A Guide to the US Presidential Election System 2Nd Edition
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“The Return of the Brokered Convention? Democratic Party Rules and Presidential Nominations.”
“The Return of the Brokered Convention? Democratic Party Rules and Presidential Nominations.” By Rick Farmer State of the Parties 2009 October 15-16 Akron OH Front loading, proportional representation and super delegates are changing the dynamic of the Democratic presidential nomination. Since 1976 capturing the early momentum was the key ingredient to winning. Barack Obama’s nomination in 2008 demonstrates how these three forces are converging to re-write the campaign playbook. Front loading created a 2008 Super Tuesday that approached national primary day status. Proportional delegate allocations kept the race close when another system might have put the delegate count out of reach; and with a different result. Super delegates made the final decision. The 2008 Democratic presidential contests produced, in effect, a brokered convention. Without reform, many more brokered conventions appear to be in their future. Below is a discussion of how the reforms of the 1970s and 80s combine to produce this perfect storm. Then, the 2008 campaign illustrates the effects. The major reform proposals are examined. Finally some conclusions are drawn. Reforms of the 1970s and 80s American political parties grant their nomination to a single candidate at a national convention. Both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party nominations can be won with a simple majority of the delegates. Delegates are pledged through a series of caucuses and primaries. Both parties are following similar calendars but Republican Party rules result in a different type of contest than Democratic Party rules. Parties have met in quadrennial national conventions for the purpose of selecting a presidential nominee since 1832. -
Letter to the Democratic National Committee, the DNC Rules Committee, and All Delegates to the Democratic National Convention
Letter to the Democratic National Committee, the DNC Rules Committee, and all delegates to the Democratic National Convention: The undersigned organizations hope that all Democrats agree that the will of the voters should be decisive in determining the Democratic nominees for the country’s highest offices. We therefore urge the Democratic Party – via action at this month’s Democratic National Convention – to eliminate the concept of so-called “superdelegates.” This change would not impact the ongoing nomination proceedings, but would take effect for all future national nominee selection processes and conventions. The superdelegate system is unrepresentative, contradicts the purported values of the party and its members, and reduces the party’s moral authority. • The system undermines representative democracy and means that the electorate is not necessarily decisive in determining who will be the Democratic nominees for president and vice president and dilutes the voters’ say over the party’s platform and the rules under which it operates. Astonishingly, these unelected delegates have essentially as much weight as do the pledged delegates from the District of Columbia, 4 territories, and 24 states combined. • The system undermines the Democratic Party's commitment to gender equity. While the party’s charter rightfully mandates that equal numbers of pledged delegates be male and female, a near super-majority of superdelegates are men. • The Democratic Party prides itself on its commitment to racial justice and the racial diversity of its ranks. Yet the superdegelates appears to skew the party away from appropriate representation of communities of color: Proportionately, approximately 20% fewer of this year’s superdelegates hail from communities of color than was true of the 2008 and 2012 pledged delegate cohorts, or of the voters who supported President Obama in those years’ general elections. -
Post-Election Day Scenarios October 27, 2020
HealthyElections.org Post-Election Day Scenarios October 27, 2020 Abstract: Confronted with likely delays in counting an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots, close vote counts in key battleground states, the prospect of allegations of election fraud, and an intensely polarized political climate, the United States faces the possibility of highly contested election results on and after November 3. This paper explores some unlikely but conceivable scenarios that could emerge, such as a state legislature's appointment of a slate of electors before the state’s popular vote is fully counted, a Congress faced with two conicting slates of electors from the same state, and the death of a presidential candidate. These G oogle Slides correspond to the content of this memo and might be useful for a presentation covering the material. Authors : Maia Brockbank, Joven Hundal, Zahavah Levine, Anastasiia Malenko, and Alissa Vuillier Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 November 4 - December 13: Post-Election Day Scenarios 2 Scenario 1: State Legislature Appoints Electors Before Popular Vote is Certied 2 December 14 - January 6: Reporting Votes to Congress 4 Scenario 2: State Misses Deadline to Send Its Slate to Electoral College 4 Scenario 3: Faithless Electors Defect and Change Election Outcome 5 January 6 -19: Congressional Counting of Electoral Votes 5 Scenario 4: Congress Faces Two Conicting Electoral Slates from a State 6 Scenario 5: No Candidate Receives a Majority of Electoral Votes 9 January 20: Inauguration Day 10 Scenario 6: No Clear Winner on Inauguration Day 10 Scenario 7: Judicial Intervention Determines Election Outcome 10 A Presidential Candidate Dies 11 Scenario 8: A Presidential Candidate Dies Before or After Election Day 11 Introduction The 2020 presidential election has already emerged as one of the most hotly contested in American history. -
