Chapter 9

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman



Chapter 9: Campaigns andVoting Behavior

• The Nomination Game• The Campaign Game• Money and Campaigning• The Impact of Campaigns• Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice


Chapter 9: Campaigns andVoting Behavior

• How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions

• The Last Battle: The Electoral College• Understanding Campaigns and Voting

Behavior• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives

• The Nomination Game• LO 9.1: Evaluate the fairness of our current

system of presidential primaries and caucuses.

• The Campaign Game• LO 9.2: Explain the key objectives of any

political campaign.



• Money and Campaigning• LO 9.3: Outline how fund-raising for federal

offices is regulated by campaign finance laws.

• The Impact of Campaigns• LO 9.4: Determine why campaigns have an

important yet limited impact on election outcomes.



• Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice• LO 9.5: Identify the factors that influence

whether people vote or not.

• How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions• LO 9.6: Assess the impact of party

identification, candidate evaluations, and policy opinions on voting behavior.



• The Last Battle: The Electoral College• LO 9.7: Evaluate the fairness of the

Electoral College system for choosing the president.

• Understanding Campaigns and Voting Behavior• LO 9.8: Assess the advantages and

disadvantages of the U.S. system of campaigns and elections.

The Nomination GameLO 9.1: Evaluate the fairness of our current system of presidential primaries and caucuses.

• Nomination• The official endorsement of a candidate for

office by a political party.• Success in the nomination game requires

momentum, money, and media attention.

• Campaign Strategy• Master game plan that guides a

candidate’s electoral campaign.To Learning Objectives



The Nomination Game

• Competing for Delegates• The Convention Send-Off

To Learning Objectives

LO 9.1


The Nomination Game

• Competing for Delegates• National Party Convention – The supreme

power within each party.• McGovern-Fraser Commission – In

response to demands for reform by minority groups and others seeking better representation.

• Super-delegates – Party leaders automatically get delegate slots at the national party convention.


LO 9.1


LO 9.1



The Nomination Game

• Competing for Delegates (cont.)• Caucus – A system for selecting

convention delegates used in about a dozen mostly rural states in which voters must show up at a set time and attend an open meeting to express their presidential preference.


LO 9.1


The Nomination Game

• Competing for Delegates (cont.)• Presidential primaries are elections in

which a state’s voters go to the polls to express their preference for a party’s nominee for president.

• Frontloading – Recent tendency of states to hold primaries early in the calendar to capitalize on media attention.


LO 9.1


LO 9.1



The Nomination Game

• Competing for Delegates (cont.)• Evaluating the Primary and Caucus

System – Disproportionate attention goes to early ones; prominent politicians do not run; money plays too big a role; participation is low and unrepresentative; and too much power goes to the media.


LO 9.1


LO 9.1



The Nomination Game

• The Convention Send-Off• Rallying point for parties.• Key note speaker on first day of

Convention.• Party platform (2nd day) – Goals and

policies for next 4 years.• Formal nomination of president and vice-

president candidates on third and fourth days.


LO 9.1

The Campaign GameLO 9.2: Explain the key objectives of any political campaign.

• Organizing the Campaign• Get a campaign manager.• Get a research staff and policy advisers.• Hire a pollster.• Get a good press secretary.• Establish a website.

To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Money and CampaigningLO 9.3: Outline how fund-raising for federal offices is regulated by campaign finance laws.

• The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms

• The Proliferation of PACs• Does Money Buy Victory?• The Media and the Campaign



Money and Campaigning

• The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms• Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974

created Federal Election Commission; provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections; limited presidential campaign spending; required disclosure; and limited contributions.


LO 9.3



• The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms (cont.)• Soft Money – Contributions for party

building expenses or generic party advertising not subject to contribution limits.

• McCain-Feingold Act (2002) bans soft money, increased amount of individual contributions, and limited issue ads.


LO 9.3



• The Maze of Campaign Finance Reforms (cont.)• 527 Groups – Independent groups seek to

influence the political process but are not subject to contribution limits because they do not directly seek election of particular candidates.

• The name 527 Groups comes from Section 527 of the federal tax code by which they are governed.


LO 9.3



• The Proliferation of PACs• Political Action Committees are funding

vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms.

• A corporation, union, or some other interest group can create a political action committee (PAC) and register it with the Federal Election Commission.


LO 9.3



• The Proliferation of PACs (cont.)• There were 4,611 PACs during the 2007–

2008 election cycle, which contributed $412.8 million to House and Senate candidates.

• PACs donate to candidates who support their issue.

• PACs do not buy candidates, but give to candidates who support them in the first place.


