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UT Arlington POLS 2312 - Elections

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POLS 2312 1st Edition Lecture 10 ElectionsAnthony Downs: two party competition results in attempts by both parties to gain the vote of the“median voter” - A political scientist - “The era of the big government is over” –Bill Clinton, in search of the median voter, circa 1996- First thing he tried to do when winning the presidency was passing the health care reformwhich failed badly. Redistricting: - States draw new boundaries for electoral districts every ten yearsGerrymandering: drawing an electoral district in order to give electoral advantage to one political party. - Congressional districts or state legislative districts are drawn by political leaders their notthere from beginning time. - Politicians choose their voters, not the other way around - Every 10 years the U.S. conducts a census; which lets the Congress know about the population. - We go through the process of redistricting through the census and have new boundaries, which is done by the state legislator - If you’re in control of the party at the beginning of the ten years then it’s very likely that you’re able to choose the boundaries that will benefit your party at the end of the ten years. 2012 Elections: - In the U.S. as a whole, 1.4 million more people voted for Democrats then for Republicansin the House of Representatives elections. - Result: 234 Republican seats and 201 Democratic seats - Was a midterm election, no presidency election in the year of 2012Total votes in Texas elections for the U.S. House of Representatives, 2002Democrat: 1,855,178Republican: 2,290,723Other: 119,309 Result: 17 democrats sent to congress 15 republicans sent to congressRedistricting Techniques: Goal: to minimize the impact of a particular political group Packing: placing a large percentage of the group in question within the district Cracking: splitting voters from one group into multiple districts- Tarrant county- 33rd congressional district “One Person, One Vote” - Baker v. Carr (1962): Congressional districts within a state must have approximately equal numbers of residents - Reynolds v. Simms (1964): State legislative districts must follow the same rules. Voting Rights Act (1965): - Eliminated various barriers to minority voting- Originally aimed at African-American voters- Extended to language minority groups in 1975- Renewed on a number of occasions, most recently in 2006 Preclearance: - Until 2013, states and communities with a history of racial discrimination in voting were required to seek prior approval for changes to their election codes and district boundaries.- Texas grew by 4.3 million between 2000 and 2010- Result: Granted 4 new Congressional Districts- Justice Department and Federal Court in San Antonio found that the new map was intentionally discriminatoryTypes of Elections: - Primaries: In which a political party chooses its nominee- In Texas, a candidate needs to get a majority of the vote in the primary. If they do not, a run-off primary is held.- General Election: Candidates from competing parties square offShelby County (AL) v. Holder (2013):“Our country has changed. While any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions.” -Chief Justice John Roberts2012 General Elections: - Overall U.S. Turnout: 58.2% of voting eligible population- Texas Turnout: 49.7% of voting eligible population- Only West Virginia (46.3%), Hawaii (44.2%), and Oklahoma (49.2%) had lower turnouts- Mitt Romney (Republican): 4.5 million votes- Barack Obama (Democrat): 3.3 million votes- Result: 38 electoral college votes for Mitt Romney2012 Senatorial Election in Texas: - Republican Primary (Run off)- Ted Cruz: 631,316- David Dewhurst: 480,161- Ted Cruz (Republican): 4.4 million votes- Paul Sadler (Democrat): 3.1 million votesElections in Texas: - Almost every state-wide official is elected- A number of cities hold “off year” or even non-November elections- Arlington holds municipal elections every spring (current mayor Robert Cluck was elected with 7,800 votes in May of 2013)- Voting on Constitutional Amendments occurs during November of odd-numbered yearsResponses? - Motor Voter Law (1995): Allows people to register to vote when getting a driver’s license- Early Voting: Makes it easier for people to vote- Florida: “Fair Districts” constitutional amendments adopted by referendum, with 63% of the vote in 2010- California: Bipartisan “Citizens Redistricting


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