and the electoral process

the presidential election

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

SHAPE AND FORM OF THE

AMERICAN GOVERNMENT

C

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)



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.

DIVISION OF POWERS –

EXAMPLES



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



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

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH – THE

CONGRESS

Consider these

interesting cases:

•Lisa Murkowski (2008)

•Melvin Carnahan (2000)



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

EXECUTIVE BRANCH – THE

PRESIDENT OF THE U.S.A



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

JUDICIAL BRANCH – FEDERAL

COURTS



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 PROCESS –

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS



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)

ELECTORAL COLLEGE



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…?

SO WHO WINS?



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.

PRESIDENTIAL DEADLOCKS

IF NONE OF THE CANDIDATES RECEIVED THE MAJORITY OF

ELECTORAL VOTES

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

(PROVISIONAL)

Electoral College map showing the results of the 2012 US presidential election.

POPULATION PER ELECTOR



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

ELECTORAL COLLEGE - CONTROVERSY