American Democracy Now, 2nd Edition (Harrison)

Chapter 9: Elections, Campaigns, and Voting

Chapter Summary

Political participation in electioneering constitutes the essence of democracy for most citizens. After many years of declining participation, recent elections are experiencing renewed interest. The question persists, however, whether this increased interest among citizens, most notably young voters, will result in the goal most seek: change via legislative accomplishment. This chapter's material enlightens students regarding the realm of democracy in practice, through the following topics:

• Civic engagement and political participation in the U.S. electoral process
• The types of elections in the United States
• Voting, and ballot types and their effect on election outcomes
• Campaigning, in particular considering how the choice to run for office is made and how campaigns are conducted
• The nature of political campaigns today and their use of political consultants and media
• The effects of and possible reforms to the campaign finance law, as well as the effect of various loopholes in the law
• The stages of a presidential campaign
• Voter demographics and how voters make decisions
• The causes and consequences of nonvoting