Elections This Section Relates Primarily to Presiden- Tial, Congressional, and Gubernatorial Elec- in Brief Tions
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Section 8 Elections This section relates primarily to Presiden- tial, congressional, and gubernatorial elec- In Brief tions. Also presented are summary tables on congressional legislation; State legisla- Percent of voting-age population tures; Black, Hispanic, and female office- voting for Representatives: holders; population of voting age; voter 1990 . 33.1% participation; and campaign finances. 1994 . 36.0% Members of Congress: Official statistics on Federal elections, 1981 1995 collected by the Clerk of the House, are Black 17 41 published biennially in Statistics of the Asian, Pacific Islander 66 Presidential and Congressional Election Hispanic 6 17 and Statistics of the Congressional Elec- Female 21 55 tion. Federal and State elections data appear also in America Votes, a biennial volume of the Elections Research Cen- Presidential election—The Constitution ter, Chevy Chase, MD. Federal elections specifies how the President and Vice data also appear in the U.S. Congress, President are selected. Each State Congressional Directory, and in official elects, by popular vote, a group of elec- State documents. Data on reported reg- tors equal in number to its total of mem- istration and voting for social and eco- bers of Congress. The 23d Amendment, nomic groups are obtained by the U.S. adopted in 1961, grants the District of Bureau of the Census as part of the Cur- Columbia three presidential electors, a rent Population Survey (CPS) and are number equal to that of the least popu- published in Current Population Reports, lous State. Subsequent to the election, P20 (see text, section 1). the electors meet in their respective States to vote for President and Vice Almost all Federal, State, and local gov- President. Usually, each elector votes for ernmental units in the United States con- the candidate receiving the most popular duct elections for political offices and oth- votes in his or her State. A majority vote er purposes. The conduct of elections is of all electors is necessary to elect the regulated by State laws or, in some cities President and Vice President. If no can- and counties, by local charter. An excep- didate receives a majority, the House of tion is that the U.S. Constitution pre- Representatives, with each State having scribes the basis of representation in one vote, is empowered to elect the Congress and the manner of electing the President and Vice President, again, with President, and grants to Congress the a majority of votes required. right to regulate the times, places, and The 22d Amendment to the Constitution, manner of electing Federal officers. adopted in 1951, limits presidential ten- Amendments to the Constitution have ure to two elective terms of 4 years each, prescribed national criteria for voting eli- or to one elective term for any person gibility. The 15th Amendment, adopted in who, upon succession to the Presidency, 1870, gave all citizens the right to vote has held the office or acted as President regardless of race, color, or previous for more than 2 years. condition of servitude. The 19th Amend- ment, adopted in 1919, further extended Congressional election—The Constitu- the right to vote to all citizens regardless tion provides that Representatives be ap- of sex. The payment of poll taxes as a portioned among the States according to prerequisite to voting in Federal elections their population; that a census of popula- was banned by the 24th Amendment in tion be taken every 10 years as a basis 1964. In 1971, as a result of the 26th for apportionment; and that each State Amendment, eligibility to vote in national have at least one Representative. At the elections was extended to all citizens, 18 time of each apportionment, Congress years old and over. decides what the total number of 268 Elections Representatives will be. Since 1912, the percent casting votes in each State for total has been 435, except during 1960 Presidential and congressional election to 1962 when it increased to 437, adding years. These voting-age estimates in- one Representative each for Alaska and clude a number of persons who meet the Hawaii. The total reverted to 435 after age requirement but are not eligible to reapportionment following the 1960 cen- vote, (e.g. aliens and some institutiona- sus. Members are elected for 2-year lized persons). In addition, since 1964, terms, all terms covering the same peri- voter participation and voter characteris- od. The District of Columbia, American tics data have been collected during Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands November of election years as part of each elect one nonvoting Delegate and the CPS. These survey data include Puerto Rico elects a nonvoting Resident noncitizens in the voting