LO 9.3



• Does Money Buy Victory?• The more incumbents spend – The

worse they do when they face a tough opponent because they must raise more money to meet the challenge.

• Doctrine of sufficiency – Spend enough money to get a message across to compete effectively.


LO 9.3



• The Media and the Campaign• Media coverage determined by how

candidates use their advertising budget, and the free attention they get as news makers.

• 2008 campaign media coverage had far more stories about the horse race and strategy than about candidates’ policies and public records.


LO 9.3


LO 9.3


The Impact of CampaignsLO 9.4: Determine why campaigns have an important yet limited impact on election outcomes.

• Campaigns Have Three Effects On Voters• Reinforcement – Reinforce voters’

preferences for candidates.• Activation – Voters contribute money or

ring doorbells.• Conversion – Convert, changing voters’

minds.To Learning Objectives



The Impact of Campaigns

• Some factors tend to weaken campaigns’ impact on voters.• Selective perception – Most attention to

things they agree with and interpret events according to predispositions.

• Party identification influences voting behavior.

• Incumbents – Advantage of name recognition and a track record.


LO 9.4

Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First ChoiceLO 9.5: Identify the factors that influence whether people vote or not.

• Suffrage• The legal right to vote, in the United States

gradually extended to virtually all citizens over the age of 18.



Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice

• Deciding Whether to Vote• Registering to Vote• Who Votes?


LO 9.5



• Deciding Whether to Vote• Anthony Downs – People who see policy

differences between the parties are more likely to vote.

• Political Efficacy – Belief that one’s vote does matter and can actually make a difference.

• Civic Duty – Belief that a citizen should vote to support democratic government.


LO 9.5



• Registering to Vote• Voter Registration – A system adopted by

the states that requires voters to register prior to voting.

• Motor Voter Act – A 1993 act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for their driver’s license.


LO 9.5



• Who Votes?• Education – People with a higher than

average education vote more than people with less education.

• Age – Older people vote more than younger people.

• Race – Racial minorities are usually underrepresented among voters relative to their share of the citizenry.


LO 9.5


LO 9.5




• Who Votes? (cont.)• Gender – Women participate in elections

more than men do.• Marital status – Married people vote more

than unmarried people.• Government employment – Workers for

the government vote more than people who have jobs in the in private sector.


LO 9.5


LO 9.5




• Who Votes? (cont.)• Possessing several of these traits (being

elderly, well educated, and married) adds significantly to one’s likelihood of voting.

• Conversely, being young, poorly educated, and single is likely to add up to a very low probability of voting.


LO 9.5

How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ DecisionsLO 9.6: Assess the impact of party identification, candidate evaluations, and policy opinions on voting behavior.

• Mandate Theory of Elections• The idea that the winning candidate has a

mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics.

• Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.



How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions

• Party Identification• Candidate Evaluations: How

Americans See the Candidates• Policy Voting• 2008: An Election About Change


LO 9.6



• Party Identification• People still generally vote for a party that they

agree with.• Parties’ hold on voters declined in the 1960s and

1970s with rise of candidate-centered politics.• Many floating voters make an individual voting

decision and are up for grabs each election.


LO 9.6


LO 9.6




• Candidate Evaluations: How Americans See the Candidates• 3 most important dimensions of candidate image

are integrity, reliability, and competence.• Image plays a role in voting when a candidate is

perceived to be incompetent or dishonest.


LO 9.6



• Policy Voting• Electoral choices that are made on the

basis of the voters’ policy preferences and where the candidates stand on policy issues.


LO 9.6



• 2008: An Election About Change• Obama’s main issue was changing the

health care system to extend coverage to everyone.

• McCain’s main issue was making changes to improve the economy and the financial institutions.


LO 9.6



• 2008: An Election About Change (cont.)• Popular Votes – Obama 53% and McCain 46%.• Electoral College Votes – Obama 365 and McCain

173.• Obama won and became the 1st African-American

president.


LO 9.6


LO 9.6



LO 9.6


The Last Battle: The Electoral CollegeLO 9.7: Evaluate the fairness of the Electoral College system for choosing the president.

• Electoral College• A unique American institution, created by

the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors.

• Less populated states are overrepresented.

• Winner-take-all concentrates campaigns on close states.



The Last Battle: The Electoral College

• How Electoral College Works• Electoral votes for each state equals its

members in Congress.• 48 states use winner-take-all system (not

Maine and Nebraska).• State electors vote in December following

the November election. • January – Congress counts votes.• House of Representatives picks president if

no majority vote.To Learning Objectives

LO 9.7


LO 9.7



The Last Battle: The Electoral College

• Important Electoral College• The less populated states are

overrepresented because states get 2 electors for the senators regardless of population.

