Chapter 7

Presentation Pro
Magruders
American Government
CHAPTER 7
The Electoral Process
2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.
CHAPTER 7
The Electoral Process

SECTION 1The Nominating Process
SECTION 2Elections
SECTION 3Money and Elections
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Chapter 7
SECTION 1
The Nominating Process
Why is the nominating process a critical first step

in the election process?
What are self-announcement, the caucus, and

the convention nominating methods?
Why is the direct primary the principal nominating

method used in the United States today?
Why do some candidates use the petition as a

nominating device?
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Chapter 7, Section 1
A Critical First Step
In the United States, the election

process occurs in two steps:
1.
Nomination, in which the field of
candidates is narrowed
2.
General election, the regularly
scheduled election where voters make the
final choice of officeholder
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Nominating and Electing a Candidate
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Three Ways to Nominate

Self-Announcement A person who wants to run for office
announces their candidacy. Whenever a write-in candidate appears
on the ballot, the self-announcement process has been used.
The Caucus Originally a private meeting of local bigwigs, the

caucus as a nominating device fell out of favor in the 1820s.
The Convention Considered more democratic than the

caucus, convention delegates were selected to represent the
peoples wishes. Party bosses soon found ways to manipulate the
system, however, and the convention system was on its way out by
the early 1900s.
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The Direct Primary

Types of Direct
Primaries
Closed
Primary
Open
Primary
Only declared
party members
can vote.
Any qualified
voter can take
part.
Runoff Primary
If a required majority
is not met, the two
people with the most
votes run again
Nonpartisan
Primary
Candidates are not
identified by party
labels
Blanket Primary
Qualified voters can
vote for any
candidate,
regardless of party
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Primaries Across the United States
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Petition
Candidates 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.
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Section 1 Review
1. The most commonly used method of nomination today is
(a) the caucus.
(b) the direct primary.
(c) self-announcement.
(d) the convention.
2. A runoff primary is held in some States when

(a) no one wins a majority of votes.
(b) there is only one candidate.
(c) not enough voters turn out on election day.
(d) a candidate asks for a recount.
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SECTION 2
Elections
How does the administration of elections in the

United States make democracy work?
What role do precincts and polling places play in

the election process?
In what ways can voters cast their ballots?

What role do voting machines and other
innovations play in the election process?
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The Administration of Elections

Elections are primarily regulated by State law, but
there are some overreaching federal regulations.
Congress has the power to set
the time, place, and manner of
congressional and presidential
elections. Congress has
chosen the first Tuesday after
the first Monday in November
of every even-numbered year
for congressional elections,
with the presidential election
being held the same day every
fourth year.
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States determine the details of

the election of thousands of
State and local officials.
Most States provide for absentee
voting, for voters who are unable
to get to their regular polling
places on election day. Some
States within the last few years
have started to allow voting a few
days before election day to
increase voter participation.
Precincts and Polling Places

Precincts
Polling Places
A precinct is a voting
district.
Precincts are the smallest

geographic units used to
carry out elections.
A 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.
A precinct election board

supervises the voting
process in each precinct.
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Casting the Ballot

History of the Ballot
Voting was initially done orally. It was considered manly

to speak out your vote without fear of reprisal.
Paper ballots began to be used in the mid-1800s. At first,

people provided their own ballots. Then, political machines
began to take advantage of the flexibility of the process to
intimidate, buy, or manufacture votes.
In the late 1800s, ballot reforms cleaned up ballot fraud by

supplying standardized, accurate ballots and mandating
that voting be secret.
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Office-Group and Party-Column Ballots
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Voting Machines and Innovations
Electronic 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.
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Section 2 Review
1. Elections are held on
(a) the first Wednesday after Halloween.
(b) the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
(c) the second Thursday after the first Monday in March.
(d) the first Monday in December.
2. The Office-Group Ballot encourages

(a) voter fraud.
(b) split-ticket voting.
(c) voter dissatisfaction.
(d) the Democratic Party.
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SECTION 3
Money and Elections
What are the issues raised by campaign spending?

