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Understanding the Process

Explains how U.S. presidential candidates are selected through political parties, primaries, caucuses, and conventions. Highlights the role of Democratic and Republican parties in shaping elections and influencing government policies.

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    Parties, Primaries, Caucuses & Conventions Name KeysKsvn Chambers It's almost election time and candidates are throwing their hats in the ring left and right, beginning campaigns to be the next president of the United States. It's a tough job to step into., and many feel they ve got what it takes to do it the best. So how do we go from a pool of potentials to two main candidates— a nominee for each major party— whose names make it to the final ballot? The answer is in everything that happens before the actual election. Enter the primary, the caucus, and the convention. I t s Party Time The United States has a party system where the two major political parties— Democratic and Republican— campaign for and hold the majority of elected offices across the country. A political party is an organized group of people who share similar political views about how government should run and how societal problems should he solved. They work to influence the government in support of those views. People join political parties as a way to move the government towards following their political views. Why? Because more people means more strength. Political parties gain power when their candidates are elected to public office. The more officials they have voting in favor of and working towards similar outcomes r the more likely the country is to be shaped according to their views. The More the Merrier The Democratic and Republican parties aren t the only parties in the United States. There are many minor parties (or third parties), such as the Libertarian Party, Green Party, Reform Party, and Constitution Party, that sponsor presidential candidates, too. Even though third parties haven't produced a presidential election win, they have influenced the outcome of presidential elections on many occasions. For example, when Teddy Roosevelt created the Progressive Party in 1912, he took enough votes away from Republican candidate William Howard Taft that the Democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson won the election. (Roosevelt came i n second place!) Third parties often bring attention to issues that the major parties ignore. I n the past, these were issues like the abolition of slavery, child labor, and the 4D-hour workweek. Today, it's issues like climate change and limitations on the governments influence on people's lives. But third parties are kept off the "main stage" due to rules that favor the Democratic and Republican parties only. These rules include the 'winner- take-all" nature of the Electoral College and the complicated state requirements to get on the presidential ballot. To top it all off, many people are told they are "throwing away’ their vote if they choose a third party candidate who doesn't have a chance to win. One o f the major third parties in the U S is the libertarian Party, whose mascot is a porcupine. i ivies C 202D IQvfcs, Ire. Reading - Side A

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    Parties, Primaries, Caucuses & Conventions Name: Chambers And the Nominee Is... Running for president takes a lot of work before the election even begins, Thats because to be a major contender, you have to win your party's nomination first. A nomination is each party's formal choice of who their official presidential candidate will be. Each party holds a convention in the summer before the election to determine their nominee and that's how two names get on the ballot. The national convention is a meeting of delegates of a political party to choose candidates for elected office. But before Republicans and Democrats go head to head in the big or general election, Republicans and Republicans and Democrats and Democrats duke it out first. Only one candidate can be their party's nominee and take the official spot on the ballot. And guess what? The Constitution doesn't have any rules for how this part of the election process or the nominations have to run. States and political parties made it up along the way. Here's how it's done. Primarily Speaking Before the presidential election and before the convention, each state lets the people vote on the pool of potential candidates. Think of this as a way of 'narrowing the field." States held either a primary election (generally just referred to as a primary) or a caucus to select the candidate that the state wishes to nominate for each party in the national election. Parties hold their primary or caucus separately, starting in February of an election year through the summer. And candidates campaign way before that to gain the name recognition and support they need to win. The results determine three things: 1) the state's preference by party for a nominee; 2 ) how many delegates the state will send to the convention; 3 ) and who those delegates will vote for. I m going t o b e the party Why Do We Have Primaries Anyway? Primaries were originally developed to take power away from what was seen as a corrupt system where the political parties used a rigged process to choose political candidates. Candidates were hand-picked by party "bosses," often as a result of bribes and an agreement to do whatever was asked of them once elected. Sound democratic? No. Bribery and threats to obtain votes were also common— the "bosses' used jobs, housing, food, heat, and police protection to convince voters to vote for their candidate. Voting fraud, such as voting more than once or in multiple places, was common, too. Progressive Era reforms in the 1890s through the 1920s, such as the use of primary elections and secret ballots (a way to vote where no one but the voter knows their selections) gave the voters more power to choose who they wanted to run the government. After all, shouldn't the people themselves be the ones responsible for narrowing the field of nominees? Reading - Side B I ivies ■ E 2DOD IQvIcs, Ire.