• Winner-take-all means candidates will focus on winning the states where the polls show that there appears to be a close contest.


LO 9.7

Understanding Campaigns and Voting BehaviorLO 9.8: Assess the advantages and disadvantages of the U.S. system of campaigns and elections.

• Are Nominations and Campaigns Too Democratic?

• Do Elections Affect Public Policy?• Do Campaigns Lead to Increases in the

Scope of Government?



Understanding Campaigns and Voting Behavior

• Are Nominations and Campaigns Too Democratic?• Campaigns are open to almost everyone.• Campaigns consume much time and money.• Campaigns promote individualism in American

politics.


LO 9.8



• Do Elections Affect Public Policy?• The greater the policy differences between

candidates, the more likely voters will be able to steer government policy by their choices.

• Retrospective voting – Voters vote based on what a candidate has done for them lately.


LO 9.8



• Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased Scope of Government?• Candidates make numerous promises especially to

state and local interests.• Hard for politicians to promise to cut size of

government.


LO 9.8



• Do Big Campaigns Lead to an Increased Scope of Government? (cont.)• Elections generally support government

policies and power.• Voters feel they are sending a message to

government to accomplish something.• So the government expands to fill the

needs of the voters.


LO 9.8


LO 9.1Summary

• The Nomination Game• The presidential primaries and caucuses lead

to nomination at the national party conventions, and allow tens of millions of Americans to participate in the selection of the Democratic and Republican nominees for president.

• The system gives some states much greater influence than others.



LO 9.1Summary

• The Nomination Game (cont.)• Iowa, with the first caucus, and New

Hampshire, with the first primary, have disproportionate power stemming from the massive media attention devoted to these early contests and the momentum generated by winning them.



LO 9.1Summary

• The Nomination Game (cont.)• Some other common criticisms of the

nomination process are that money plays too big a role, that turnout rates are lower than in the general election, and that the mass media exercises too much power in determining which candidates are considered to be serious contenders.



Which of the following is a major criticism of the primary and caucus system?

A. Disproportionate attention goes to the early caucuses and primaries.

B. Prominent politicians do run.C. Both money and media play too

little a role.D. Participation is high and

representative.


LO 9.1


Which of the following is a major criticism of the primary and caucus system?

A. Disproportionate attention goes to the early caucuses and primaries.

B. Prominent politicians do run.C. Both money and media play too

little a role.D. Participation is high and

representative.


LO 9.1


LO 9.2Summary

• The Campaign Game• Political campaigns involve the allocation of

scarce resources of time, money, and energy to achieve the goal of winning elections for political office and this requires effective organization and use of high-tech media.

• One important goal of any campaign is simply to get attention.



LO 9.2Summary

• The Campaign Game (cont.)• Campaigns seek to control the political

agenda, getting the media and the public to focus on the issues that they wish to emphasize.



Why is a campaign manager important to a well-organized campaign?

A. To assist the candidate in responding to reporters.

B. To tell the candidate how he or she is viewed by voters.

C. To feed the candidate the information needed to keep up with events.

D. To keep the candidate from getting bogged down in organizational details.


LO 9.2


Why is a campaign manager important to a well-organized campaign?

A. To assist the candidate in responding to reporters.

B. To tell the candidate how he or she is viewed by voters.

C. To feed the candidate the information needed to keep up with events.

D. To keep the candidate from getting bogged down in organizational details.


LO 9.2


LO 9.3Summary

• Money and Campaigning• Direct contributions limits to federal campaigns

are $2,400 for individuals and $5,000 for political action committees (PACs).

• Matching funds – For presidential nomination candidates who agree to limit their overall spending, but candidates may not accept matching funds because they can raise money.



LO 9.3Summary

• Money and Campaigning (cont.)• Grant of approximately $85 million is available

to each party nominee to finance their entire campaign; candidates who turn down the grant can raise an unlimited total.

• The McCain-Feingold Act eliminated unlimited soft money contributions to the political parties.



LO 9.3Summary

• Money and Campaigning (cont.)• McCain-Feingold Act (2002) also sought to

restrict corporations and unions from electioneering during the last two months of a campaign, but the Supreme Court ruled that this was an unconstitutional restriction on free speech in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010).



According to the textbook, the main benefit of campaign finance laws has been to

A. make political campaigns more open and honest.

B. limit spending by candidates.C. limit spending by corporations.D. limit unregulated money spent in

campaigns.


LO 9.3


According to the textbook, the main benefit of campaign finance laws has been to

A. make political campaigns more open and honest.

B. limit spending by candidates.C. limit spending by corporations.D. limit unregulated money spent in

campaigns.


