{"id":90,"date":"2025-07-09T15:33:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.routledgelearning.com\/americangovernment\/?p=90"},"modified":"2025-07-11T16:57:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T16:57:25","slug":"chapter-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.routledgelearning.com\/americangovernment\/chapter-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 8"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Voting, Campaigns, and Elections<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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In this chapter, we discussed the role that voting and elections play in our polity. First, we saw the historical evolution of American elections through the lenses of an increasingly enfranchised electorate; however, this was offset by the decline in voter turnout experienced during the twentieth century. Second, determinants\u2014especially socio-economic status (SES)\u2014were identified as influencers on who votes and who does not. Basically, a higher SES, especially education, is the single greatest determinant on the likelihood of a person\u2019s participation in American electoral politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, the determinants of actual vote choice\u2014for whom one votes\u2014were discussed. Party identification is the number one influencer on individual vote choice, but since the electorate\u2019s decline in partisanship issues, candidates and events have become increasingly prescient as vote influencers. Also discussed were other socio-demographic indicators, as well as issues and ideological positioning, are party specified and hence provide useful heuristics for potential voters to choose from the list of parties and candidates in any given election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, both congressional and presidential elections were examined as cases with incumbency advantage highlighted in congressional races, as was the increased role of money within presidential primary and general elections. The focus of these efforts was placed on recent congressional and presidential electoral campaigns, especially at the presidential level between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and later Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Additionally, commentary was provided regarding the BCRA\u2019s (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, aka McCain-Feingold) role as a campaign finance regime to check the influence of soft money in national elections. In particular, the decline of the BCRA in the wake of recent Supreme Court decisions was highlighted as a potentially decisive factor in influencing the conduct of future campaigns. Finally, the Electoral College system for presidential election was discussed as the principal guiding feature for strategizing in presidential campaigns. We saw that it is based on a plurality principle; wherein, the states are awarded electors based on both population and equality principles (2 plus 1 or more electors per state depending on the size of its population; more populous states have more electoral votes than less populous ones).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Quizzes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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