Kossonou Yann-Cedric

Yann-Mohamed Ouattara
CAMPAIGN AND ELECTIONS Arlette Diomande
P R O F: D R. N ’ G U E T TA Bini Kouadio
Jacques Latte
INTRODUCTION
Elections are the core of any democracy. In a
democratic system like the United States, citizens
self-govern by choosing among candidates and
electing leaders to represent them in government.
The rules for elections affect who runs, how they run,
who votes, and who wins.
Here we will learn about how elections work in the
United States and how electoral rules and other
considerations influence campaign strategy.
1- DESCRIBE THE MAJOR RULES AND
PROCEDURES OF ELECTIONS IN THE
UNITED STATES
In the United States, National presidential elections
take place every four years, on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday in November. Congressional
elections are held every two years, also on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Congressional elections that do not coincide with a
presidential election are often called midterm
elections. Localities and states can choose when to
hold their elections. Most Americans have the
opportunity to vote in several elections each year.
Voting in elections is the most common form of
 A-THE BASIC RULES OF THE GAME
FOR US ELECTIONS
Election season begins with primary elections, which are held to select each
party's candidates for the general election. Primary elections are used in
races for offices at the national, state, and often local levels. They are used to
select the best candidate to represent the political party in the general
election. The United States is one of the few nations in the world to hold
primary elec tions. In most countries, nominations of candidates are
controlled completely by party officials, as they once were in the United
States. Primary elections were introduced at the turn of the twentieth century
by reformers who hoped to weaken the power of party leaders; the
introduction of primary elections for the first time enabled voters, rather than
party elites, to pick the candidates to compete in the general election (9). In
states with closed primaries, only registered members of a political party may
vote in a primary election to select that party's candi-dates. States with opens
primaries allow all registered voters, including independents, to choose which
party's primary they will participate in.
 B- WHAT IT TAKES TO WIN-
WINNER TAKE ALL
A candidate receiving 50 percent or even 30 percent of the
popular vote can win if no other candidate receives more votes.
This type of electoral system is called a plurality system and
is used in most elections in the United States. The winning
candidate needs to win a plurality (the most but not necessarily
a majority) of the votes cast in the election. These voting rules
are commonly referred to as "winner take all." In the 2016
Republican primaries, for example, Donald Trump was
frequently referred to by the media as the winner, but in most
states he only won around 35 percent of the vote because
there were three or more candidates in the race. Trump also did
not win a majority of the popular vote in the general election.
C- THE BALLOT

Ballots record a voter’s choice in any kind of election from

political elections to corporate elections. In political
elections, voters are provided printed ballots and voters
must check the empty box next to the person they are
voting for. In fact Ballots have changed dramatically over
the years. In 2000 the configuration of the "butterfly"
ballot (left) caused confusion in a key county in the swing
state of Florida. This contested election led to the passage
of the Help Americans Vote Act, which required states to
upgrade their voting procedures. Many increased their use
of computerized voting machines (right).
D- PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Presidential elections have special rules because they are
the only public office in the U.S. elected by all American
citizens (though the president is technically elected by
the electoral college, not by direct popular vote of the
citizens). Moreover, presidential candidates from the two
major parties are officially nominated at the parte
national conventions, following a series of state-by-state
primary elections and cal cuses to select delegates to the
conventions. While, primary elections are also used.
select candidates in congressional and other types of
elections, the national convention delegate system for
nominating candidates is unique to presidential elections
2- HOW CAMPAIGNS ARE
TYPICALLY CONDUCTED?
A campaign is an effort by political candidates (and their parties) to win the
support of donors, elected officials and voters in their quest for elected
office. Campaigns precede every primary and general election.
A-Campaign Consultants
A formal organization and campaign managers are essential for the
campaign. Most candidates need a professional campaign manager, media
consultants, pollsters, data analysts, financial advisors, a press
spokesperson and personnel managers to coordinate the activities of
volunteer and paid workers.
B-Fundraising
The campaign requires a lot of money. Candidates start raising funds long
before they face an election. The sums often go to more than 100 million
dollars for competitive elections. The candidates most likely to win are the
most attractive donors because they want to be in the good graces of the
leaders once their candidate is elected.
