Name:
Date:
Period:
Chp. 10: Political Campaigns and
Elections
Filled In
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
1
In the course of reading this lesson and participating in the classroom activity, students will
a. identify ways in which voting rights in the United States have expanded over time and
identify the current qualifications for voting.
b. analyze the process for nominating candidates at all levels of government.
c. plan for and participate in a debate of current political issues.
d. identify how elections are funded and how funding is regulated.
e. analyze party identification and voter behavior in the United States.
Preview
1. What process would you have to follow if you wanted to be the president of Interact, SCA, KEY, or whatever club
you may be a part of?
The Nomination Process
1. Why do people need to be nominated for office?
a. Nomination – the process to name a person who’ll seek office
b. Candidates compete for their party’s nomination in primary elections
c.
General elections are when a party’s nominee face the nominees of other parties
2. What kind of primaries are there?
a. States get to decide when and how to conduct primary elections
b. Closed Primary – only declared party members can vote in a closed primary; party leaders typically prefer
closed primaries
c.
Notes
Open Primary – any qualified voter can vote in an open primary; only allowed by 23 States
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
2
Closed Primary
Open Primary
 Compromises the secret ballot
 Voters don’t have to make their preferences
known
 Excludes independent voters
 Doesn’t exclude independent voters
 Prevents party raiding
 Permits party raiding
 Candidates are more responsive to the party
 Undercuts party loyalty and party responsibility
d. Runoff Primary – in 10 states, a candidate needs to win a majority to win that State, if no one wins a majority,
then the top two vote-getters face off in a runoff primary; whoever wins is the nominee
e. Nonpartisan Primary – often local offices (i.e. school board, sheriff) have people competing who aren’t
affiliated with a political party; the top two vote-getters face each other in the general election
f.
Caucus – a closed meeting of delegates to represent a party’s views at the party’s state convention
3. What are the steps to secure the party’s nomination?
a. Form an exploratory committee: Gather a group of advisers to evaluate chances for election. Test the waters
to determine the level of public support.
b. Join the race: most candidates “self-announce” their candidacy; some wait to be drafted into the race by
supporters.
c.
Set up a campaign organization: Recruit volunteers and hire campaign professionals. Set up staff, consisting
of a campaign manager, public opinion pollster, media consultant, fundraising specialist, accountants, lawyers,
and press secretary. Set up offices in every state.
d. Build a War Chest – running a campaign costs a lot of money; dial for dollars and hold fundraisers. Set up
direct mailings and Web site for fundraising. Some $6 billion was spent on the 2012 presidential election
campaigns
e. Develop a campaign strategy: Develop a strategy for the primaries and caucuses that includes tone, theme,
and targeting.
f.
Campaign: Take part in parades, dinners, and other local events to meet voters. Appear as a leader who is in
touch with ordinary people. Develop direct-mail campaigns to ask voters for support. Use the media, including
the Internet, to reach out to millions of voters.
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
3
g. Run in primaries and caucuses: Run in primaries and caucuses in every state.
h. Attend the national convention: The nominee for that party is officially announced. He/She then chooses a
running mate, and works with party leaders to develop party platform (set of beliefs). Help unite party.
4. What is another nominating method?
a. Petition which is used widely at the local level. Candidates collect a required number of voters’ signatures.
Campaigning in General Elections
1. What are some examples of general elections?
a. presidential election: held every four years on even numbered years; president, vice president, one third of the
Senate and all House members, and some state and local officials are elected
b. midterm election: held in even-numbered years between presidential elections; one-third of the Senate and all
House members, most state governors, and some state and local officials are elected
c.
off-year election: held in odd-numbered years, primarily for the election of local officials
2. Have to make a shift from the primary strategy of winning over party members to taking on the nominee of the
other major party – have to appeal to a wider variety of voters
3. Candidates have to travel and remain in the public eye
a. stump speech: a candidate’s standard speech, variations of which are given throughout the campaign
b. photo ops
4. Getting Out the Vote
a. Make sure voters who are likely to support them go vote