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    Name: Keystawn Chambers Parties, Primaries, Caucuses & Conventions Primaries vs. Caucuses Primary elections are a d m i n i s t e r e d b y state governments,, m a k i n g t h e m very affordable f o r t h e political p a r t i e s , b u t q u i t e expensive overall. V o t e r s g o t o t h e polls and cast t h e i r ballots similarly t o h o w t h e y w o u l d i n any o t h e r election. Caucuses, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , a r e c o n d u c t e d b y t h e state p a r t y organizations. T h e y are part o f t h e p r i m a r y season, b u t t h e y ' r e n o t r u n like y o u r typical election. A caucus i s a m e e t i n g w h e r e party leaders a n d s u p p o r t e r s select candidates t h r o u g h discussions a n d consensus. T h e y a r e relatively inexpensive f o r parties t o r u n because t h e y a r e usually held i n a public location such as a school, library, o r c h u r c h , a n d because there's little n e e d for specialized e q u i p m e n t l i k e b a l l o t s , v o t i n g b o o t h s , and electronic c o u n t i n g m a c h i n e s . Just to Make it More Complicated... T h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f d i f f e r e n t types o f primaries a n d t w o d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f caucuses. Each t y p e differs based u p o n w h e t h e r o r n o t v o t e r s w h o a r e unaffiliated w i t h t h e p a r t y a r e allowed t o participate. Open Once in the voting booth, any registered voter can mark: their choices in one partys section on a multiparty ballot Can We Caucus Over Here? S u r e t h i n g , b u t each party d o e s i t differently. Caucus- goers for t h e D e m o c r a t i c party b r e a k into g r o u p s t h a t s u p p o r t o n e specific candidate { o r choose t o b e u n d e c i d e d ) a n d a c o u n t is t a k e n . A n y candidate's g r o u p t h a t doesn’t h a v e a t l e a s t 1 5 % o f t h e t o t a l n u m b e r o f caucus-goers disbands, a n d t h o s e supporters [ a n d t h e u n d e c i d e d s ) are c o u r t e d by t h e o t h e r candidates t o j o i n . T h i s k e e p s u p u n t i l t h e g r o u p s a r e settled. T h e n t h e delegates are d i s t r i b u t e d p r o p o r t i o n a l l y t o each candidate w h o is l e f t s t a n d i n g . Semi-Closed Register? d party members vote using their party s ballot Unaffiliated voters may participate by choosing one partys baiiot Semi-Open Any registered voter must dedare which partys ballot they want before entering the voting booth. Closed Retpstered party member □ may vote using their own partys ballot Uhaffiliated voters are not allowed t o cast a ballot Republican caucus-goers v o t e b y s e c r e t ballot. It m a y s o u n d a l o t like s. a p r i m a r y , b u t candidates o r t h e i r representatives usually address t h e v o t e r s first before t h e y a r e allowed t o v o t e . \ Caucuses are l o u d , involve a g r e a t d e a l of listening a n d \ s o m e t i m e s d e a l - m a k i n g , a n d g e n e r a l l y t a k e a considerable '. a m o u n t o f t i m e t o c o m p l e t e . 1 T h e y ' r e h e l d a t specific times, . a n d i f a v o t e r can't m a k e it, t h e n / h e o r s h e i s o u t o f l u c k . Very few / states v o t e b y caucus a n d prefer primaries instead s i n c e t h e r e i s u s u a l l y a l o n g e r w i n d o w o f v o t i n g t i m e a n d m o r e p e o p l e can p a r t i c i p a t e . Open Any registered voter, regardess of ' party affiliation, can participate in the caucus meeting. C j c A U c O s : Closed Registered voters can only participate < if they are registered \ members of that party. I I V I C S Reading - Side C

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