AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
and the electoral process
the presidential election
SHAPE AND FORM OF THE AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
 federal republic
 federal government
 state government
 local government
 division of powers
 federal law
 state law
 local law
 separation of powers – federal government
 legislative branch – Congress
 executive branch – President of the U.S.A.
 judicial branch – Federal Courts (Supreme Court)
 checks and balances
A. Federal
government
C
B. State
government
Local
government
CONSTITUTION: THE SUPREME LAW OF THE USA
Powers Denied the National Government (e.g. Bill of Rights, no export taxes
among states)
Powers Denied the States (e.g. printing money, entering into treaties)
Powers Denied the National the States (and local) Governments
A. Delegated Powers of the National (Federal) Government
B. Reserved Powers of the States (10th Amendment)
C. Concurrent Powers (e.g. Taxes – on different power levels)
DIVISION OF POWERS – EXAMPLES
Education
Abortion laws
 Roe v. Wade (1973) – abortion legal, but may be
restricted by the States in some ways (late abortion,
health plan coverage, etc.)
Death penalty
 Federal capital punishment (civilian and military
jurisdiction)
 Capital punishment banned in 16 states and in
Washington D.C.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH – THE CONGRESS
 bicameral parliament
 legislative power and a set of delegated
explicit and implied powers
 financial and budgetary matters (budget,
taxes, loans, regulating commerce)
 military matters (Congress declares war,
raises the army, and makes laws for the
military)
 congressional oversight – power to
investigate and to oversee the executive
branch – through committees
 power of removal – impeachment of federal
officers
 elections every 2 years
 House of Representatives
 currently 435 representatives
representatives elected for 2 years
 Senate
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Two Senators from each state
Senators elected for a six-year term
every two years 1/3 of the Senators elected
Vice-President is the President of the
Senate
Consider these interesting
cases:
•
•
Lisa Murkowski (2008)
Melvin Carnahan (2000)
EXECUTIVE BRANCH – THE PRESIDENT
OF THE U.S.A
 number of terms – limited
constitutionally to two (1951, 22nd
Amendment)
 The President elected for a 4 year term
 presidential candidates must be
natural born citizens of the U.S.A.
 must be at least 35 years of age
 must be a resident for 14 years
 traditionally forms the cabinet
(Secretaries)
 executes the federal law
 accepts (signs) or vetoes federal
legislation – veto can be overridden by
a 2/3 rds majority vote in both houses
 conducts foreing policy
 commander-in-chief
 nominates judges of federal courts
(including the Supreme Court Justices)
 may grant presidential pardon
JUDICIAL BRANCH – FEDERAL COURTS
 United States district courts (currently
94 districts)
 United States Circuit Courts of Appeals
(currently 11 CoA's)
 The Supreme Court of the United
States
 the court of last resort
 checks the law and governmental actions
for constitutional inquiries
 interprets the Constitution
 Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices
nominated by the President, confirmed by
the Senate, may be impeached by
Congress
 Life tenure terminating upon death,
resignation, retirement, or conviction on
impeachment
ELECTORAL PROCESS – PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS
How to become the President of the USA?
Presidential nominees: party local and state
conventions-> primary elections -> Party
national conventions ->presidential candidates
Primaries – where the real election happens
Registered voters vs non-registered voters
Election Day
 popular vote (Tuesday after the first Monday of
November – earliest 2 November – latest 8 November)
 voters vote for electors who form the Electoral College
 all states use a "short ballot,” only few require the name
of the elector added to the name of the presidential
candidate
ELECTORAL COLLEGE
electoral votes allocated by the number of
represenatives and senators from particular
states (so the minimum number of electors
from a state is three)
additional three votes for Washington D.C.
'winner-takes-all' rule applies, with the
exception of Maine and Nebraska
 Nebraska and Maine divide their Electoral Votes by congressional
districts + 2 votes based on state-wide popular vote
hence – votes in popular election do not have
the same 'weight': per-capita Electoral College
representation differs significantly: e.g.:
Wyoming vs. California – at a ratio of more
than 3:1,
 yet, some scholars claim the opposite is true (Banzhaf
power index)
SO WHO WINS?
Electors cast their votes on the Monday after
the second Wednesday in December
Do they have to vote for ‘their’ candidate? – 24
states have laws punishing faithless electors
the candidate to win the majority of votes
(currently 270) in the Electoral College – wins
Electoral votes counted by a joint session of
Congress on January 6
Now, what happens if there is a strong third
contender, who wins just one big state or if
there is a tie…?
PRESIDENTIAL DEADLOCKS
IF NONE OF THE CANDIDATES RECE IVE D THE MA JORITY OF
E LECTORAL VOTES
 House of Representatives chooses the President
 House of Repr. chooses from three candidates who recieved the greatest
number of electoral votes
 Each state delegation votes en bloc - its members have a single vote
collectively (and the District of Columbia does not vote)
 A candidate must receive an absolute majority of state delegation votes
(currently 26) in order for that candidate to become the President-elect.
 Additionally, delegations from at least two-thirds of all the states must be
present for voting to take place.
 The House continues balloting until it elects a President.
 Senate chooses the Vice -President
 Senate chooses from two candidates who recieved the greatest number of
electoral votes
 The Senate votes in the normal manner (i.e., ballots are individually cast by
each Senator, not by state delegations).
 Two-thirds of the Senators must be present for voting to take place.
 "majority of the whole number" of Senators (currently 51 of 100) is necessary
for election.
 If a deadlock continues
 If the House of Representatives has not chosen a President-elect in time for
the inauguration (noon on January 20), the Vice President-elect becomes
Acting President until the House should select a President. If the winner of the
vice presidential election is also not known by then, then the sitting Speaker
of the House becomes Acting President until either the House should select a
President or the Senate should select a Vice President.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE 2008
Electoral College map showing the results of the 2008 US presidential election.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE 2012 CHANGES
Electoral College map showing the CHANGES in Electoral College due to 2010 census
ELECTORAL COLLEGE 2012
Electoral College map showing the results of the 2012 US presidential election.
POPULATION PER ELECTOR
ELECTORAL COLLEGE - CONTROVERSY
 The elections of 1876, 1888 and 2000 produced an
Electoral College winner who did not receive the
plurality of the nationwide popular vote
 in 2000 – Bush: 271 electoral votes, Gore: 266 EV.
Popular election – Bush: 50,456,002 (47.87%), Gore:
50,999,897 (48.38%)
 weight of individual votes not equal
 A strong third contender could cause trouble…
 promotes interests of smaller states (yet highlights
the federal character of the nation) (really? – only in
close elections)
 Presidential campaigns may focus on large swing
states (theoretically, it's enough to win 11 big states
to win the election)
 Electoral Collage system promotes big turnouts in
swing states and discourages turnouts in non-swing
states