Presidential Nominating Process: Current Issues
Presidential Nominating Process: Current Issues -name redacted- Analyst in Elections February 27, 2012 Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov RL34222 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Presidential Nominating Process: Current Issues Summary After a period of uncertainty over the presidential nominating calendar for 2012, the early states again settled on January dates for primaries and caucuses. Iowa held its caucuses on January 3 and New Hampshire held its primary on January 10. These two states, along with South Carolina and Nevada, are exempt from Republican national party rules that do not permit delegate selection contests prior to the first Tuesday in March, but specify that these contests may not be held before February 1. Officials in Florida announced that the state would hold a January 31, 2012, primary, in violation of party rules, which prompted South Carolina and Nevada to schedule unsanctioned events as well. South Carolina scheduled its primary on January 21; Nevada Republicans originally scheduled party caucuses for January 14, but changed the date to February 4. States that violate the rules risk losing half their delegates, as a number of states already have. Every four years, the presidential nominating process generates complaints and proposed modifications, often directed at the seemingly haphazard and fast-paced calendar of primaries and caucuses. The rapid pace of primaries and caucuses that characterized the 2000 and 2004 cycles continued in 2008, despite national party efforts to reverse front-loading. The Democratic Party approved changes to its calendar rules in July 2006, when the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee extended an exemption to Nevada and South Carolina (Iowa and New Hampshire were previously exempted) from the designated period for holding delegate selection events; and the committee proposed sanctions for any violations. -
CLOSER to NOMINATION ELECTIONS Marchhas Passedand Thereare Only Ahandful of Voting Days Left Untilbothpolitical Partiesholdtheir Conventions
8A » Sunday, March 27,2016 » KITSAPSUN AJOURNAL MEDIAGROUP PROJECT CLOSER TO NOMINATION ELECTIONS Marchhas passedand thereare only ahandful of voting days left untilbothpolitical partiesholdtheir conventions. HillaryClinton 2016 andDonaldTrump areleading in thedelegatecounts, butthatstill does notmeantheyhaveaneasyroadtotheir respective party nominations. When delegate totals arethisclose,anythingcan happen at thenationalconventions this summer. Millions of people have votedinprimariesand at caucuses duringthe first fewmonthsthisyear. Theirvotes arenow in thehands of just afew thousand people. MEETTT THHEE DELEGATES The modern presidential nominationprocess —linking avotecastfor acandidate to the allocation of adelegateatthe convention level—was born outofalaw passed in 1910 in Oregon.In2016, 35 U.S. jurisdictionshaveorwillholdprimary elections, 13 have or will hold caucuses andeight have some combinationofthose. With rulesvarying from partytoparty andstate to state, theprocess of selectingapresidentialcandidate is alot more complicatedthanjustpicking someoneinthe ballot booth. DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS Thereare twotypes of Members ooff theeD Deemmooccraratic Republicanshs h avete twwoo typesos off andahd a hyybbrriidds system. SSttaatteess set delegatesonthe Democratic National CoCommmmiitttteeee,, Congress, convention delegates: bound thepe peerrcceenntatage ththrreesshhoolldd side: pledgeddelegates and statege goovevernorsas anndd delegatesand unbound aac caannddiiddaattee must rreeaacchh unpledged superdelegates. distinguished paparrttyyo -
Can the President Cancel Or Postpone the General Election? ______
CAN THE PRESIDENT CANCEL OR POSTPONE THE GENERAL ELECTION? ____________________________________________________________ Summary: Unlike the primaries, which are governed by state law and take place on different dates across the country, federal law—which only Congress can change—sets November 3rd as the date of the general election. The president has no authority to change this date. The Constitution also significantly limits the ability of Congress to delay choosing the next president, even if it wants to—as under no circumstance can any president’s term be extended past noon on January 20th without amending the Constitution. ➢ The U.S. Constitution and Federal Law Require That the Election Be Completed by Early January Presidential elections in the United States are governed by a combination of the U.S. Constitution and federal, state, and local laws. The overall timing of the general presidential election is governed primarily by federal law, but also constrained by the Constitution.1 The actual mechanics of conducting the election are governed primarily by state and local law. The president is technically chosen by the Electoral College, which is composed of electors from each state.2 The Constitution provides that each state “shall appoint” its electors for president “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” U.S. Const. art. II, § 1, cl. 2. That means that the fifty states and the District of Columbia have the ability, through their legislatures, to decide how to choose the electors who will participate in the Electoral College. All states have chosen to do so based on the popular vote—in other words, whichever candidate wins the most votes in the state on Election Day generally also wins the state’s electors.3 1 See the Appendix for a more detailed timeline. -
