POLS 34102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Xenophobia, Microtargeting, Direct Democracy
29 Jun 2018
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CH 10 OUTLINE
Elections in America
1. In democratic systems, citizens use elections to hold elected representatives accountable for
their actions.
2. In the American federal system, the responsibility for organizing elections rests largely with
state and local governments.
3. Most general elections in the United States use the plurality system, a type of electoral system
in which a candidate need only receive the most votes in the election, not necessarily a majority
of votes cast.
4. Prior to the 1890s, voters cast ballots according to political parties. The advent of the neutral
ballot allowed voters to choose individual candidates rather than a political party as a whole.
5. State legislators routinely seek to influence electoral outcomes by manipulating the
organization of electoral districts.
6. Presidential candidates secure a party's nomination by running in the state party primaries
and caucuses. States that hold some of the first primaries and caucuses, like New Hampshire and
Iowa, have an important, and perhaps disproportionate role, in picking presidential candidates.
7. Nominations of presidential candidates were first made in caucuses of a party's members of
Congress. This system was replaced in the 1830s by nominating conventions, which were
designed to be a more democratic, deliberative method of nominating candidates.
8. Contemporary conventions merely ratify a party's presidential and vice-presidential
nominations, although conventions still draft the party platform and adopt rules governing the
party and its future conventions.
9. Americans do not vote directly for presidential candidates. Rather, they choose electors who
are pledged to support a party's presidential candidate. These electors cast their ballots in what is
known as the electoral college.
10. Support for eliminating the electoral college in favor of a national popular vote is increasing
among states.
11. Americans participate in direct democracy via ballot initiatives and the referendum. Eighteen
states also have legal provisions for recall elections, which allow voters to remove governors and
other state officials from office prior to the expiration of their terms.
Election Campaigns
1. The first step in campaigning involves organizing an exploration committee made up of
supporters who will help the candidate raise funds and create public name recognition.
2. The next steps of campaigning involve hiring experts, including campaign managers,
fundraisers, pollsters, and other political consultants.
3. Contemporary media-driven, capital-intensive campaigns rely on the media, debates, and
micro-targeting to reach the voters they want to target.
Money and Politics
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