Phone calls (even on election day), door-to-door
b. polling place: location where votes are cast within a voting precinct
c.
absentee ballots – mail-in ballots
 Too ill or disabled
 Those who are not present in their polling place
 Military or civilian personnel
5. battleground states: states where a vote is likely to be close; candidates often concentrate their efforts here
6. electoral vote: votes cast by electors who have pledged to support the winner of the popular vote in their states
7. The Administration of Elections
a. Democratic governments cannot succeed, unless elections are free, honest, and accurate
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
4
8. Extent of Federal Control
a. Election law is State law not Federal law, because the majority of elections are state and local.
b. Federal Election Day the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November ever even-numbered year
9. When Elections are Held
10. The Coattail Effect
a. The lesser known office seekers “ride the coattails” of the more prestigious candidates.
11. What is an Australian Ballot?
a. Printed at public expense
b. Lists all names of candidates in an election
c.
Given out only at polls, one to each qualified voter
d. Marked in secret
12. What is a Party-Column Ballot?
a. The party-column ballot lists each party’s candidates in a column under the party’s name
13. Sample Ballots – Example ballots intended to help voters prepare for the election.
Campaigning in General Elections
1. What are some sources of funding?
a. small contributors – $5 or $10
b. wealthy individuals and families: can afford to give large donations
c.
candidates – Perot spent $65 Million in 2000
d. nonparty groups – PACs, special interest groups which have a major stake in public policy.
e. temporary organizations formed just to fund the campaign
f.
fund raisers - $100, $500, $1000 a plate dinners/luncheons
g. public funding: subsidy or a grant of money, usually from the government.
2. Why do people give?
a. believe in candidate
b. access to government
c.
may want to be appointed to public office
d. organizations want laws passed
3. What is the Federal Election Commission?
a. The FEC is independent agency within the executive branch
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
5
b. It requires timely disclosure of campaign finance data
c.
place limits on campaign contributions
d. place limits on campaign expenditures
e. provide public funding (subsidies) for several parts of the presidential election process
4. What do candidates who receive money have to disclose or report?
a. no individual or group can make a contribution in the name of another
b. cash gifts of more than $100 are prohibited
c.
all contributions to a candidate for federal office must be made through a single campaign committee
d. all contributions and expenditures of more than $200 must be identified
e. contributions over $5000 must be reported to the FEC within 48 hours
5. Limits on Contributions
a. no one person can give more than $2600 in a primary or general election, $5000 to a PAC or $25,000 to a
national committee
b. individuals cannot give more than $95,000 total every two years
6. PAC Contributions
a. neither corporations or labor unions can directly contribute to a PAC
b. PACs cannot give more than $5000 per election to one candidate in a general election (can also give $5000
for the primary)
c.
PACs contributed over $400 million into the 2000 presidential and congressional elections
7. Public/Government Funding
a. presidential candidates can receive money from the FEC for their campaigns
b. if they use FEC money during the primaries, they cannot spend more than $40.5 million
c.
they always choose to opt out of using the FEC funds for primaries
d. if they use FEC money during the general election, they cannot spend more than $74,620,000

George W. Bush spent $292,608,801 during the primaries and $74,620,000 during the general election

John Kerry spent $251, 616, 288 during the primaries and $74,620,000 during the general election
8. Loopholes in the Law
a. hard money – money raised and spent to directly elect candidates
b. soft money – money given to party organizations for “party building activities” “get-out-the-vote” drives, voter
registration federal law neither limits nor requires the reporting of soft money
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
6
a.
c.
there was just over $500 million raised total in the 2000 campaign
Independent Campaign Spending - when a person spends money on a campaign, not contribute
d. Issue Ads

advertisements on social issues that do not mention the candidates’ names
e. Super PACs - can raise funds from individuals, corporations, unions, and other groups without any legal limit
on donation size

may not make contributions to candidate campaigns or parties, but may engage in unlimited political
spending independently of the campaigns
$6 billion was spent on the 2012 presidential election campaigns. On average, winning candidates for a seat in the
House of Representatives spent $1.5 million each. Winners of each Senate seat spent an average of $9.7 million. In
future elections, the cost will likely be even higher
Voter Behavior
1. age: The older people are, the more likely they are to vote.
2. education: Having a college degree dramatically increases the likelihood that a person will vote.
3. income: Middle-class and wealthy individuals are much more likely to vote than those living in poverty.
4. party affiliation: Party affiliation is the most critical factor influencing which candidate a voter will choose; voters
tend to vote for candidates from their party.
5. issues: Voters, especially swing voters, tend to look for candidates whose views on issues are similar to their own.
6. candidate characteristics: Voters are sometimes drawn to candidates based on their characteristics, such as their
image, personality, trustworthiness, or experience.
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
7
Glossary Chp. 10
Directions: Fill in the definition for the term listed. Then, in the box on the right, you have to draw a picture OR
write the definition in your own words OR write a sentence using the word that demonstrates its meeting.
Plurality
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Winner-Take-All System
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Suffrage (yes, again)
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Primary Election
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
General Election
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Open Primary
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Closed Primary
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
8
Glossary Chp. 10
Directions: Fill in the definition for the term listed. Then, in the box on the right, you have to draw a picture OR
write the definition in your own words OR write a sentence using the word that demonstrates its meeting.
Caucus
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Party Base
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Presidential Elections
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Midterm Elections
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Off-year Elections
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Soft Money
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Super PACs
.
Processing (Illustration, Summarization, or Sentence)
.
.
..
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
9
Summary
DIRECTIONS: Choose only one of the following:
a) write a summary (25-75 words) of what you believe was the most important aspect of the notes/lecture
b) write what you believe to be the most interesting or memorable part of the notes/lecture (25-75 words)
c) draw something that symbolizes the notes/lecture to you (has to be different than your title page)
Notes
Chp.10: Political Campaigns and Elections
10