20210106111314445 Gohmert V Pence Stay Appl Signed.Pdf
No. __A__________ In the Supreme Court of the United States LOUIE GOHMERT, TYLER BOWYER, NANCY COTTLE, JAKE HOFFMAN, ANTHONY KERN, JAMES R. LAMON, SAM MOORHEAD, ROBERT MONTGOMERY, LORAINE PELLEGRINO, GREG SAFSTEN, KELLI WARD AND MICHAEL WARD, Applicants, v. THE HONORABLE MICHAEL R. PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY. Respondent. EMERGENCY APPLICATION TO THE HONORABLE SAMUEL A. ALITO AS CIRCUIT JUSTICE FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE STAY AND INTERIM RELIEF PENDING RESOLUTION OF A TIMELY FILED PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI William L. Sessions Sidney Powell* Texas Bar No. 18041500 Texas Bar No. 16209700 SESSIONS & ASSOCIATES, PLLC SIDNEY POWELL, P.C. 14591 North Dallas Parkway, Suite 400 2911 Turtle Creek Blvd., Suite 1100 Dallas, TX 75254 Dallas, TX 72519 Tel: (214) 217-8855 Tel: (214) 628-9514 Fax: (214) 723-5346 Fax: (214) 628-9505 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Lawrence J. Joseph Howard Kleinhendler DC Bar #464777 NY Bar No. 2657120 LAW OFFICE OF LAWRENCE J. JOSEPH HOWARD KLEINHENDLER ESQUIRE 1250 Connecticut Av NW, Ste 700 369 Lexington Ave., 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 New York, New York 10017 Tel: (202) 355-9452 Tel: (917) 793-1188 Fax: (202) 318-2254 Fax: (732) 901-0832 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Counsel for Applicants * Counsel of Record PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDING Applicants (plaintiffs-appellants below) are U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-1), Tyler Bowyer, Nancy Cottle, Jake Hoffman, Anthony Kern, James R. Lamon, Sam Moorhead, Robert Montgomery, Loraine Pellegrino, Greg Safsten, Kelli Ward, and Michael Ward. Respondent (defendant-appellee below) is the Honorable Michael R. -
Political Marketing and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections
Department of Business Administration Title: Political Marketing and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections Author: Veronica Johansson 15 credits Thesis Study programme in Master of Science in Marketing Management 1 Title Political Marketing and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections Level Final Thesis for Master of Business Administration in Marketing Management Adress University of Gävle Department of Business Administration 801 76 Gävle Sweden Telephone (+46) 26 64 85 00 Telefax (+46) 26 64 85 89 Web site http://www.hig.se Author Veronica Johansson Supervisor Maria Fregidou-Malama, Ph.D. Date 2010 - January Abstract Aim: Over the years, marketing has become a more and more important tool in politics in general. In order to campaign successfully – and become the President-elect - in the U.S. Presidential Election, marketing is indispensable. This lead to enormous amounts of money spent on marketing. The aim of this research is to contribute to existing knowledge in the field of political marketing through the analysis of how marketing is done throughout a political campaign. The 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Elections, together with a few key candidates have served as the empirical example of this investigation. Four research questions have been asked; what marketing strategies are of decisive outcome in the primary season of the 2008 political campaigning, how is political marketing differentiated depending on the candidate and the demographics of the voter, and finally where does the money come from to fund this gigantic political industry. Method: The exploratory method and case study as well as the qualitative research method have been used in this work. -
Counting Ballots Until All Valid Votes Have Been Tallied
Nos. 20A53, 20A54 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States ______________ JOSEPH B. SCARNATI III, ET AL., Applicants, v. KATHY BOOCKVAR, SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, ET AL., Respondents. _________ REPUBLICAN PARTY OF PENNSYLVANIA, Applicant, v. KATHY BOOCKVAR, SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, ET AL., Respondents. __________ On Applications to Stay the Mandate of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ________________ RESPONSE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY RESPONDENTS ________ Lazar M. Palnick Clifford B. Levine 1216 Heberton Street Counsel of Record Pittsburgh, PA 15206 Alex M. Lacey (412) 661-3633 Dentons Cohen & Grigsby P.C. 625 Liberty Avenue Kevin Greenberg A. Michael Pratt Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3152 Adam Roseman (412) 297-4900 Greenberg Traurig, LLP [email protected] 1717 Arch Street, Suite 400 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 988-7818 Counsel for Respondents Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Nilofer Nina Ahmad, Danilo Burgos, Austin Davis, Dwight Evans, Isabella Fitzgerald, Edward Gainey, Manuel M. Guzman, Jr., Jordan A. Harris, Arthur Haywood, Malcolm Kenyatta, Patty H. Kim, Stephen Kinsey, Peter Schweyer, Sharif Street, and Anthony H. Williams RULE 29.6 STATEMENT Pursuant to Rule 29.6 of the Rules of this Court, Respondent Pennsylvania Democratic Party states that it has no parent corporation and that there is no publicly held company that owns 10% or more of its stock. i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page RULE 29.6 STATEMENT ............................................................................................................. -