LO 9.3


LO 9.4Summary

• The Impact of Campaigns• Campaigning serves primarily to reinforce

citizens’ views and to activate voters rather than to change views.

• Factors such as selective perception, party identification, and the incumbency advantage tend to weaken the ability of campaigns to influence voters’ decisions.



Which is true about the impacts that political campaigns have on voters?

A. Always convert voters, but rarely activate voters.

B. Reinforce party images and always convert voters.

C. Reinforce preferences and activate voters, but rarely convert voters.

D. Always convert voters, but rarely reinforce voters.


LO 9.4


Which is true about the impacts that political campaigns have on voters?

A. Always convert voters, but rarely activate voters.

B. Reinforce party images and always convert voters.

C. Reinforce preferences and activate voters, but rarely convert voters.

D. Always convert voters, but rarely reinforce voters.


LO 9.4


LO 9.5Summary

• Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice• In order to vote citizens must go through the

registration process.• Registration reform was thought to be the

answer to low turnout, but the Motor Voter Act of 1993 has yet to produce the benefit of greater voter participation that most people hoped for.



LO 9.5Summary

• Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice (cont.)• Turnout in 2008 was virtually identical to what it

was in 1992, and in 2010 only about 40 percent of the eligible electorate voted.

• Among the factors that make people more likely to vote are being better educated, older, and married.



Which of the following is NOT true about Americans’ voting behavior?

A. A college graduate is more likely to vote than a high school graduate.

B. A single person is more likely to vote than a married person.

C. Women are more likely to vote than men.

D. A 50-year-old is more likely to vote than a 22-year-old.


LO 9.5


Which of the following is NOT true about Americans’ voting behavior?

A. A college graduate is more likely to vote than a high school graduate.

B. A single person is more likely to vote than a married person.

C. Women are more likely to vote than men.

D. A 50-year-old is more likely to vote than a 22-year-old.


LO 9.5


LO 9.6Summary

• How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions• Party affiliation is the best predictor of voting

behavior as it represents a standing decision to vote with one’s party.

• Candidate evaluations and policy opinions can sway people to defect from their preferred party and help Independents make decisions.



LO 9.6Summary

• How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions (cont.)• Candidate evaluations involve performance-

relevant factors such as competence, integrity, and reliability.

• Policy voting – Voters see clear differences between candidates and determine whose stance on issues best represents their own opinions.



Party identification the political world for many voters.

A.simplifies

B.confuses

C.does not influence

D.none of the above


LO 9.6


Party identification the political world for many voters.

A.simplifies

B.confuses

C.does not influence

D.none of the above


LO 9.6


LO 9.7Summary

• The Last Battle: The Electoral College• Electoral College gives voters in the less

populated states greater weight in choosing the president.

• The winner of the national popular vote does not always prevail in the Electoral College as happened most recently in the 2000 contest between Bush and Gore.



LO 9.7Summary

• The Last Battle: The Electoral College (cont.)• Because all but two states allocate all their

electors in a winner-take-all fashion and because many states lean solidly toward one party or the other (CA and NY), the candidates focus much of their energies on winning 15 battleground states (FL and OH).



The Electoral College encourages candidates to campaign in battleground states.

A.small

B.large

C.southern

D.northern


LO 9.7


The Electoral College encourages candidates to campaign in battleground states.

A.small

B.large

C.southern

D.northern


LO 9.7


LO 9.8Summary

• Understanding Campaigns and Voting Behavior• American election campaigns are easily the

most open and democratic in the world—some say too open.

• They are also extraordinarily long, perhaps excessively burdening politicians and leading politicians to make many promises that increase the scope of government.



LO 9.8Summary

• Understanding Campaigns and Voting Behavior (cont.)• On the other hand, long campaigns give little-

known candidates a chance to emerge and provide a strenuous test for all the candidates.



Today’s campaigns clearly promote in American politics.

A.egalitarianism

B.elitism

C.populism

D.individualism


LO 9.8


Today’s campaigns clearly promote in American politics.

A.egalitarianism

B.elitism

C.populism

D.individualism


LO 9.8


Text Credits

• The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism; “Winning the Media Campaign: How the Press Reported the 2008 Presidential General Election,” Oct 22, 2008, http://www.journalism.org/sites/journalism.org/files/WINNING%20THE%20MEDIA%20CAMPAIGN%20FINAL.pdf.

• Federal Election Commission. Copyright Center for Responsive Politics, www.opensecrets.org.


Photo Credits

• 275: Bruce Ely/The Oregonian• 279: AP Photos• 281: Jim Ruyman/Landov• 285: John Cole• 299: TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images• 308: TIM SLOAN/Getty Images

Chapter 9

Documents

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