Transcript The Democrats The Republicans - Lycée Saint

“RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE”:
U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
George Washington
J.F. Kennedy
Abraham Lincoln
Bill Clinton
Th. Jefferson
F.D. Roosevelt
Ronald Reagan
The President & the U.S. Federal Government
Separation of Powers
Rules for who can be …
• Natural Born Citizen
• At Least 35 Years of Age
• Resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years
• Each term is four years. A president can only be
elected twice (Amendment XXII of the
Constitution following President Franklin Delano
Roosevelt demise during his fourth term)
• A Vice-President runs for office along side of
the President
• Would become President if the President is
to die, to resign or to be removed from office.
Beginning of a Two-Party System


The first president,
George Washington,
was not affiliated with a
party and hoped a twoparty system would
never form.
From his advisors came
the Federalist and
Democratic-Republican
parties.
Federalist vs Democratic-Republican
Federalists
•Strong Central Government
•Strong Link between
Government and Business
Democratic-Republican
•Limited Government
•Populist approach to government
Becoming the Current Two-Party
System

By the 1820’s, the Federalist Party had
dissolved while the Democratic-Republican
Party split into two parts – The Whigs and
The Democrats.

The Whigs replaced by the
Republican Party which held
many of the same values.
Two-Party System
•Every President since 1848
has been either a Democrat
or Republican.
•The House of
Representatives and the
Senate have been
controlled by either a
Democrat or Republican
since 1856
•Though the names have
not changed in over a
century, the ideologies and
policies championed by
each party have shifted.
Democrat Donkey
Republican Elephant
The now-famous Democratic donkey was first associated with
Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His
opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to
use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters.
Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in
newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.
Nast invented another famous symbol—the Republican elephant.
In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, Nast drew a
donkey clothed in lion's skin, scaring away all the animals at the
zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled “The
Republican Vote.” That's all it took for the elephant to become
associated with the Republican Party.
Democrats today say the donkey is smart and brave,
while Republicans say the elephant is strong and dignified.
Other parties
The road to the Presidency
Presidential
Election Voting
Party
Conventions
late July
Primaries
Feb to June
Presidential
Campaign
Nov 8
Electoral
College
Voting
Dec 19
Aug to Nov
Inauguration Day
January 20, 2017
at Noon.
Two stages of elections
Primary Elections
•
•
•
For the candidate who will
represent each party in a
General Election
There are primary elections
for the Democratic candidate
and the Republican
candidate in each state
Between January and June
General Election
•
•
For the candidate who
will become President of
the United States
Held in November.
2008
Debate
Campaign battle:
primaries and caucuses


During primaries
and caucuses, the
citizens of each
State vote to
nominate a
candidate.
Candidates hold
rallies prior to the
vote.
Each Party Selects Its Candidate
The Democrats
The Republicans
An important stage: the debates
Main issues debated:
Gallup survey, May 2015
The Primaries



Most states hold a
primary
The candidate with
the most votes wins
the delegates of
that state for party
election
New Hampshire
holds the first
primary.
Dropped out: Chafee, Lessig, O'Malley, Webb
Dropped out: Bush, Carson, Christie, Fiorina, Gilmore, Graham,
Huckabee, Jindal, Pataki, Paul, Perry, Rubio, Santorum, Walker
Last updated: April 27, 2016, Delegates Tracker, AP.
The caucuses



Local nominating
conventions where
members of a political
party discuss which
candidate to support.
The discussion is followed
by; Republicans: a secret
ballot/Democrats: Voters
swarm into groups+an
“undecided”
group/Candidates with
less than 15% of the total
head count are removed.
Iowa held the first Caucus
of 2016 on February, 1.
The Conventions: Seeking consensus
Democrats and
Republicans ratify
the nomination of
their respective
candidates.
General Elections

After the candidates are chosen, the candidate for
each party campaigns in the general election to
become the President.
The Vote

To vote, one must:
 Be over 18 years of age
 Not be a convicted felon
 Be a U.S. citizen

Possible issues:
 Fraud (rare)
 Low turnout of voters
participation and
registration.
The Electoral College


Voters do not vote directly for a presidential candidate
They vote indirectly through electors who pledge to vote for the
chosen candidate.

538 members
distributed
amongst the
states

Number of
electors is equal
to the number of
senators (2) and
representatives
of each State.
Electoral College 2012 (results)
The Electoral Vote




The candidate must win at
least 270 electoral votes in
order to be elected
Electors vote formally in
December
Ballots counted in January
by Congress
It is possible to win the
electoral vote (by electoral
college) and lose the
popular vote (overall votes
by the people).
2000
Red states, blue states
Who are the voters that make up America?
Demographic Changes






U.S. Census Population Projections:
2010
2050
Caucasians 63.7% 46.3%
Hispanic-Am 16.4% 30.2%
African-Am 12.2% 13.0%
Asian-Am
4.6% 7.8%
Native-Am 0.9%
Key and Decisive Issues: Swing States
“Swing states” are neither strongly Republican nor
strongly Democratic.
Demographics are only one part of the US election puzzle. Control of
the White House and Capitol Hill will be determined by the voters who
actually go to the polls.
As in every election, those voters will be motivated by
enthusiasm and unhappiness, hope and fear, and — just a
little bit — by the weather!
Simultaneous elections

Other elections may be held
simultaneously to the
presidential election:
governor elections, elections
of representatives to the
Assembly of each State,
local elections, referendums
on various topics, etc.
Inauguration Day
On Friday, January 20, 2017, the 45th President of the
United States will be sworn in on the steps of the U.S.
Capitol at noon, when the term of President Barack
Obama expires.
The peaceful transition of power will be accomplished
with a simple oath, first taken by George Washington
In 1789.
“I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the
office of President of the United States, and will to the
best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the
Constitution of the United States. So help me God.”
The long campaign for President will be over.
Important dates
Feb 1
June 7
Primaries and Caucuses
began
?
Last day of primary
elections
?
Five states, including California, go to the polls
July 18-21
July 25-27
Sept 26
?
Republican National
Convention
?
Democratic National
Convention
first presidential? debate
at Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio)
Nov 8
Jan 20, 2017
Election Day
?
?
Inauguration Day
SOURCE: New York Times
SOURCE: New York Times
SOURCE: New York Times
Questions?