C- Campaign strategy
There are essentially two types of general elections in
The United States Today: Grassroots Campaigns and
Media Campaigns. The solution is the organization-
driven, labor-intensive election. Candidates campaign for
local elections and many congressional elections by
recruiting large numbers of volunteers to knock on doors,
distribute leaflets and organize rallies. The candidate
makes public appearances in many places, including
college campuses. Typically, local and congressional
campaigns rely heavily on grassroots outreach and
mobilization designed to make the candidate more visible
than their opponent. Statewide campaigns, some
congressional races, and the national presidential election
fall into the second category.
All campaigns need to decide on a strategy: What will be their
main message? Will they allocate their resources (television,
social media, face-to-face mobilization Which voters will
target- ?
The Electoral College is an electoral rule that influences the
campaign strategy of presidential candidates by requiring them
to campaign intensively on a dozen battlegrounds, states -
those in which Democrats and Republicans are roughly equal in
population—while often ignoring the rest of the states of Florida,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Presidential candidates in the
general election focus not on the getting the most individual
votes, but rather about getting electoral votes from states that
aren't considered Republicans or Democrats safely smothered in
attention candidates and the media as presidential hopefuls vie
for that state's votes, while the millions of people in states
where Republicans typically win (Texas, Utah) or Democrats
typically win (New York, Illinois, California) are often overlooked.
B- The Media
The Media Contemporary political campaigns rely on a
number of communication tools to reach the voters
they wish to target for support, including social media,
massive computerized databases and micro-targeting.
Donald Trump used Facebook to engage voters more
effectively in 2016 than any previous US president. The
extensive use of audiovisual media, television in
particular, is the hallmark of modern political
campaigning. Airing TV commercials is the biggest cost
facing presidential and congressional candidates. Two
media techniques that gained prominence in the 1990s
are the television interview and the town hall. The town
hall format allows candidates to interact with ordinary
citizens, showing the candidates' interest in the views
C- DEBATES
Many successful American politicians, such as Abraham Lincoln and
Barack Obama, rose to prominence largely through their debating
skills. The debates give voters a chance to see how candidates fare
in direct, face-to-face exchanges outside the "campaign bubble" of
staged public appearances and carefully scripted speeches. The
televised presidential debates began with the famous Kennedy-
Nixon clash of 1960. Kennedy's strong performance in the debate
and the perception by many voters that the young and vigorous
Kennedy "looked presidential" were major factors in his victory over
the much better known Richard Nixon. Indeed, candidates can make
or break their campaigns with the force of their debate
performances, including high-profile blunders during debates and
even unconscious gestures and the nuances of their facial
expressions. Presidential debates usually involve civilized
disagreements on substantive political issues. Most recently during
the 2016 election, tension has often mounted with sometimes even
personal insults.
6-ELECTING THE PRESIDENT STEPS
PROCESS (FIGURE 10.1)
3- DESCRIBE HOW CANDIDATES
RAISE THE MONEY THEY NEED TO
RUN
- In 2008 candidates for office,
political parties, and independent
groups spent $5,300,000,000
- Over $1,000,000,000 was spent by
the two Presidential candidates
(Barack Obama & John McCain)
alone
- In 2010 the average elected member
in the House of Representatives
spent $1,400,000 and the average
elected Senator spent $9,800,000
- In every election more and more
money seems to be spent.
BUT WHY?
- Campaign Finance: All funds raised in order to promote
candidates, political parties, or policies in elections,
referendums, initiatives, party activities, and party
organizations
- Basically it’s the process by which candidates and political
parties raise money to help promote an issue or get a
WHERE DOES THE MONEY COME
candidate elected.
FROM?
- Individual Contributions: Donations to candidates or political parties from individual
citizens.
Political Action Committees (PACs): A type of organization that pools campaign
contributions from members and donates those funds to campaign for or against
candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.
- Super PAC: a type of independent political action committee which may raise unlimited
sums of money from corporations, unions, and individuals but is NOT permitted to
contribute to or coordinate directly with parties or candidates.
