Big Idea WorksheetStudy Guide

Chapter 7 – The Electoral Process

Section One: The Nominating Process (p 178-186)

______, the naming of candidates for office, is a critically important step in the election process. (p 178)

Those who make nominations place real, very practical limits on the ______in an election. (p 179)

In ______constituencies, the nominating process is usually the only real contest for office. (p 179)

Please explain how each of the following processes results in nominations. (p 179-182, 186)

Self-Announcement / Caucus
Convention / Petition

Which method is still used to formally nominate presidential candidates? ______

Why did the caucus and convention give way to primaries? ______

What is a direct primary? (p 182) ______

What is the difference between open and closed primaries? (p 182) ______

What kind of primary do we have in Pennsylvania? (p 183) ______

Which has the right to determine if a primary will be open or closed, the state or party? (p 182) ______

What is a blanket primary, and why did it disappear? (p 183) ______

______

What is a runoff primary? (p 184) ______

What is a nonpartisan primary? (p 184) ______

How does the presidential primary differ from other primaries? (p 186) ______

Chapter 7 – The Electoral Process

Section Two: Elections (p 188-194)

Americans hold more ______and vote more often, electing more officeholders (more than ______), than most people realize. (p 188)

The conduct of elections matters because ______they are done often shapes ______is done. (p 188)

Most election law in the United States is ______, not ______, law. (p 188)

The Constitution gives Congress the power to fix the ______, ______, and ______of holding elections for ______and ______. (p 189)

Congress has set the date for holding elections as the ______after the first ______in ______of every ______year. (p 189)

Congress has required the use of ______and allowed the use of ______. (p 189)

Congress also helped to modernize our elections with the ______Act of 2002. (p 189)

Most states hold their elections to fill ______on the same date Congress selected. (p 189)

Millions of Americans cast their ballots before Election Day, many of them by ______. (p 189)

This opportunity was originally intended to serve a small group of voters, especially the ______or those who expected to be ______on Election Day. Recently, however, most states have permitted ______to cast an absentee ballot. (p 189)

Over half of the states also allow voters to cast ballots in person over a period of several ______. (p 190)

The ______occurs when a strong candidate running for an office at the top of the ballot attracts voters to other candidate’s on the party’s ticket. A reverse effect can also occur. (p 190)

A precinct is a ______and the smallest geographic unit for the conduct of ______. (p 190)

In Pennsylvania precincts, a Judge of Elections, Majority Inspector, and Minority Inspector (all elected positions) supervise the actual voting. Machine operators assist voters, and poll watchers help to ensure the integrity of the election.

______was a public process through much of our nation’s early history, but by 1900 nearly all states had adopted a voting arrangement known as the ______. (p 190-191)

This arrangement has four essential features: ______, ______, ______, and ______. (p 191)

What are the two varieties that have developed? (p 191-192) ______

What are the essential differences between them? (p 191-192) ______

The ballot in a typical American election is lengthy enough to be called a ______, and some argue this contributes to ______. (p 192)

Well over half the votes now cast in national elections are cast on a ______. ______patented the first in 1868, but the idea was slow to catch on. Most states now use one of two ______based systems: one utilizing high speed ______, the other utilizing a ______. (p 192-193)

A few states conduct some elections by ______, though many criticize them. Others suggest we should cast ballots via the ______. (p 193-194)

Chapter 7 – The Electoral Process

Section Three: Money and Elections (p 196-202)

No one really knows how much money is spent on elections in the US, but the total in 2004 passed ______dollars. The total for 2008 was certainly higher. (p 197)

The ______eats up by far the largest share of campaign dollars. In 2008, it was $2.4 billion. (p 196)

Parties and their candidates draw their money from two basic sources: ______and ______. (p 196)

______have always been the major source of campaign funds, and they are of four kinds: (p 197)

1. ______

2. ______

3. ______

4. ______

Campaign donations are a form of political ______. Many give because they believe in a ______or a ______, but some give because they want ______. (p 197)

The ______administers all federal laws (but not state laws) dealing with campaign finance. (p 198)

Federal campaign finance laws cover four broad areas: (p 198)

1. ______

2. ______

3. ______

4. ______

Neither ______nor ______can contribute directly to candidates running for public office, but their ______can and do. (p 199)

These groups pool many small contributions into a single large fund and distribute them to candidates who ______and ______. (p 200)

In ______(1976), the Supreme Court struck down several limits on campaign spending: (p 200)

1. ______

2. ______

3. ______

Candidates who accept ______can be regulated as a condition of accepting them. (p 200)

The Presidential Election Campaign Fund is filled by a voluntary contributions made by taxpayers and helps to finance ______, ______, and ______. Recently, however, candidates have opted out of public financing because of the limits it imposes. (p 200)

What is the difference between “hard” and “soft” money? (p 201) ______