2.1 Elections and Voting-Campaigns- Learning Objectives and Chapter Summaries

 Elections and Voting

 

Chapter Overview

Learning Objectives:

1. Trace the roots of American elections, and distinguish among the four different types of elections

2. Outline the electoral procedures for presidential and general elections


3. Compare and contrast congressional and presidential elections, and explain the

4. incumbency advantage


5. Identify seven factors that influence the voter choice


6. Identify six factors that affect voter turnout


7. Explain why voter turnout is low, and evaluate methods for improving voter turnout

 

Campaigns

Learning Objectives

1. Trace the evolution of political campaigns in the United States

2. Assess the role of candidates and their staff in the campaign process

3. Evaluate the ways campaigns raise money


4. Identify the ways campaigns use the media to reach potential voters

 

Chapter Summary

Campaigns start long before most of us notice them. Trial balloons are floated years before the active campaigning begins. Often, political candidates make special efforts to work hard for their party in the run-up to announcing that they would like to be the party’s nominee for an office. Some aspirants to political office start out in the local school board or appointive offices first, all the while, harboring desires to run for ever more powerful offices. Some candidates are cajoled, teased, and begged to run by friends, family, their party, the news media, or others. However, all candidates are similar in that each of them makes a decision at some point to run for election.

So once the decision is made, how does one run for election? What happens during a campaign?