Download 10.3 Paying for Election Campaigns

10.3 Paying for
Election Campaigns
Civics and Economics
Running for Office
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Campaigns convince the
public to vote for a
candidate
Once nominated
candidates spend months
campaigning
Each campaign has a
campaign organization to
help run the campaign;
local candidates have a few
workers, presidential
campaigns have thousands
Running for Office
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Campaign workers acquaint voters with the
candidate’s name, face, positions on issues, and
convince voters to like and trust their candidate
Canvassing
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Candidates or campaign workers travel through
neighborhoods asking for votes, or taking polls
Canvassing
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At the local level, candidates go door-to-door to
solicit votes and hand out campaign literature; at
the national level, campaigns conduct frequent polls
to find out how their candidate is doing
Endorsements
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When a famous and popular person supports or
campaigns for a candidate
The idea behind endorsements is that if voters like the
person making the endorsement they may decide to
vote for the candidate
Andy Griffith, waving supported Beverly Perdue (in red) in the 2008 NC gubernatorial race
Endorsements
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Endorsements are a
propaganda technique
Propaganda= an
attempt to promote a
particular person or idea
Candidates use
propaganda techniques
to try to persuade or
influence voters to
choose them over
another candidate
Advertising and Image Molding
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Political advertisements allow a party to present
only its candidate’s position or point of view
They also enable a candidate to attack an
opponent without an opportunity to respond
Advertising and Image Molding
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Candidates for local election may use newspaper
advertisements or posters; state and national
candidates spend a great deal of money
advertising on television
Campaign Expenses
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Campaign expenses include TV commercials,
travel expenses, salaries of campaign staff, fees
to campaign consultants, and computer,
telephone, postage, and printing costs
A small-town mayoral race may cost only a few
hundred or thousand dollars; a state legislative
or congressional race may cost several hundred
thousand or more, presidential races can cost
hundreds of millions of dollars
Federal Election Campaign Act (1971)

To place some
controls on campaign
financing:
 Required public
disclosure of
spending
 Limited hard
money donations
 Spending limits
Federal Election Campaign Act
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Created the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
to administer election laws and monitor
spending
Buckley v. Valeo
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The government
could set limits on
campaign
contributions to keep
corruption out of
elections
Public Funding
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The Presidential Election Campaign Fund allows
taxpayers to designate $3 of their taxes to go to
public funding for candidates
Major-party presidential candidates can qualify
to get some of this money to campaign in
primary elections if they have raised $100,000 on
their own
Public Funding
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After the national
conventions, the two
major-party candidates
receive equal shares of
money, as long as they
agree not to accept any
other direct contributions
Third Party candidates can
also qualify for this
funding if their party
received more than 5
percent of the popular vote
in the previous election
Political Action Committees
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(PACs) are organizations set up by interest
groups to collect money to support candidates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_action_committees
Soft Money
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Donations given to parties and not for a
candidate’s campaign
There are no limits on these contributions
By law this money is used for general partybuilding purposes
The McCain-Feingold Act
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The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
Prohibits political parties, federal officeholders, and
candidates from raising soft money
Corporations, unions and interest groups are banned from
running ads aimed at a candidate for federal office within 60
days of a general election or 30 days of a primary
It raises limits on contributions, stating candidates may
collect up to $2,500 per donor in each election; political
parties can collect $25,000 per donor
New Law Upheld
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McConnell v. FEC (2003) the McCain-Feingold
Act is constitutional
Looking to the Future
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Candidates now want to get many small
donations rather than a few large ones; as a
result, the internet will play a larger role in
political fundraising