age population Commissioner. estimates, but exclude members of the Armed Forces and the institutional The Senate is composed of 100 population. members, two from each State, who are elected to serve for a term of 6 years. Statistical reliability—For a discussion One-third of the Senate is elected every of statistical collection and estimation, 2 years. Senators were originally chosen sampling procedures, and measures of by the State legislatures. The 17th statistical reliability applicable to Census Amendment to the Constitution, adopted Bureau data, see Appendix III. in 1913, prescribed that Senators be elected by popular vote. Historical statistics—Tabular head- notes provide cross-references, where Voter eligibility and participation—The applicable, to Historical Statistics of the Census Bureau publishes estimates of United States, Colonial Times to 1970. the population of voting age and the See Appendix IV. Figure 8.1 Popular Vote Cast for President, by Major Political Party: 1972 to 1992 Democrat Republican 1 Millions of votes Other major candidates 60 50 40 30 20 10 NA NA NA 0 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1 1972—American, John Schmitz; 1980—Independent, John Anderson; 1992—Independent, Ross Perot. Source: Chart prepared by U.S. Bureau of the Census. For data, see table 431 and 432. Vote Cast for President 269 No. 431. Vote Cast for President, by Major Political Party: 1936 to 1992 [Prior to 1960, excludes Alaska and Hawaii; prior to 1964, excludes DC. Vote cast for major party candidates include the votes of minor parties cast for those candidates. See also Historical Statistics, Colonial Times to 1970, series Y 79-83 and Y 135] CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT VOTE CAST FOR PRESIDENT Democratic Republican Total YEAR popular Popular vote Popular vote Democratic Republican 1 Elec- Elec- vote toral toral (1,000) Number Per- Number Per- (1,000) cent vote (1,000) cent vote 1936 ..... F.D.Roosevelt . Landon ....... 45,655 27,757 60.8 523 16,684 36.5 8 1940 ..... F.D.Roosevelt . Willkie ........ 49,900 27,313 54.7 449 22,348 44.8 82 1944 ..... F.D.Roosevelt . Dewey ........ 47,977 25,613 53.4 432 22,018 45.9 99 1948 ..... Truman ....... Dewey ........ 48,794 24,179 49.6 303 21,991 45.1 189 1952 ..... Stevenson ..... Eisenhower..... 61,551 27,315 44.4 89 33,936 55.1 442 1956 ..... Stevenson ..... Eisenhower..... 62,027 26,023 42.0 73 35,590 57.4 457 1960 ..... Kennedy ...... Nixon......... 68,838 34,227 49.7 303 34,108 49.5 219 1964 ..... Johnson....... Goldwater...... 70,645 43,130 61.1 486 27,178 38.5 52 1968 ..... Humphrey ..... Nixon......... 73,212 31,275 42.7 191 31,785 43.4 301 1972 ..... McGovern ..... Nixon......... 77,719 29,170 37.5 17 47,170 60.7 520 1976 ..... Carter ........ Ford ......... 81,556 40,831 50.1 297 39,148 48.0 240 1980 ..... Carter ........ Reagan ....... 86,515 35,484 41.0 49 43,904 50.7 489 1984 ..... Mondale....... Reagan ....... 92,653 37,577 40.6 13 54,455 58.8 525 1988 ..... Dukakis ....... Bush ......... 91,595 41,809 45.6 111 48,886 53.4 426 1992 ..... Clinton........ Bush ......... 104,425 44,909 43.0 370 39,104 37.4 168 1 Include votes for minor party candidates, independents, unpledged electors, and scattered write-in votes. No. 432. Vote Cast for Leading Minority Party Candidates for President: 1936 to 1992 [See headnote, table 431] Popular Popular YEAR Candidate Party vote Candidate Party vote (1,000) (1,000) 1936 . William Lemke ..... Union ............ 892 Norman Thomas . Socialist .......... 188 1940 . Norman Thomas . Socialist .......... 116 Roger Babson ..... Prohibition ......... 59 1944 . Norman Thomas . Socialist .......... 79 Claude Watson .... Prohibition ......... 75 1948 . Strom Thurmond . States’ Rights....... 1,176 Henry Wallace ..... Progressive ........ 1,157 1952 . Vincent Hallinan.... Progressive ........ 140 Stuart Hamblen.... Prohibition ......... 73 1956 . T. Coleman Andrews. States’ Rights....... 111 Eric Hass ........ Socialist Labor ...... 44 1960 . Eric Hass ........ Socialist Labor ...... 48 Rutherford Decker . Prohibition ......... 46 1964 . Eric Hass ........ Socialist Labor ...... 45 Clifton DeBerry .... Socialist Workers .... 33 1968 . George Wallace .... American Independent. 9,906 Henning Blomen . Socialist Labor ...... 53 1972 . John Schmitz...... American.......... 1,099 Benjamin Spock.... People’s.......... 79 1976 . Eugene McCarthy . Independent ....... 757 Roger McBride..... Libertarian ......... 173 1980 . John Anderson .... Independent ....... 5,720 Ed Clark ......... Libertarian ......... 921 1984 . David Bergland .... Libertarian ......... 228Lyndon H. LaRouche. Independent ....... 79 1988 . Ron Paul ........ Libertarian ......... 432 Lenora B. Fulani . New Alliance ....... 217 1992 . H. Ross Perot ..... Independent ....... 19,742 Andre Marrou ..... Libertarian ......... 292 Source of tables 431 and 432: