
Out of these four states, which of the follow states would an individual's vote likely have more influence?
New Hampshire
Ohio
Michigan
Texas
New Hampshire - the smaller the population, the more influential ones vote
What is the purpose of an interest group?
Seek to influence public policy about a certain interest that is important to the interest group, not necessarily the public as a whole
(NRA seeks to influence public policy on gun rights; Sierra Club seeks to influence public policy of environmental causes)
Which amendment prohibits the denial of voting based on race?
15th
Why do some states want to vote earlier in the primary elections?
It allows their state to have more voice and influence in the nomination process
If Ms. Beckerman is considering voting for a candidate in an election, more often than not she will think about what the candidate was able to accomplish in office. If Ms. Beckerman is satisfied with how they performed in office, she will then vote for the candidate. What type of voting behavior did Ms. Beckerman exhibit?
Retrospective Voting - Ms. Beckerman looked back on the past and thought about how the candidate did in office, considered the accomplishments of the candidate, and make a determination if she was satisfied with the candidate's record.