- 527 and 501c4 Groups: a type of U.S. tax exempt organization created
to influence the election or defeat of candidates to office. Before the
Supreme Court decision in Citizens United V. The FEC (Federal Elections
Commission) these groups could not expressly advocate for the election
or defeat of a specific candidate, but could only promote an issue.
However, after the Supreme Court decision in 2010 these groups can
directly advertise on behalf of or against a candidate, but cannot
coordinate directly with parties or candidates.
 WHAT DO CANDIDATES USE
THE MONEY FOR?
Campaigns cost a lot of money to run. Everything from hiring people to
coordinate and canvass to renting large spaces for rallies, paying to fuel the
jet, and T.V. and print advertisements. The costs associated are broken
down into 7 categories
1. Media- 29%
2. Fundraising- 21%
3. Salaries- 16%
4. Administrative- 12%
5. Unclassifiable- 8%
6. Strategy & Research- 7%
4-THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE VOTERS'
DECISION
Regarding the factors that influence voters' decisions, we have
partisan loyalty, issues and policy preferences, and candidate
characteristics.
● Partisan Loyalty The partisan is a person who takes part in a
doctrine or who is a supporter of a political party, which is our case.
Indeed, the loyalty of the supporter is a factor that influences the
decision of the voter, because the majority of voters feel a certain
loyalty to their political parties during political campaigns and even
during elections. This sense of loyalty can be passed on from parent
to child and reinforced by facts and social relationships. Moreover,
this partisan loyalty cannot be lost unless there are crises that
disturb the party. Thus, the loyalty of the partisan is a factor that
influences the decision of the voter in question.
● Issues and policy preferences Political scientists call choices based on future
behavior prospective voting, while those based on past performance are called
retrospective voting. Retrospective economic voting, in which voters evaluate
candidates based on the strength of the economy, has been found to be more
important than prospective voting. To some extent, the importance of
prospective or retrospective evaluation in a particular election depends on the
strategies of the candid competitors. Candidates always try to define the issues
in an election in terms that serve their interests. Incumbents who run during a
period of prosperity will take credit for the strength of the economy and define
the election as a revolution around their record of success. Indeed, the actions
of the candidates during the campaigns influence the voters and especially the
economy. For example, the action that Obama has taken which is made ending
the war in Iraq and providing national health care for all Americans his core
issues in 2008 and the curing of immigration and building a wall along the US.-
Mexico border in 2016.
● Candidate characteristics The personality of the candidate influences the
voters. In fact, the characteristics that influence the voters the most are race,
religion, socio-economic rank, and especially the way the candidate makes his
speech, because as long as the candidate has the same characteristics and the
same temperament, it influences the voter to take side with this candidate.
CONCLUSION
As politicians ponder the questions just discussed, individual Americans must think about
what the 2016 and 2018 elections might mean for them. Will Republican economic policies
create more jobs or leave Americans with less secure economic futures? What will Republican
plans to eliminate Obamacare mean for Americans’ access to medical services? Will
Republican national security policies make us more or less safe? How will America’s diverse
communities be affected by potential go efforts to crack down on illegal immigration? Should
we be more critical consumers of opinion polls and the political information circulated on
social media?
Another question about elections concerns campaign finance and whose interests will be
represented in government. Donald Trump was a unique candidate who was able to generate
unprecedented free media coverage, but his campaign still raised and spent hundreds of
millions of dollars, much of it collected as small donations from individuals. In a nation as
large and diverse as the United States, to be sure, campaign contributors represent many
different groups and, often, clashing interests. The fact remains, however, that those with
more money will be able to give more and that, once in office, elected officials can be
expected to represent the interests of those who supported them. The “Who Participates?”
feature on the facing page shows who donated to the 2016 presidential campaign.
Two trends in campaign finance may play a role in how elections are funded in the future
and, thus, who is elected to office and what policies are enacted. on the one hand, recent
decisions by the Supreme Court have overturned federal laws that sought to set some limits
on who could give and how much they could give. The laws existed in hopes of limiting the
influence of affluent interests over the electoral process and government. But the Court has