Section 7 Elections This section relates primarily to presiden- 1964. In 1971, as a result of the 26th tial, congressional, and gubernatorial Amendment, eligibility to vote in national elections. Also presented are summary elections was extended to all citizens, tables on congressional legislation; state 18 years old and over. legislatures; Black, Hispanic, and female officeholders; population of voting age; Presidential election—The Constitution voter participation; and campaign specifies how the President and Vice finances. President are selected. Each state elects, by popular vote, a group of electors equal Official statistics on federal elections, col- in number to its total of members of Con- lected by the Clerk of the House, are pub- gress. The 23d Amendment, adopted in lished biennially in Statistics of the Presi- 1961, grants the District of Columbia dential and Congressional Election and three presidential electors, a number Statistics of the Congressional Election. equal to that of the least populous state. Federal and state elections data appear also in America Votes, a biennial volume Subsequent to the election, the electors published by Congressional Quarterly, meet in their respective states to vote for Inc., Washington, DC. Federal elections President and Vice President. Usually, data also appear in the U.S. Congress, each elector votes for the candidate Congressional Directory, and in official receiving the most popular votes in his or state documents. Data on reported regis- her state. A majority vote of all electors is tration and voting for social and eco- necessary to elect the President and Vice nomic groups are obtained by the U.S. President. If no candidate receives a Census Bureau as part of the Current majority, the House of Representatives, Population Survey (CPS) and are published with each state having one vote, is in Current Population Reports, Series P20 empowered to elect the President and (see text, Section 1). Vice President, again, with a majority of votes required. Almost all federal, state, and local govern- mental units in the United States conduct The 22d Amendment to the Constitution, elections for political offices and other adopted in 1951, limits presidential ten- purposes. The conduct of elections is ure to two elective terms of 4 years each regulated by state laws or, in some cities or to one elective term for any person and counties, by local charter. An excep- who, upon succession to the Presidency, tion is that the U.S. Constitution pre- has held the office or acted as President scribes the basis of representation in Con- for more than 2 years. gress and the manner of electing the President and grants to Congress the Congressional election—The Constitu- right to regulate the times, places, and tion provides that Representatives be manner of electing federal officers. apportioned among the states according Amendments to the Constitution have to their population, that a census of popu- prescribed national criteria for voting eli- lation be taken every 10 years as a basis gibility. The 15th Amendment, adopted in for apportionment, and that each state 1870, gave all citizens the right to vote have at least one Representative. At the regardless of race, color, or previous con- time of each apportionment, Congress dition of servitude. The 19th Amendment, decides what the total number of Repre- adopted in 1919, further extended the sentatives will be. Since 1912, the total right to vote to all citizens regardless of has been 435, except during 1960 to sex. The payment of poll taxes as a pre- 1962 when it increased to 437, adding requisite to voting in federal elections one Representative each for Alaska and was banned by the 24th Amendment in Hawaii. The total reverted to 435 after Elections 233 U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2002 reapportionment following the 1960 cen- percent casting votes in each state for sus. Members are elected for 2-year Presidential and congressional election terms, all terms covering the same years. These voting-age estimates include period. The District of Columbia, Ameri- a number of persons who meet the age can Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands requirement but are not eligible to vote, each elect one nonvoting Delegate, and (e.g. aliens and some institutionalized Puerto Rico elects a nonvoting Resident persons). In addition, since 1964, voter Commissioner. participation and voter characteristics data have been collected during Novem- The Senate is composed of 100 members, ber of election years as part of the CPS. 2 from each state, who are elected to These survey data include noncitizens in serve for a term of 6 years. One-third of the Senate is elected every 2 years. Sena- the voting age population estimates but tors were originally chosen by the state exclude members of the Armed Forces legislatures. The 17th Amendment to the and the institutional population. Constitution, adopted in 1913, prescribed that Senators be elected by popular vote. Statistical reliability—For a discussion of statistical collection and estimation, Voter eligibility and participation— sampling procedures, and measures of The Census Bureau publishes estimates statistical reliability applicable to Census of the population of voting age and the Bureau data, see Appendix III. Figure 7.1 Vote Cast for President by Major Political Party: 1972 to 2000 Democratic Republican Other major candidates Millions of votes 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 1 1972—American, John Schmitz; 1980—Independent, John Anderson; 1992—Independent; Ross Perot, 1996 Reform, Ross Perot. 2000—Green, Ralph Nader. Source: Chart prepared by U.S. Census Bureau. For data, see Tables 370 and 371. 234 Elections U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2002 No. 370. Vote Cast for President by Major Political Party: 1940 to 2000 [49,900 represents 49,900,000. 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] Candidates for President Vote cast for President Democratic Republican Year Total Popular vote Popular vote Democratic Republican popular Elec- vote 1 Number toral Number Electoral (1,000) (1,000) Percent vote (1,000) Percent vote 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 1996 .... Clinton........Dole......... 96,278 47,402 49.2 379 39,199 40.7 159 2000 .... Gore......... Bush ......... 105,397 50,992 48.4 266 50,455 47.9 271 1 Include votes for minor party candidates, independents, unpledged electors, and scattered write-in votes. Source: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., Washington, DC., America at the Polls 2, 1965, and America Votes, biennial, (copyright). No. 371. Vote Cast for Leading Minority Party Candidates for President: 1940 to 2000 [See headnote, Table 370] Popular Popular Year Candidate Party vote Candidate Party vote (1,000) (1,000) 1940 . Norman Thomas . Socialist .......... 116 Roger Babson ..... Prohibition ......... 59 1944 . Norman Thomas . Socialist .......... 79Claude Watson .... Prohibition ......... 75 1948 . Strom Thurmond . States’ Rights....... 1,176 Henry Wallace ..... Progressive ........ 1,157 1952 . Vincent Hallinan.... Progressive ........ 140StuartHamblen .... Prohibition ......... 73 1956 . T. Coleman Andrews. States’ Rights....... 111EricHass ........ Socialist Labor ...... 44 1960 . Eric Hass ........ Socialist Labor ...... 48RutherfordDecker . Prohibition ......... 46 1964 . Eric Hass ........ Socialist Labor ...... 45Clifton 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 ....... 5,720EdClark.........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 1996 . H. Ross Perot ..... ReformParty....... 8,085RalphNader ...... Green............ 685 2000 . Ralph Nader ...... Green............ 2,883PatBuchanan ..... Reform........... 449 Source: Congressional Quarterly, Inc. Washington,