A Canadian Primer to the 2012 Us Primaries and Caucuses
A CANADIAN PRIMER TO THE 2012 US PRIMARIES AND CAUCUSES A Policy Update Paper By Colin Robertson CDFAI Senior Research Fellow January, 2012 Prepared for the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute 1600, 530 – 8th Avenue S.W., Calgary, AB T2P 3S8 www.cdfai.org © Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute A CANADIAN PRIMER TO THE 2012 U.S. PRIMARIES AND CAUCUSES Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 2 Who’s running for the Republicans and what are their platforms? .................................. 3 Where do they stand? ........................................................................................................... 3 What’s the difference between a primary and a caucus? .................................................. 3 Is the process starting earlier than usual? ......................................................................... 3 Are the Iowa caucuses (January 3) important? .................................................................. 4 What about the Iowa Straw Poll held last August? ............................................................ 4 And the New Hampshire primary (January 10)? ................................................................. 4 Do the parties do their primary process differently? ......................................................... 5 Haven’t there been a lot more candidate debates? ............................................................ 5 Do the debates matter? ........................................................................................................ -
CHAPTER 12 PENNSYLVANIA Following Hillary Clinton's Big Victories in the Texas and Ohio Democratic Primaries, the 2008 Campaig
CHAPTER 12 PENNSYLVANIA Following Hillary Clinton’s big victories in the Texas and Ohio Democratic primaries, the 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination for president became two campaigns. The first campaign was to see who would win most of the ten remaining presidential primaries. The second campaign was over who could gain the most support from the super- delegates, a special set of delegates to the Democratic National Conven- tion who were appointed rather than being selected in the caucuses and primaries. SUPERDELEGATES When the Democratic Party changed its rules in the early 1970s, it endeavored to make the Democratic National Convention a more inclu- sive event. States were required to select more women, young people, and minorities as delegates to the convention. The new rules worked quite well, and the group image of the delegates that went out to the nation on television became noticeably more diverse. By the early 1980s, however, one group was conspicuously missing at the national convention. That was party elected officials, such as state governors, members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, etc. Although a number of women and minorities held major elected offices throughout the nation, it was still true that most elected officials were middle-aged white males. The party rules requiring more women, young people, and minorities at the national convention were, in effect, excluding significant numbers of the party’s major holders of elected office. That was mainly because so many of these elected officials were men, were well-along in their careers, and were not members of a minor- ity group. -
In Election Disputes Richard H
Florida State University Law Review Volume 29 | Issue 2 Article 13 2001 Judging "New Law" in Election Disputes Richard H. Pildes [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Richard H. Pildes, Judging "New Law" in Election Disputes, 29 Fla. St. U. L. Rev. (2001) . http://ir.law.fsu.edu/lr/vol29/iss2/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Florida State University Law Review by an authorized administrator of Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW JUDGING "NEW LAW" IN ELECTION DISPUTES Richard H. Pildes VOLUME 29 WINTER 2001 NUMBER 2 Recommended citation: Richard H. Pildes, Judging "New Law" in Election Disputes, 29 FLA. ST. U. L. REV. 691 (2001). JUDGING “NEW LAW” IN ELECTION DISPUTES RICHARD H. PILDES* I. INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 691 II. THE ISSUE DEFINED: CHANGING ELECTION RULES IN THE MIDST OF ELECTION CONTROVERSIES ................................................................................. 695 III. THE CONSTITUTIONAL INTEREST IN AVOIDING “NEW LAW” IN STATE AS WELL AS FEDERAL ELECTION DISPUTES ....................................................................... 697 IV. IDENTIFYING “NEW LAW” .................................................................................... 702 V. THE THEORY OF JUDGING “NEW