copyright © 2011 pearson education, inc. publishing as longman chapter 4: parties and elections in...

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Chapter 4: Parties and Elections in the States

• The Constitutional Context: State and Federal Roles in Regulating Elections

• Elections at the State and Local Levels

• The Role of Political Parties

• Party Balance and Imbalance

The Constitutional Context: State and Federal Roles in Regulating ElectionsLO 4.1 Compare and contrast the constitutional roles of state and federal governments in regulating elections.

Constitutional Context•All elections for national offices are held by and within the states.•Amendments and Sup Ct decisions

• Fifteenth Amendment – race• Seventeenth Amendment – senators chosen directly• Nineteenth Amendment – women• Twenty-fourth Amendment – poll tax• Twenty-sixth Amendment – 18- to 21-year olds• Court decisions – maximum residency is 30 days

LO 4.1

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Elections at the State and Local LevelsLO 4.2 Describe differences among the states in laws regulating voting, elections, and campaign finance, and assess federal influence on these regulations.

Many Elections at the State and Local Levels•Primary elections•General elections•Special elections•Initiatives, Referendums, & Recall elections•Bond issues

LO 4.2



Differences in Who May Vote•States determine who is eligible to vote.

• 48 states prohibit prison inmates from voting.• 36 states have a mental competency requirement.

•Voter registration rules• 30 days residency• Purging registration lists

•Voter identification laws• Controversy on standards for id

LO 4.2

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Elections at the State and Local Levels


Differences in How We Vote

•Help Americans Vote Act--Fed $ for modernization

•Poll workers—see me if interested!

•Ballots—design makes a difference• Party column – allows straight ticket• Office block – discourages straight party• Infamous butterfly ballot in 2000 (PBC Fl—see later slide)

•Voting by mail, absentee ballot, early

LO 4.2




Differences in Nomination Process\

Primaries

•Closed primary

•Open primary

•Blanket (La only for state/local offices; struck down in Cal, Wash, Alaska by US Supreme Court)

LO 4.2




Differences in the Timing and Frequency of Elections

•Presidential election is the “Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in every fourth year.”

•States determine the dates of all other elections.

LO 4.2




Differences in Campaign Finance

•Disclosure laws

•Contribution limits

•Public financing laws

LO 4.2



LO 4.2


The Role of Political PartiesLO 4.3 Outline the organization of state parties and their major functions with respect to elections, voters, and government.

Party Organization and Officers

•An Earlier Era: Machines and Bosses• E.g. Tammany Hall in NYC; Pendergast in

KC; Daley in Chicago

•Party Organizations Today• Paid full time; more professional• Train candidates

LO 4.3



Party Activities/Functions in Elections•Structure for Elections—simplify voting•Candidate Recruitment and winnowing•Voter Registration—recruit new groups•Voter Mobilization--GOTV•Campaign Resources—compete with interest groups and wealthy•Organize government

LO 4.3


The Role of Political Parties


Parties and Voting Choices

•Party Identification--#1 factor

•Candidate Appeal—how outsiders sometimes win—e.g. Nikki Haley

•Issue Voting—varies in importance depending on salience of issue

•Judicial Elections—can be nasty

•Nonpartisan Local Elections—class bias

LO 4.3




Parties in State Government

•Executive Branch—party leader

•Legislature—organized by party• Party caucus• Redistricting—party seeking advantage• Reapportionment—forced by Feds and

Supreme Court decisions

LO 4.3



Party Balance and ImbalanceLO 4.4 Assess how party competition has changed in recent decades.

Party Balance and Imbalance

•Two-party state: increased # since WWII

•One-party state• the Solid Democratic South disappears in

late 1960s and 70s• Emerging GOP dominance in South, but

not quite one party in 1980s-90s

LO 4.4



The __ Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to women.

A. Fifteenth

B. Seventeenth

C. Nineteenth

D. Twenty-sixth

LO 4.1



States generally have elections the same time as ___.

A. Bond elections

B. School board elections

C. Presidential elections

D. All of the above

LO 4.2



The ____ is the big prize in state elections.

A. Senate seat

B. House Speaker position

C. Governor’s seat

D. Congressional seat

LO 4.3



Which of the following is a one-party state?

A. Utah

B. Indiana

C. Michigan

D. Missouri

LO 4.4


copyright © 2011 pearson education, inc. publishing as longman chapter 4: parties and elections in...

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