Reapportionment is the process of determining how many Congressional ________ each _________ receives- to divide the 435 seats in the House of Representatives into the fifty states
Redistricting is the __________of ___________ within each state after each census.
Gerrymandering is the manipulation of the redistricting process for political gain-to ___________________________.
The federal constraints that have been imposed on the redistricting process include:
A redistricting plan must create districts that are relatively __________ in population A redistricting plan must not _____________ the strength of minority voters A redistricting plan must not be a “____________ gerrymander” A redistricting plan must take into account traditional redistricting criteria such as _______________,
__________________ and respect for political subdivision lines and communities of interest
Malapportionment- __________ ___________, is broad and systematic variation in the size of electoral districts resulting in disproportionate representation for a given voter.
Baker v. CarrBaker claimed that state of TN had not redistricted in several decades and the district he lived in grew substantially compared to the others.
->He claimed that was discriminatory and illegal under the Fourteenth Amendment. The US Supreme Court agreed, citing the doctrine of “_________, ___________”
Ways to funnel $$$ to campaignsHard money - $ given to a party, ___________ or interest group that is
limited in amount and fully disclosed. Raising such funds is ‘harder.’
Soft money –_____________ funds by individuals, PACS or other groups given to political parties for “_______ __________” activities used to indirectly help candidates (get out the vote drives, voter registration) but cannot back candidates by name.
527 groups – group organized to spend ________________ $ on election activities thru “_______ ____________” instead of candidate advocacy
Independent expenditures- is a political activity intended to assist or oppose a specific candidate for office which is made without their cooperation, approval, or direct knowledge. Most commonly, this takes the form of _____________ (mail or T.V.) Often used by PACs and 527 groups.
Money in U.S. ElectionsEfforts at Reform:
1. The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) 1971--_____________ advertising spending-Require ______________ of funds and spending-PACs to _______________ and report to govt.
2. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) 1974--Additional amendments to control/regulate spending added to FECA-creation of Federal Election Commission to ____________ new laws,
________________ elections and provide ____________ campaign funding for Presidential Primaries
3. FECA Amendment 1976 and 79- reaction to Buckley v. Valeo (1976) largely insignificant
4. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) 2002--Banned use of ____________ money-Independent issue ads stopped within ______ days of general election
Buckley v Valeo (1976)-
Supreme Court decided candidates can spend as much of their own $ on personal campaigns as a form of _____ speech protected by ___ Amend.
Citizens United v FEC (2010)-Supreme Court determined ________________ ______________ of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited under the First Amendment .
The Court _________ ________ a provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that prohibited all corporations, both for-profit and not-for-profit,and unions from broadcasting electioneeringcommunications (commercials).
Continuing Problems with Campaign Finance
Rising Costs of CampaignsDeclining CompetitionIncreasing dependence on PACsCandidates’ Personal WealthCorporations’ unlimited contributions
->Growth in Individual Contributions and the Use of the Internet to Fund Campaigns
The Electoral College
We elect our President and Vice President not by a national vote but by an indirect device known as the electoral college.
This system was devised because the framers ______ _____ the general public.
Each _________ _________ decides how to select its electors. These individuals are generally longtime loyal party workers. They are expected to vote for the party’s designated candidate
if their party wins the state. A “_________ ________” is a member who does not follow
this rule (they go against the choice of the people/party). Many states have laws to punish faithless electors. There have been few faithless electors in recent history.
Electoral College cont…
To win an election, a candidate must have a majority of the electoral votes (______ or more).
If there is no majority, then the vote goes to the _______where the top 3 contenders are voted upon- each state gets 1 vote.
If no candidate gets a majority of votes for ____ President, then the top 2 choices go to the _________ for a vote. Each Senator gets one vote.
Twice in our history the vote went to the House (Jefferson won over Burr 1800 and then John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson 1824)
Electoral College voters per state = # of reps + # of senatorsso you have _____ (Senators) + ____ (Reps) + __ (D.C.)= ___ totalA majority to win is _______
*Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that are not winner-take-all (allocation by district winners)
How strong is your state?
What is your vote worth?
Arguments for and against electoral college… Read passages under miscellaneous tab on the website
to make a pro and con list yourself….
