US Democracy and Participation PDF

Presidential elections and their significance ============================================= The main processes to elect a president --------------------------------------- - The first presidential election happened in 1788. - Article II of the constitution states that every 4 years a presiden...

Presidential elections and their significance ============================================= The main processes to elect a president --------------------------------------- - The first presidential election happened in 1788. - Article II of the constitution states that every 4 years a president MUST get elected. A list of candidates Description automatically generated **Constitutional requirements to be president** ----------------------------------------------- - One must be a natural-born US citizen - One must be at least 35 years old. - Youngest ever elected president was John Kennedy who was 43. - There is a residency qualification of 14 years. - In 1951 the constitution was amended to limit presidents to only two terms in office (8 years). **The invisible primary** ------------------------- - The US candidates are chosen by voters. - The invisible primary is the period between candidates declaring an intention to run for the presidency and the first primaries and caucuses. - Coined by Arthur T. Hadley. - There is a high correlation between those who are leading the polls at the end of an invisible primary and those who actually get in. - The invisible primary is played out in the media and a candidate will hope to be mentioned as a serious candidate in popular new outlets. - Candidates will use social media as a tool. Candidate announcements ----------------------- - The incumbent usually announces their second term in office midway through their first term. - Candidates challenging the incumbent often announce about a year before the first primaries take place. - Support for a candidate at this stage is demonstrated through opinion polls. Televised party debates ----------------------- - Televised intra-party debates between candidates. - These televised debates have been somewhat of a media circus, with very little if not any serious policy debate occurring. - As Ben Carson, an unsuccessful candidate said, "We're dealing with sound bites as opposed to being able to explain something in depth" Fundraising ----------- - During this period the invisible primary must accumulate a large enough 'war chest' to be taken seriously. - Money allows for advertising and campaigning, which improves poll ratings and also brings more money. - Some candidates can self-finance, but most will need to raise money from individual donors or interest groups. - Recently, Biden spent \$116 million, the winner of the democratic primary. - Michal Bloomberg spent \$409 million did not even make the final two. Front-runners ------------- - Ending the invisible primaries as a front-runner is the goal as traditionally whichever candidate is leading the polls just before the primaries and caucuses begin is usually confirmed as the nominee. - In 2016, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton fitted the conventional pattern of the early front-runner being confirmed as the eventual nominee. - Evidence shows that a bigger 'war chest' does not lead to certain victory, as seen in the 2020 democrat invisible primary. - Joe Biden trailed in 5^th^ place for amount of money raised. **Primaries and Caucuses** -------------------------- - Presidential Primary: A state-based election to choose a party's candidate for the presidency. - Presidential Caucuses: A series of state-based meetings to choose a party's candidate for the presidency. Caucuses -------- - Turn out is generally lower in caucuses than in primaries and those who do not turn out are disproportionately more ideological than primary voters. Hence, caucuses tend to favour more ideological candidates. - In 2020, the democrats only held Caucuses in 4 states: Iowa, Nevada, Dakota, Wyoming. Primaries --------- - Primaries show the popularity of presidential candidates. - Primaries choose delegates to go to the national party conventions. - Closed Primary: A primary which only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic Primary and vice versa - Open Primary: A primary which any registered voter can vote in either party's primary. - In the 2012 Wisconsin Republican open primary, 11% of voters said they were Democrats. While Mitt Romney won the primary overall with 44% of the vote to 37% for Rick Santorum, among Democrats Santorum beat Romney by 20 percentage points. - This suggests that these were conservative democrats who preferred Santorum's policies of they were mischievous Democrats casting a vote for an 'easier' opponent. - When the incumbent runs for re-election, the primaries for the president's party get little to no coverage at all. **Role of national party conventions** -------------------------------------- - The meeting held every 4 years by each of the two major parties to select presidential and vice-presidential candidates and agree the party platform. **[Formal functions of national party conventions]** ---------------------------------------------------------------- ### Choosing the party's presidential candidate ### Choosing the party's vice-presidential candidate ### Deciding the party platform - Telling you what the party stands for, values etc... **[Informal functions of national party conventions]** ------------------------------------------------------------------ ### Promoting party unity ### Enthusing the party faithful ### Enthusing the ordinary voters Are conventions pointless? ========================== **[Yes: ]** - Opinion polls, not as much bounce. - Biden 1% up - Trump 3% down - Announcement of the VP is now before the national convention. - Party platform, more about party values and American dream than exact policy. - Very rarely mentioned on campaign - Not like a manifesto **[No:]** - Promote party unity. - National convention heals the disunited party (due to the party primaries and caucuses) - Trump 2020 - Enthuse party members/ordinary voters -