POLS 2312 1st Edition Lecture 15 Outline of Last Lecture I. Testing II. Qualifications to VoteIII. RegistrationA. Motor Voter LawIV. Early VotingV. Contributions to low participation rates in votingA. TraditionalisticB. IndividualisticVI. Political Structure and Political CultureOutline of Current Lecture I. Primary ElectionA. Runoff PrimaryB. Open PrimaryC. Closed PrimaryII. General ElectionsA. Write-In CandidatesIII. Special ElectionsIV. IndependentsV. Administration of ElectionsVI. Types of VotingVII. Absentee VotingVIII. Interest GroupsA. BundlingCurrent Lecturel.The primaries are devices for selecting political party nominees. It is a ballot vote in which citizens select a party’s nominee for the general election. There are 3 historical types of primaries. 1. Caucus (Iowa is the only state that still does this one) 2. Party Convention System (none of the states do this) 3. Direct Primary (every other state besides Iowa). Any party receiving 20% of the gubernational vote must hold a primary, must be won by 50% plus 1 vote.These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.A. A runoff primary is held if no candidate receives a majority of the vote, then the top 2 go against each other in a runoff primary.B. Open primaries are when voters choose on Election Day in which primary they will participate. Any registered voter can participate in the election regardless of party affiliation.C. Closed primaries are where only members of a particular political party may participate. ll.General Elections is an election in which voters cast ballots to select public officials. The last day to register to vote for this general election was Monday, October 6. They are won by a plurality vote, held on the 1st Tuesday of an even number of years, and they’re held on non-presidential election years “midterm elections”. 2 factors predominate in these elections 1. Party Identification 2. Incumbency.A. Write in Candidates are seldom successful and computer voting makes it very difficult for them to win because the voter must spell their name correctly or it doesn’t count.lll.Special Elections are not held on a regular basis. In Texas a special election is called to fill a vacancy in office, to give approval for the state government to borrow money or to ratify the amendments to the Texas Constitution. They are non-partisan, don’t involve the primary, and the winner must receive 50% plus 1 vote.lV.In 2006 there were 2 independents running for governor in Texas. One was Kinky Friedman and the other was former Austin mayor Carole Keeton Strayhorn. For independents to get on the Texas ballot they must:1. Obtain signatures on a petition from registered voters. Signatures must equal 1% of totalvotes in the last governor’s race.2. Signatures must come from registered voters who didn’t participate in any political partyprimary election.3. Signature collection cannot begin until the day after the last primary election.4. Voters may sign only 1 candidate’s petition. If they sign both only the first signature provided will count. V.The Texas Secretary of State is Nandita Berry and she is the chief elections officer. The Board of Elections arranges polling places, printing of ballots, a tax assessor collector process all voter applications and updates rolls, and the county commissioner’s court draws districts, appoints election judges and voting devices.Vl.There are 3 different types of voting. Paper ballots are still used as the primary way of voting because it leaves a trail. Optical Scan is like a scantron and enables voters to mark their choices on pre-printed ballots. DREs (Direct Record Electronic systems) enable voters to record their choices electronically directly into the machine.Vll.Absentee voting is available 22 days before election day. Any member of the U.S. armed forces, anyone who’s ill, or an anticipated absence from the country can vote at this time. The U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution guarantee the right of citizens to political participation through speaking, writing, and petitioning the government. Vlll.Interest Groups are organizations established to influence governments programs and policies. The larger or better interest groups have several advantages 1. Time 2. Money 3. Expertise 4. Continuity. They offer citizens an organizational structure that expresses their preferences to government. They’re private entities who seek to influence the government’s decisions on behalf of their members. They don’t nominate candidates but endorse and support them. They are also known as pressure groups and draw citizens into the political process. They educate their members, provide policy makers valuable info, and promote narrow and selfish desires.A. Bundling is an interest group practice of combining campaign contributions from several sources into 1 larger contribution from the group, so as to increase the group’s impact on the