Presidential Elections As Part Of A Democratic Process

Primary elections are elections held previous to a Presidential election to decide upon the presidential candidate from the two main parties. These are held in each state, each of which then goes on to sponsor the winning candidate of their primary at the national convention, where the party’s presidential candidate is announced. This method of choosing a candidate came about due to the McGovem/Fraser Commission of 1968 (where Mayor Daley refused McGovem the chance to run as he was too liberal). It replaced the old system of decisions being made in ‘smoke filled rooms’ where party bosses were all powerful and made the decision.

Winning the primary Ballot procedures Developing a personal following for the "party 's" nomination Incumbent advantage Sophomore surge Using the perqs of office Campaigning for / against Congress Impact of the way we elect individuals to Congress Legislators closely tied to local concerns Weak party leadership Primary versus general campaigns Kinds of elections and primaries: general versus primary elections Differences between primary and general campaigns What works in a general election may not work in a primary Different voters, workers, and media attention Must mobilize activists with money and motivation to win nomination Must play to the politics of activists Iowa caucuses Held in February of general election year

When describing democracy, it can be related to ideals that empower the people, such as: fairness, representation, equality, opportunity, and freedom. In the early 1800’s, these democratic ideals began to transform American culture and politics as they seemed to suffuse every aspect of society. By the 1820’s and 1830’s, America even attracted the interest of many foreigners who were impressed by the democratic character of life. They were surprised by the equality of conditions and saw American society as far more egalitarian than any society in Europe (Keene, 228). This new wave of democracy also thrived through politics and by 1828, almost every single state chose their presidential elector by letting

The Presidential Primaries is a system put in place to help chose the best candidates for being the President of the United States of America. Now whether it is or is not an effective system is yet to be discussed later on in the paper, but it was put in place to help better to represent the people of the U.S. The presidential Primaries is very crucial to the candidates running for presidency. It allows the public to see who the candidates are, and how they conduct a campaign against one another.

To begin with, the candidates for the president election must first go through the requirements of the U.S constitution. For instance, the U.S constitution states, “the president must be a natural born citizen of the united states, be at least 35 years of ages, and have been a resident of the united states for 14 years” (Presidential Election). Hence, the president must go through these requirements in order to declare their intention of running for the president of the United States without being turned down. With that being said, “Candidates who receive contributions or make expenditures in excess of $5,000 must register with the Federal Election Commission” (Quick Answers). In addition, “within 15 days of reaching the threshold, the candidates

There are primary elections which take place on an electoral cycle. These elections usually occur on the second Tuesday in March in an even-numbered years. They are important because they determine the party’s nominees for the general election. Primaries take place in Texas counties, which both

The people chooses a president every four years or the former president can also be re-elected for a second term. The national presidential election is held on the first Tuesday of November. According to usa.gov, the election process begins with the primary elections and caucuses and moves to nominating conventions, during which political parties each select a nominee to unite behind. The candidate also announces a Vice President to run with the candidate at the same time, so if that nominee wins the Vice President also wins. Each candidate travels across the United States to get the word out and promote their campaign to receive the majority of votes in the final election. This is where they promote their beliefs and views of how they would like to help the country on an economic matter, education or any other important topic that might interest the voter. Public policy comes into effect here, candidates are spreading their views and ideas of how to make our country successful, but congress might not agree with those political views and nothing will get done. Campaigning for a candidate that is running for the presidency begins after a nominee is chosen from every political party according to usa.gov. Advertising is a big area for a candidate because that is where the candidate will express their views and plans to make the people happy.

Over the course of this essay, I will explain in detail how we currently elect Presidents in the United States and assess whether or not this process is faithful to our democratic ideals.

In 1776, the United States declared its independence from Great Britain. This was in order to escape the oppressiveness of King George III, with the objective of creating a new type of democratic government. From this, the presidency of the United States was born. What it has expanded to today is vastly different than the early stages of politics, more specifically presidential campaigns. These campaigns have changed dramatically including aspects such as the never ending media coverage and the monumental spending on campaign donations by individuals.

A presidential primary is an election where members of the electorate can vote for a candidate for the Republican or Democrat presidential nomination. In an open primary any registered voter can vote, these are favoured more by the democratic party, whilst the republican party usually runs a closed primary, where only registered republicans can vote. Each Candidate wins delegates (how many depends on the system, whether it is proportional or winner takes all) that nominate them at the National Convention at the end of the primary election cycle. The candidates with the most delegates by super (dooper) Tuesday were Senators John McCain and Barack Obama making them their respective party's nominees. Primaries were introduced nationally to elect

In case more candidates are registered in a precinct than the number of available slots, a competitive election is established. During a competitive election, registered voters who are present on party primaries will place their votes and determine who will become precinct delegate(s) to represent them on county conventions. In order to persuade enough registered voters to place their vote in favor of a candidate, he or she has to develop a small campaign. Most precincts are big enough to require walk lists. In order to obtain a walk list, the candidate has to purchase voter data.

At the conclusion of President Barack Obama’s historical consecutive terms in office there is going to be a large number of candidates that are vying for the nominations of the respective parties. Due to the constitutional term limits imposed on the President, Obama is barred to seek re-election in 2016. While there are about 10 candidates running for the republicans, there are only two still in the running for the Democratic Party. The way candidates are recognized by their respective parties to become a candidate for the United States Presidency is first by receiving an invitation to compete in the primaries, then being included in the nationwide polls, as well as being on the ballot for at least 75% of all states. At the conclusion of the February 1st caucus there were 3 Democrats and 10 republicans who were still in the Presidential race, since then one Democratic candidate had dropped out.

To win a presidential election, it is a necessity to be able to afford the cost of campaigning. The start up cost is $10 million just for the headquarter. These candidates will need to spend another $4 to $15 million to stay in the game. The fight to remain as a candidate is vicious as there will only be a couple of candidates being chosen for the final round. To be in the final round, they have to gain their popularity, advertise about themselves in order to win. The downside to the hefty price of campaigning is that only the wealthy can win. The less wealthy ones are those whom are less funded and are not in the two major political parties in the US. Hence the majority in the US might not be very well represented due to social inequality.

Democracy is a unique type of government, and the purpose of this essay is to illustrate the strengths and weaknesses that a democratic government provides. I will detail that many components of this type of society are both strengths and weakness as each component has beneficial aspects as well as unavoidable pitfalls.

Political campaigns are very significant in American politics and elections. It is the period before the electorate makes political decisions in the form of elections. The attention of the citizens towards politics intensifies as the date of the elections draws near. The salience of voters improves as the election date draws near and could manifest in the form of increased media attention. Political discussions, campaign interest, strength of the intention to vote, and knowledge about the candidates are other manifestations of increased salience of voters. Another indication of improved intensity is the effort put by the candidates and their political parties in the campaigns. Parties increase their efforts in the