Chapter 8
Campaigns,Elections and Voting
Behavior
Who Is Eligible to Run for Office?
? there are few eligibility requirements to run for
most U.S,offices
? President
– must be a natural born citizen
– must be 35 years old
– must be a resident of the country for 14 years before
inauguration
? Vice President
– must be a natural born citizen
– must be 35 years old
– must not be a resident of the same state as the
presidential candidate
Who Is Eligible to Run for Office? (cont.)
? Senate
– must be a citizen for at least nine years
– must be 30 years old
– must be a resident of the state from which elected
? Representative
– must be a citizen for at least seven years
– must be 25 years old
– must be a resident of the state from which elected
The Modern Campaign Machine
? longer campaigns than in past times
? greater emphasis on funds
? lesser emphasis on political parties
? greater reliance on political consultants,
who are hired to devise a campaign strategy
? greater emphasis on candidate visibility,or
name recognition
? greater use of polls and focus groups
Regulating Campaign Finance
? Federal Corrupt Practices Act of 1925
– limited election expenses for candidates
– required disclosures
– was ineffective because of its many loopholes
? The Hatch Act of 1939
– prohibited groups from spending more than $3 million
in a campaign
– limited individual contributions to committees to
$5,000
– restricted political activities of civil servants
– designed to end influence peddling
Regulating Campaign Finance
(cont.)
? Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972
– restricted mass media expenditures
– limited contributions by candidate and family members
– required disclosure of all contributions over $80
? Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
– created the Federal Election Commission
– provided public financing of presidential elections’
– limited presidential election campaign spending
– limited contributions
– required disclosure of contributions and expenditures
Regulating Campaign Finance
(cont.)
Buckley v,Valeo (1976) declared the 1972
limitation on what an individual could spend
on his or her own election unconstitutional
The Bi-partisan Campaign Finance Reform
Act of 2002 – bans soft,limits interest group
advertising,increases individual contribution
limit to $2000
Running for President
? Types of Presidential Primaries
– closed primary – only voters who are declared party
members can vote in that party’s primary
– open primary – voters can vote in either party primary
without disclosing their party affiliation
– blanket primary – voters can vote in primary elections
for candidates of more than one party (a Democrat for
the presidential nominee and a Republican for the
Senate nominee,for example)
– run-off primary – if no candidate receives a majority in
the first primary,some states require a second primary
between the top two candidates
The Electoral College
? Electors in the Electoral College actually elect the
president and vice president of the United States
? the numbers of electors in each state in equal to
that state’s number of representatives in both
houses of Congress
? electors typically cast their votes for the candidate
that receives the plurality of votes in that state
? because of the winner take all system of the
electoral college,it typically serves to exaggerate
the popular margin of victory
How Presidents and Vice Presidents are Chosen
General
Election
(first Tuesday in
November)
Voters vote
for electors
Electoral
College
(1st Monday
after second
Wednesday in
December)
Electors vote
for president
and vice
president
respectively
IF top
presidential
and vice-
presidential
candidates
receive
fewer than
270
electoral
votes,
decisions
are made in
the House
and Senate,
Each state
gets one
vote in the
House,two
votes in the
Senate,
House
Representatives
vote for
president by
state,Majority is
needed to win,
Senate
Senators vote for
vice president
(from top 2
candidates),
Majority is
needed to win,
Vice presidential
candidate receives
51 votes or more,
Presidential
candidate receives
26 votes or more,
Top presidential
candidate
receives 270
votes or more
Top vice-
presidential
candidate receives
270 votes or more
President
elected
Vice
president
elected
President
elected
Vice
president
elected
If no pres,Candidate
receives 26 votes by Jan,
20,and v.p,has been
elected,v.p,becomes
acting pres,until pres,is
elected by the House,
If neither candidate is
elected by Jan,20,
speaker of the House
becomes acting pres,
until pres,is elected by
the House,
If no v.p,candidate is
elected by Jan,20,and
pres,has been elected,
a v.p,is appointed by
the pres,and approved
by Congress,
Factors that Influence Who Votes
? age
? educational attainment
? minority status
? income levels
? two-party competition
Figure 8-2,Voter Turnout for Presidential and
Congressional Elections,1900 to Present
Hot Links to Selected Internet
Resources,
? Book’s Companion Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrie
f2004
? Wadsworth’s Political Science Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com
? Federal Election Commission,http://www.fec.gov
? OpenSecrets.org,http://www.opensecrets.org
? Center for Voting and Democracy,
http://www.fairvote.org
Campaigns,Elections and Voting
Behavior
Who Is Eligible to Run for Office?
