electoral politics

Examples of electoral politics in the following topics:

• Using Electoral Politics

  • A number of interest groups have sought out electoral politics as a means of gaining access and influence on broader American policies.
  • All electoral politics are interest politics in some sense.
  • One example of an interest group using electoral politics is the National Caucus of Labor Committees (NCLC).
  • Labor Party (USLP), a registered political party, as its electoral arm.
  • Give an example of an interest group making determined use of electoral politics

• Likeability of Political Candidates

  • In large part, this association is supported by political parties' platforms in the U.S.
  • Likeability is thought to play a significant role in electoral politics but is difficult to access in campaigns.
  • However, likeability can be difficult for politicians and political strategists to control.
  • A major critique of large scale electoral politics in the U.S. and other democracies is that a candidate's wealth has too much influence in the election's outcome.
  • Identify the reasons the electorate might be drawn to a particular candidate

• Electing Candidates

  • Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting laws that convert the vote into a political decision.
  • Electoral systems then determine the result of the election on the basis of the tally.
  • Most electoral systems can be categorized as either proportional or majoritarian.
  • In a proportional electoral system, a political party receives a percentage of seats in a governmental body in proportion to the number of votes it receives.
  • Many electoral systems require voters to cast ballots at official, regulated polling places.

• The Election of 1796

  • The election of 1796 was the first contested presidential election between two distinct political factions in the nation's history.
  • In 1796, voters only could cast ballots for electors in the Electoral College, not for the presidential candidates themselves, and not all electors publicly declared their political preferences.
  • Moreover, the voting method in the Electoral College did not account for party tickets: The writers of the Constitution had not envisioned competing political factions.
  • Jefferson received the second-highest number of electoral votes and was elected vice president according to the prevailing rules of electoral college voting.
  • Although this amendment was not adopted until after the 1800 election, the events of 1796 signaled to Congress that some minor adjustments to the Constitution were necessary in order to make the electoral system more efficient and to prevent opposing political factions from holding executive positions at the same time.

• The 23rd Amendment

  • The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution permits citizens in the District of Columbia to vote for Electors for President and Vice President.
  • The 23rd Amendment would have been repealed by the District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, which proposed to give the District full representation in the United States Congress, full representation in the Electoral College system, and full participation in the process by which the U.S.
  • A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors appointed by a State; and they shall meet in the District and perform such duties as provided by the twelfth article of amendment.

• Electoral Districts

  • An electoral district is a territorial subdivision whose members (constituents) elect one or more representatives to a legislative body.
  • In Australia and New Zealand, electoral districts are called "electorates," but elsewhere the term generally refers to the body of voters.
  • The exact name used varies from country to country, including such terms as "electoral commission", "central election commission", "electoral branch" or "electoral court".
  • They may also be responsible for electoral boundary delimitation.
  • Gerrymandering is the manipulation of electoral district boundaries for political gain.

• The Electoral College

  • The Electoral College consists of 538 electors who officially elect the President and Vice President of the United States.
  • That results in 538 total electors.
  • These presidential electors in turn cast electoral votes for those two offices.
  • Faithless electors are pledged electors and thus different from unpledged electors.
  • They argue that the two party system has provided stability through its ability to change during times of rapid political and cultural change.

• Voter Turnout

  • High voter turnout is desirable, though the issue is still debated among political scientists and economists specializing in public choice.
  • However, some political scientists question the view that high turnout is an implicit endorsement of the system.
  • People have become far more likely to participate in boycotts, demonstrations, and to donate to political campaigns.
  • Federal law restricts how much individuals and organizations may contribute to political campaigns, political parties, and other FEC-regulated organizations.
  • Nebraska split its electoral vote when Senator Obama won the electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd congressional district; the state's other four electoral votes went to Senator McCain.

• The Nomination Campaign

  • A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
  • The two major political parties try to clear the field of candidates before their national nominating conventions, where the most successful candidate is made the party's nominee for president.
  • A number of electors, collectively known as the Electoral College, officially select the president.
  • Generally, the ticket that wins the most votes in a state wins all of that state's electoral votes, and thus has its slate of electors chosen to vote in the Electoral College.
  • Describe the procedure by which the Electoral College indirectly elects the President

• The Election of 1824

  • The presidential election of 1824 featured five candidates, all of whom ran as Democratic-Republicans (the Federalists having ceased to be a national political force).
  • Electors were chosen by popular vote in eighteen states, while the six remaining states used the older system in which state legislatures chose electors.
  • The Electoral College, however, was another matter.
  • Of the 261 electoral votes, Jackson needed 131 or more to win but secured only 99.
  • This map of the Electoral College votes of 1824 illustrates the number of electoral votes allotted to each candidate in each state.