Grommersoft

The American electoral process has undergone considerable change. Increasingly, election campaigns have evolved from being party centered to being candidate centered. Most candidates for major office are nominated through a primary election. To nominate a presidential candidate, parties employ a mix of presidential primaries, local caucuses, and party conventions. In seeking election, an incumbent usually enjoys an advantage over a challenger, especially in elections to Congress, where challengers get far less money from organized groups.

Campaign funds are perhaps the most vital campaign resource. Campaign financing is now heavily regulated by national and state governments. At the national level, the Federal Election Commission enforces limits on financial contributions and requires full disclosure of campaign spending. It also administers the public financing of presidential campaigns. Such financing has affected campaigns by placing limits on campaign costs, by helping to equalize the amounts spent by major candidates in the general election, and by increasing the candidate-centered orientation of elections. Public funds are given to the candidate rather than the political party represented by the individual. Access to such funds has generally further isolated the presidential campaign from congressional campaigns. Candidates usually turn to pollsters or political consultants to develop a strategy that mixes party, issues, and images. The campaign message is then disseminated via the mass media through new coverage and advertising.

All seats in the House of Representative, one-third of the Senate, and numerous state and local offices are filled in general elections, which are held in November in even-numbered years. The president is elected indirectly through the electoral college, in which each state has a number of electors equal to the total of its senators and representatives. Voters may vote either a straight ticket, in which they choose only one party's candidates for all offices, or they may vote a split ticket by choosing candidates from different parties.

Individual voting choices can be explained as products of long-term forces, which operate over a series of elections, and short-term forces, which are associated with particular elections. Party identification is the most important long-term force. The most important short-term forces are candidates' attributes and policy positions. Most studies of presidential elections show that issues are less important than either party identification or the candidate's image when people cast their ballots.

Although the party affiliation of the candidates and the party identification of the voters explain a good deal of electoral behavior, party organizations are not central to elections in American. Both major parties fail to meet two of the four principles of responsible government noted in Chapter 8. They do not choose candidates according to party programs, and the governing party cannot be held responsible at the next election for executing its program because there is no governing party when the president is of one party and the Congress is controlled by the other. Even though they do not satisfy all elements of the majoritarian model, parties in the United States do fit well into the pluralist model. They function as giant interest groups themselves, and their decentralized organization provides many opportunities for other organized groups to back candidates that favor their interests.

©1998 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.