The Electoral Process
Major function of the political parties
nomination
Usually shared by a political party
common interest
When the electoral college is used
presidential elections
PAC abbreviation meaning
political action committee
Oldest form of candidate nomination
self-announcement
Political parties
a group of people seeking to control the government through winning elections
270 electoral votes
Flaw of the media
Limits on individual donations and PACs
$1000, $5000
Run-off primary
second election held with just the top-two winning candidates
5 functions of political parties
nomination, informing and activating supporters, bonding agent, governing, watchdog
district plan, proportional plan, direct popular election
3 essential roles
watchdog, sets public agenda, supports the free exchange of ideas
Hard money v. soft money
money given directly where limits and regulations apply, political donations given to the party that can avoid government regulations
5 ways candidates are nominated
Bonding agent
helps ensure a good performance of its candidate by performing background checks and ensuring quality of candidate
Direct popular election
popular vote wins, eliminate the electoral college, winner would be known on election night
Politicians' influence on media
staging, spinning, and leaking
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (McCain Feingold Act)
passed as a way to try and close financing loopholes that allowed soft money to influence elections
Advantages: prevents raiding, more responsive candidates, more thoughtful voters
Disadvantages: compromises secrecy, excludes independents
Linkage to the people
help display the true opinions of the American public and primarily recruit candidates for office
Why the electoral college was instituted
the framers believed that common citizens lack the intelligence to properly elect a successful president
Influence of agenda setting
by only revealing certain information, the people only know what is shown to them and have a warped perception of the true nature of events and candidates
Why limits exist
raising the donation limits would give the wealthy too much of an advantage in elections and therefore money=power; limits exist because the elections should be kept fair and keep the candidates engaged with their platforms and people in order to raise money