Presidential Elections Flashcards

Political Party Nominations

• Presidential candidates are nominated at National Party Conventions in election year August.
• Delegates, typically bound by primary votes, select the nominee through majority voting.
• About 70% of states use primary elections while 30% utilize caucuses.
• The invisible primary determines which candidate garners the most initial support prior to official nominations.

Role and Selection of Delegates

• Delegates are responsible for selecting presidential nominees at the national convention.
• Delegate allocation varies by state and party, with each state party setting its own rules.
• Different methods for delegate selection include primaries, state party conventions, and caucuses.
• Republican delegates can be allocated via proportional rules or winner-take-all; Democrats predominantly use proportional allocation.

Timing of Nomination Events

• Early primaries and caucuses, such as those in Iowa and New Hampshire, have a significant impact on the nomination process.
• Candidates performing well in initial contests create a "bandwagon effect," gaining momentum for subsequent primaries.
• Later states in the primary calendar often see a less competitive race, as earlier outcomes heavily influence results.

Electoral College Mechanics

• Comprised of presidential electors selected every four years, the electoral college indirectly represents public voting intentions.
• Each state's electors equal its number of representatives and senators; most states use a winner-take-all system for allocation, except Maine and Nebraska.
• Candidates require a majority of 270 electoral votes to win the presidency, with the House of Representatives electing the president if no candidate achieves this.

Candidate Strategies in Electoral College

• Campaign strategies prioritize swing states, where voters are more evenly divided, warranting more resources and attention.
• States firmly leaning Democratic or Republican often see reduced campaign efforts.
• Citizens in swing states tend to be more engaged and informed due to the heightened competition.

Disadvantages in Electoral College System

• Habitually Democratic or Republican states receive less candidate attention, resulting in a lack of representation for voters in those areas.
• The focus on swing states can marginalize the voices of voters in consistent partisan states, undermining the overall democratic engagement.