? there are few eligibility requirements to run for
most U.S,offices
? President
– must be a natural born citizen
– must be 35 years old
– must be a resident of the country for 14 years before
inauguration
? Vice President
– must be a natural born citizen
– must be 35 years old
– must not be a resident of the same state as the
presidential candidate
Who Is Eligible to Run for Office? (cont.)
? Senate
– must be a citizen for at least nine years
– must be 30 years old
– must be a resident of the state from which elected
? Representative
– must be a citizen for at least seven years
– must be 25 years old
– must be a resident of the state from which elected
The Modern Campaign Machine
? longer campaigns than in past times
? greater emphasis on funds
? lesser emphasis on political parties
? greater reliance on political consultants,
who are hired to devise a campaign strategy
? greater emphasis on candidate visibility,or
name recognition
? greater use of polls and focus groups
Regulating Campaign Finance
? Federal Corrupt Practices Act of 1925
– limited election expenses for candidates
– required disclosures
– was ineffective because of its many loopholes
? The Hatch Act of 1939
– prohibited groups from spending more than $3 million
in a campaign
– limited individual contributions to committees to
$5,000
– restricted political activities of civil servants
– designed to end influence peddling
Regulating Campaign Finance
(cont.)
? Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972
– restricted mass media expenditures
– limited contributions by candidate and family members
– required disclosure of all contributions over $80
? Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974
– created the Federal Election Commission
– provided public financing of presidential elections’
– limited presidential election campaign spending
– limited contributions
– required disclosure of contributions and expenditures
Regulating Campaign Finance
(cont.)
Buckley v,Valeo (1976) declared the 1972
limitation on what an individual could spend
on his or her own election unconstitutional
The Bi-partisan Campaign Finance Reform
Act of 2002 – bans soft,limits interest group
advertising,increases individual contribution
limit to $2000
Running for President
? Types of Presidential Primaries
– closed primary – only voters who are declared party
members can vote in that party’s primary
– open primary – voters can vote in either party primary
without disclosing their party affiliation
– blanket primary – voters can vote in primary elections
for candidates of more than one party (a Democrat for
the presidential nominee and a Republican for the
Senate nominee,for example)
– run-off primary – if no candidate receives a majority in
the first primary,some states require a second primary
between the top two candidates
The Electoral College
? Electors in the Electoral College actually elect the
president and vice president of the United States
? the numbers of electors in each state in equal to
that state’s number of representatives in both
houses of Congress
? electors typically cast their votes for the candidate
that receives the plurality of votes in that state
? because of the winner take all system of the
electoral college,it typically serves to exaggerate
the popular margin of victory
How Presidents and Vice Presidents are Chosen
General
Election
(first Tuesday in
November)
Voters vote
for electors
Electoral
College
(1st Monday
after second
Wednesday in
December)
Electors vote
for president
and vice
president
respectively
IF top
presidential
and vice-
presidential
candidates
receive
fewer than
270
electoral
votes,
decisions
are made in
the House
and Senate,
Each state
gets one
vote in the
House,two
votes in the
Senate,
House
Representatives
vote for
president by
state,Majority is
needed to win,
Senate
Senators vote for
vice president
(from top 2
candidates),
Majority is
needed to win,
Vice presidential
candidate receives
51 votes or more,
Presidential
candidate receives
26 votes or more,
Top presidential
candidate
receives 270
votes or more
Top vice-
presidential
candidate receives
270 votes or more
President
elected
Vice
president
elected
President
elected
Vice
president
elected
If no pres,Candidate
receives 26 votes by Jan,
20,and v.p,has been
elected,v.p,becomes
acting pres,until pres,is
elected by the House,
If neither candidate is
elected by Jan,20,
speaker of the House
becomes acting pres,
until pres,is elected by
the House,
If no v.p,candidate is
elected by Jan,20,and
pres,has been elected,
a v.p,is appointed by
the pres,and approved
by Congress,
Factors that Influence Who Votes
? age
? educational attainment
? minority status
? income levels
? two-party competition
Figure 8-2,Voter Turnout for Presidential and
Congressional Elections,1900 to Present
Hot Links to Selected Internet
Resources,
? Book’s Companion Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrie
f2004
? Wadsworth’s Political Science Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com
? Federal Election Commission,http://www.fec.gov
? OpenSecrets.org,http://www.opensecrets.org
? Center for Voting and Democracy,
http://www.fairvote.org
