I Going for it Recruitment and Candidacy 1 Legislators are products of recruitment which reflects a class structure most privileged 2 classes are overrepresented Informal and formal recruitment processes a Formal elements Constitution state and federal laws b Informal elements unwritten rules of the game A Formal Rules of the Game 1 Three constitution qualifications for holding congressional office 25 years old for the House 30 for the Senate a b Citizen for seven years for House nine years for Senate c Resident in the state of elected representative 2 Framers didn t believe in term limits they values expertise and experience 3 Carpetbaggers those who move into an area to seek public office B Senate Apportionment C House Apportionment 1 Senate does not adhere to one person one vote 2 Large states argue that they contribute more revenue and receive fewer benefits II Districting in the House 435 House seats average district is 710 000 people 1 2 Census is required every ten years to allocate House seats 3 Method of equal proportions is a mathematical formula for House apportionment 4 Equal population of districts cannot be guaranteed for two reasons a Every state must receive one House member b Congressional districts cannot cross state lines 5 Gain s of seat s in one state means a loss in another state 6 Northeast and Midwest states Rush Belt have seen lost seats to states in the South and West Sun Belt 7 Population figures affect seats and share of the Electoral College votes 8 Tri Caucus Black Caucus Hispanic Caucus and Asian Cuscus 9 Three reasons why apportionment and districting is so hard and controversial a Counting such a large number is logistically and methodologically hard b Statistical sampling has been the subject of much controversy c Immigration 14th Amendment refers to persons not just citizens so states which large populations of undocumented people have higher populations to record 1 Redistricting is fundamentally a responsibility of the state but courts govern the process 2 Two statutes govern redistricting 1967 statute mandates that all states must have at least one representative a b Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires that districts not dilute the representation of racial minorities 3 Some states used independent commission for redistricting but most used their legislature with the governor being able to approve or veto the redistricting plan 4 Politicians want partisan factional personal advantage when it comes to redistricting 5 Two problems of redistricting a Malapportionment b b Gerrymandering D Malapportionment 1 Supreme Court ruled that districting schemes that fell short of population equality violated the Constitution It is not feasible to follow economic social or geographical boundaries therefore congressional districts tend to be artificial creation with little relationship to real communities of interest economic geographic or political 2 E Gerrymandering bloc 1 Refers to district line drawing that purposefully maximizes seats for a party or voting 2 Two common gerrymandering techniques a Cracking dividing up party lean districts so the district is more of a fair fight b Packing draws districts dominated by votes of one party 3 Gerrymandering can violate the Constitution if it was substantial long standing and truly harmful to the party minority 4 Bipartisan or sweat heart gerrymandering when lines are drawn to protect incumbents F Majority Minority Districts 1 Racial gerrymander the deliberate and arbitrary distortion of district boundaries for racial purposes or prerequisites 2 VRA of 1965 most effective civil rights act section 2 abolished all voting qualifications 3 House has became more racially and ethnically diverse with majority minority districts 4 Maintaining substantial racial and ethnic minority votes is another strategy for increase political influence for minorities III Becoming a Candidate G Called or Chosen 1 Candidates are recruited by the two parties 2 Independent candidates are likely to enter contests with only one party to provide an alterative H Amateurs and Professionals 1 Amateurs have lack of previous political experience 2 Have a hard time winning office unless they have had highly visible nonpolitical careers 3 Professional politicians have more to lose than amateurs because running for one political office and losing may mean that they lost their original office 4 Most congressional candidates are professionals seasoned politicians that used lower political office as a springboard I Finding Quality Candidates 1 The bid for election starts during recruitment season 2 Candidates need multiple qualities physical appearance personality speaking ability 3 4 5 talent for organizing and motivating others and fundraising abilities Incumbents are generally reelection because they face low quality candidates that struggle fundraising under qualified and unknown to the public Incumbents are most likely to face strong opposition when they have shown weakness during their term If incumbents do not feel as though they will be reelected they are likely to retired which is a misleading indicator of incumbent safety 6 Women are less likely to run but just as likely to get elected IV Nominating Politics 1 Direct primary allows party voters to choose their party s nominees J Rules of the Nominating Game 1 Closed primaries 23 states requires voters to declare party affiliation in order to vote in 2 Open primaries 20 states voters can vote for either party but not both straight line the primary election ballot K Parties and Nominations 1 Party organizations have indirect influence on nominations by speaking to potential nominees putting them in contact with contributors and endorsing them 2 Democrats look for anti abortion pro gun rights candidates for the South 3 Republicans look for moderates for the swing districts 4 The Tea Party have taken away middle ground candidates L Sizing Up the Primary System 1 Direct primaries are allowed for more participation in sleeting candidates however primaries attract less voters than general elections 2 Who votes in primaries Older wealthier more educated more politically involved more idiotically committed than the bulk of voters This chapter focused a lot more on the political system as we know it today However I feel as though people do not realize that in many elected offices that recruitment is a very common practice because we see it a lot less in small rural areas I never realized that