Campaigns, Elections, and Suffrage - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Campaigns, Elections, and SuffrageSlide2

Election Day

First Tuesday following the first Monday in November- Election DaySlide3

Electoral College

Electoral Votes- votes of the electors (Electoral College)

Total number of representatives a state has in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The total number of electoral votes are 538 (435 in HOR+ 100 Senate+ 3 for DC=538

A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency

VA has 13; CA

55;

NY

29;

TX

38;

FL

29;

RI 3--- a candidate must campaign harder in large states (states that have a large number of electoral votes because they must get to the 270 needed to win the presidency.

The formal election is when the electors vote. The Monday after the second Wednesday in December.Slide4

Popular vote

Popular votes-the People’s vote. The candidate who wins the most votes in a state wins all of the

state’s

electoral votesSlide5

Campaigning

Federal Election Campaign Acts-

A presidential candidate can receive public funding for elections

A limit is set on how much a candidate can spend

Candidates must disclose or record all spendingSlide6

Campaigning

Political Action Committee (PAC)-organizations that financially support candidates

A PAC can only donate up to $5000 to one candidateSlide7

Campaigning

“soft money”—unlimited amounts of money that a group can give to a political party; not to an individual

McCain-Feingold bill—legislation to limit “soft money”Slide8

Campaigning

Candidates and the media- the media can give a positive or negative image for candidates.

The first televised debate was in 1960 between Kennedy and NixonSlide9

Campaigning

Undecided voters of the electorate- Electorate- people entitled to vote

Campaigns

are aimed towards the undecided voter because they do not know how they will vote.Slide10

Electoral College

Article II, Section 1—Established the Electoral College. It provided that each state would choose electors. They would meet and cast votes for two presidential candidatesSlide11

Electoral College

The Original System—

Candidates receiving a majority of the electoral votes would be President. Candidates with the second highest votes would be Vice President

Problem—

the President and Vice President could come from different political partiesSlide12

Electoral College

The 12

th

amendment—

fixed the problem with the original system. Electors would

cast

separate ballots for President and Vice President

Presidential Ticket-

Candidates from a political party run for President & Vice President togetherSlide13

Electoral College

# in Electoral College—

538===435(House of Representatives) + 100 (Senators) + 3 (DC)

Winning-

the Presidential candidates must have a majority of electoral votes to win—270Slide14

Electoral College

The Formal Election—

when electors vote

Monday after the Second Wednesday in December at the Capitol Building

January 6—

both houses of Congress meet in the House Chamber to count ballots. Slide15

Electoral College

Election by the House—

if a tie occurs in the Electoral votes or no candidates gets a majority, the House of Representatives votes

Each of the 50 states gets one vote—

the candidate with the majority wins

If a tie occurs in the House vote—

the Vice President breaks the tieSlide16

Electoral College

Ideas for reforming the Electoral College-

-

Voting by districts—

candidates receive a vote for each district won (ex:

VA has 11 districts—McCain gets 4 electoral votes for the 4 districts won/Obama gets 7 electoral votes for the 7 districts won. No winner take all)

Proportional voting—

candidate wins the percentage of electoral votes based on the % of the popular vote (ex: If Obama won 60% of the electoral vote in VA, then he would get 60% of VA 13 electoral votes and McCain would get 40% of VA’s electoral votes)

Eliminate the Electoral College—

the popular vote would determine the presidentSlide17

SUFFRAGE

(THE RIGHT TO VOTE) BARRIERSSlide18

Before the American Revolution

Blacks, women, and white males who didn’t own property could not voteSlide19

By the Early 1800s

property and religious tests for voting were outlawedSlide20

By the Mid 1800s

all adult males who were white could voteSlide21

1870-15

th

amendment (no state could deprive any citizen the right to vote on the basis of race)

So many states used other methods to deprive blacks the right to vote:

Grandfather clause (could not vote, if grandfather had not voted before 1867)

Literacy

tests

Poll taxSlide22

1915- Supreme Court ruled the grandfather clause was unconstitutionalSlide23

1919-19

th

amendment gave women the right to voteSlide24

1965 –Voting Rights Act of 1965, 1970, 1975, 1982

Ended literacy tests and poll tax (24

th

amendment)

Federal government could register voters in districts with less than 50% blacks voting

Outlawed unfair division of election districts

Poll watchers

Ballots printed in SpanishSlide25

1971-26

th Amendment –lowered the voting age to 18Slide26

Factors that Influence VotingSlide27

1. QUALIFICATIONS

18 YEARS OLD

US CITIZEN

NOT A CONVICTED FELON (VA)

LEGALLY SANE (VA)Slide28

2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REGISTER?

ENROLL WITH THE APPROPRIATE LOCAL AUTHORITY

Some states also have residency requirements. You may have to live in an area for a certain amount of time before voting.

YOU CAN REGISTER AT

THE POST OFFICE

DMV

VOTER REGISTRARSlide29

3. HOW DO WE VOTE?

WE USE A SECRET BALLOT (AUSTRALIAN BALLOT)

SHOW ID

INSERT BALLOT (CARD)

MAKE CHOICE

-STATES

CHOOSE METHOD OF VOTING (MAY BE ELECTRONIC OR PAPER)

INSERT BALLOT INTO READER

GET A “I VOTED” STICKERSlide30

4. What is “The Ticket”?

The list of candidates nominated for political office

When voting, voters look at the Democratic or Republican tickets.

Ticket-splitting is voting for candidates from different parties.Slide31

5.

WHAT IF I CANNOT GO TO THE POLLS TO VOTE?

ABSENTEE BALLOTS CAN BE USED W/O GOING TO THE POLLS, BUT ONLY FOR

OUT OF TOWN

HOSPITALIZED

PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED

IN JAIL FOR A MISDEMEANOR

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYSlide32

6. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

PERSONAL BACKGROUND

AGE

RACE

GENDER

RELIGION

INCOME

EDUCATION

FAMILY

**cross-pressured voter- one who is caught in conflict between elements in their lifeSlide33

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

LOYALTY TO POLITICAL PARTY

--straight party voter—always vote with their party

--Strong party voter--usually vote with party

--weak party voter—sometimes vote with party (also may be called an independent)Slide34

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

Issues-the media keeps us more informed todaySlide35

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE HOW WE VOTE. . .

Image- the candidate should have an image of trust, honesty, and a leader