PSCI 1014 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Electoral College, Direct Democracy, Secret Ballot
9 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Logic of elections: the american government is a representative republic, not a direct democracy. We elect people to make decisions for us: we hold regular, free competitive elections to help solve the agency loss problem. Gives officials an incentive to do a good job to be re-elected. Overarching questions: do the specific electoral institutions in the u. s. matter, do campaigns matter in national elections. Election laws in the u. s: two defining features. Multiple elections occur at one time (national, state, local) Electoral rules: under the power granted in article ii, section 1, congress determined the date of the general elections in 1845. The first tuesday following the first monday in november: federalism: with some exceptions (electoral college) the states have an enormous say in how elections are run. Ballot variation: early on, voting was viva voca. Vote out loud and in person: printed ballots were eventually adopted, but ballots were public.
