The Electoral Process. Week 3 Vocab Definitions - A unit into which cities are often divided for the election of city council members. - A procedure of.

The Electoral Process

Week 3 Vocab Definitions- A unit into which cities are often divided for the

election of city council members.- A procedure of voter identification intended to

prevent voter fraud- The smallest unit of election administration, all

voters in this geographical area report to one polling place

- The process of drawing electoral lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or party

- The right to vote

How to Become a Candidate

3 Less Popular Ways to NominateSelf-Announcement – A person who wants to run for officeannounces their candidacy. Whenever a write-in candidate appearson the ballot, the self-announcement process has been used.

The Caucus – Originally a private meeting of local bigwigs, thecaucus as a nominating device fell out of favor in the 1820s.

The Convention – Considered more democratic than thecaucus, convention delegates were selected to represent thepeople’s wishes. Party bosses soon found ways to manipulate thesystem, however, and the convention system was on its way out bythe early 1900s.

The Primary

Nonpartisan Primary

Candidates are not identified by party labels

Runoff Primary

If a required majority is not met, the two people with the most votes run again

Closed Primary

Only declared party members can vote.

Types of Direct Primaries

Open Primary

Any qualified voter can take part.

Blanket Primary

Qualified voters can vote for any candidate, regardless of party

PetitionCandidates must gather a required

number of voters’ signatures to get on the ballot by means of petition.

Minor party and independent candidates are usually required by State law to be nominated by petition.

Petition is often used at the local level to nominate for school posts and municipal offices.

Precincts and Polling Places

PrecinctsA precinct is a voting

district.Precincts are the

smallest geographic units used to carry out elections.

A precinct election board supervises the voting process in each precinct.

Polling PlacesA polling place is

where the voters who live in a precinct go to vote.

It is located in or near each precinct. Polling places are supposed to be located conveniently for voters.

Voting Machines and InnovationsElectronic vote counting has

been in use since the 1960s. Punch-card ballots are often used to cast votes.

Vote-by-mail elections have come into use in recent years.

Online voting is a trend that may be encountered in the near future.

Sources of Funding

Small contributors

Wealthy supporters

Nonparty groups such as PACs

Temporary fund-raising organizations

Candidates Government subsidies

Private and Public Sources of Campaign Money

The Federal Election CommissionThe Federal Election Commission (FEC)

enforces:the timely disclosure of campaign finance

informationlimits on campaign contributionslimits on campaign expendituresprovisions for public funding of presidential

campaigns

Loopholes in the Law“More loophole than law…” —Lyndon JohnsonSoft money—money given to State and local party

organizations for “party-building activities” that is filtered to presidential or congressional campaigns. $500 million was given to campaigns in this way in 2000.

Independent campaign spending—a person unrelated and unconnected to a candidate or party can spend as much money as they want to benefit or work against candidates.

Issue ads—take a stand on certain issues in order to criticize or support a certain candidate without actually mentioning that person’s name.

Public opinion can be described as those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics.

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What is Public Opinion?

Different Publics The United States is made up of many groups, or publics,

who share common news. Public Affairs

Public affairs are those events and issues that concern the public at large. In its proper sense, public opinion includes only those views that relate to public affairs.

Public Opinions More than one public opinion can exist at the same time,

because there are many publics. A view or position must be expressed in the open in order to be a public opinion.

The Political SpectrumPeople who have similar opinions on political issues are generally grouped according to whether they are “left,” “right,” or “center” on the political spectrum.

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Chapter 8, Section 2Chapter 8, Section 23311

Measuring Public OpinionElections• Candidates who win an election are said to have a mandate, or a

command from the electorate, to carry out campaign promises.

Interest Groups• Interest groups are private organizations whose members share

certain views and work to shape public policy. Interest groups are a chief means by which public opinion is made known.

The Media• The media are frequently described as “mirrors” as well as

“molders” of opinion.

Personal Contacts• Public officials rely on frequent and wide-ranging contacts with

their constituents, such as reading their mail, answering calls, and meeting people in public.

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Polls—The Best Measure

Straw VotesA straw vote is a method

of polling that seeks to read the public’s mind simply by asking the same question of a large number of people.

The straw-vote technique is highly unreliable, however.

Public opinion is best measured by public opinion polls, devices that attempt to collect information by asking people questions.

Scientific Polling

There are now more than 1,000 national and regional polling organizations in this country, with at least 200 of these polling political preferences.

Evaluating Polls and Their Limit on Public Opinion

Evaluating PollsOn balance, most national

and regional polls are fairly reliable. Still, they are far from perfect.

Potential problems with polls include their inability to measure the intensity, stability, and relevance of the opinions they report.

polls and pollsters are sometimes said to shape the opinions they are supposed to measure.

Limits on the Impact of Public

OpinionPublic opinion is the major,

but by no means the only, influence on public policy in this country.

Much of the American system is designed to protect minority interests.

polls are not elections

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The Role of Mass Media

TelevisionPolitics and television have gone hand inhand since the technology firstappeared. Today television is theprinciple source of political informationfor a majority of Americans.

NewspapersThe first newspapers carried mostlypolitical news. Even with the totalnumber of newspapers declining, theyare still the second leading source ofpolitical information for most Americans.

RadioOn average, Americans hear 20 hours ofradio each week. Radio has been asource of news and entertainment since1920.

MagazinesSome 12,000 magazines are publishedin the United States today. Severalmagazines are devoted to Americannews and politics.

A medium is a means of communication; it transmits some kind of information. Five major mass media are particularly important in

American politics, here are 4 of them what is the 5th?

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Media Statistics

Chapter 8, Section 3Chapter 8, Section 32211

Access to media varies from country to country.

The Media and PoliticsThe Public Agenda

The media play a very large role in shaping the public agenda, the societal problems that political leaders and citizens agree need government attention.

Electoral Politicstelevision allows candidates to appeal directly to the

people, without the help of a party organization.Internet allows candidates to control their own messageCandidates regularly try to use media coverage to their

advantage.Newscasts featuring candidates are usually short, sharply

focused sound bites—snappy reports that can be aired in 30 to 45 seconds.

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2211 Chapter 8, Section 3Chapter 8, Section 3

Limits on Media InfluenceOnly a small part of the public actually

takes in and understands much of what the media have to say about public affairs.

Many media sources mostly skim the news, reporting only what their news editors judge to be the most important and/or most interesting stories of the day.

In-depth coverage of public affairs is available to those who want it and will seek it out.