What are the various sources of campaign funding?
How do federal laws regulate campaign finance?
What role does the Federal Election Commission
have in enforcing campaign finance laws?
What loopholes exist in todays campaign finance

laws?
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Campaign Spending
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Sources of Funding
Private and Public Sources of
Campaign Money
Small
contributors
Nonparty
groups such
as PACs
Wealthy
supporters
Temporary
fund-raising
organizations
Candidates
Government
subsidies
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Regulating Campaign Financing
Early campaign regulations were created in 1907, but feebly enforced.
The FECA Amendments of 1974 were passed in response to the

Watergate scandal.
Buckley v. Valeo invalidated some of the measures in the FECA

Amendments of 1974. Most significantly, it also stipulated that several
of the limits that the 1974 amendments placed on spending only apply
to candidates who accept campaign money from the government, not
those who raise money independently.
The FECA Amendments of 1976 were passed in response to Buckley

v. Valeo.
The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 was passed to

replaced the former, ineffective legislation.
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The Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) enforces:
the timely disclosure of campaign finance

information
limits on campaign contributions

limits on campaign expenditures
provisions for public funding of presidential
campaigns
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Loopholes in the Law

More loophole than law Lyndon Johnson
Soft moneymoney 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 spendinga person unrelated and

unconnected to a candidate or party can spend as much money as
they want to benefit or work against candidates.
Issue adstake a stand on certain issues in order to criticize or

support a certain candidate without actually mentioning that persons
name.
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Section 3 Review
1. Sources of campaign funding include
(a) nonparty groups, such as political action committees.
(b) government subsidies.
(c) candidates personal funds.
(d) all of the above.
2. Under federal election legislature passed in the 1970s, candidates

are not allowed to
(a) take government subsidies.
(b) use their own money in campaigns.
(c) take contributions of more than $1,000.
(d) all of the above.
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Presentation Pro

2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

The Electoral Process

The Nominating Process

Why is the nominating process a critical first step

What are self-announcement, the caucus, and

Why is the direct primary the principal nominating

Why do some candidates use the petition as a

A Critical First Step

In the United States, the election

Nominating and Electing a Candidate

Three Ways to Nominate

The Caucus Originally a private meeting of local bigwigs, the

The Convention Considered more democratic than the

The Direct Primary

Primaries Across the United States

Candidates must gather a required number of

voters signatures to get on the ballot by means of

Minor party and independent candidates are

usually required by State law to be nominated by

Petition is often used at the local level to nominate

2. A runoff primary is held in some States when

How does the administration of elections in the

What role do precincts and polling places play in

In what ways can voters cast their ballots?

The Administration of Elections

States determine the details of

Precincts and Polling Places

Precincts are the smallest

A polling place is where

A precinct election board

Casting the Ballot

Voting was initially done orally. It was considered manly

Paper ballots began to be used in the mid-1800s. At first,

In the late 1800s, ballot reforms cleaned up ballot fraud by

Office-Group and Party-Column Ballots

Voting Machines and Innovations

Electronic vote counting

Vote-by-mail elections have

Online voting is a trend that

2. The Office-Group Ballot encourages

Money and Elections

What are the issues raised by campaign spending?

What loopholes exist in todays campaign finance

Regulating Campaign Financing

Early campaign regulations were created in 1907, but feebly enforced.

The FECA Amendments of 1974 were passed in response to the

Buckley v. Valeo invalidated some of the measures in the FECA

The FECA Amendments of 1976 were passed in response to Buckley

The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 was passed to

The Federal Election Commission

the timely disclosure of campaign finance

limits on campaign contributions

Loopholes in the Law

Soft moneymoney given to State and local party organizations for

Independent campaign spendinga person unrelated and

Issue adstake a stand on certain issues in order to criticize or

2. Under federal election legislature passed in the 1970s, candidates

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