Presidential Elections in the U. S.

Presidential Elections in the U.S.
Summer, 2012 ~ Instructor: Jim Bolner, Sr.

July 11, 18, 25, and August 1 - 9:30-11:30 a.m.

We will examine the political and constitutional process involved in nominating and electing the President and
Vice-President of the United States. Topics include the role of political parties and the media, campaign
financing, voting patterns, and electoral reform.

I. Constitutional Provisions
   The Office of the President - Article II
   Articles II, XII, and XXV
   The Electoral College
   Elections in Practice

II. The Presidential Nominating Process
     Presidential Preference Primaries
     Presidential Nominating Conventions
     Radio, Television, and the Internet

III. Campaigning Financing
     The Role of Money in Presidential Elections
     Money and Access in Presidential Politics
     Campaign Finance Regulation Relating to Presidential Elections

IV. Reforming the Electoral College
     Modest Proposals
     Immodest Proposals

Online Resources

Link to this page on the Internet

2010 Census - State Population and the Distribution of Electoral Votes and Representatives - From
the Green Papers

Campaign Finances - from The New York Times

Campaign Finance Limits - Chart - From the Federal Elections Commission

E. J. Dionne, Jr., "Mitt Romney and the Go-for-broke Election," Washington Post, July 29, 2012
Word ~ PDF

PBS Interactive Map - 2012 Election

National Archives and Records Administration - The Electoral College

The Green Papers - A site with overwhelming detail about the Presidential and Vice-Presidential
election http://thegreenpapers.com

FairVote.org - Keep up with daily developments in the campaign

Louisiana 2008 Presidential Electors - Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3

Louisiana 2008 Presidential Electors - 2008

LA GOP Delegate Controversy

Electoral College Video KhanAcademy See KhanAcademy.org

The United States Constitution

United States Code - Title 3, Chapter 1 - Presidential Elections and Vacancies

Cornell University Legal Information Institute, The Election of the President and Vice-President - Constitutional Provisions Annotated

Electoral College - in the U.S. Constitution Annotated

Congressional Reference Service, "The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary
Presidential Elections (2003)" - http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/28109.pdf

2012 Election Central - 2012 Presidential Election Timeline

On the Election of the President - Federalist Number 68

David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - http://uselectionatlas.org/

Presidential Campaign Television Ads - Living Room Candidate

Digital History - A Splendid Resource - http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/

U.S. Presidential Elections - http://www.freewebs.com/uspresidentialelections/

The Hare System of Voting - http://sof.uchicago.edu/hare/index.html

George Will - "Ron Paul, Spoiler?" December 9, 2011

Proportional Representation - http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/polit/damy/BeginnningReading/howprwor.htm

Electoral Systems Worldwide - http://www.idea.int/esd/world.cfm

Federal Election Commission - http://www.fec.gov/

U.S. History.org - The Election of 1800

State Control of Electors' Voting

270towin.com - 270towin.com - Treats elections from 1789 to today. Electoral College Calculator
and Election Links and Voting

A proposal to have the national popular vote determine the allocation of Electoral College votes -
NationalPopularVote.com

Congressional Research Service, 2007 - Proposals for Reforming the Electoral College

About.com - Top 10 U.S. Presidential Elections

A website of the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics - http://www.opensecrets.org/

Campaign Finance Data - http://www.opensecrets.org/

An impressive, independent website - http://politico.com

An important website focusing on money in state politics - http://followthemoney.org

Official Democratic Party Website - http://www.democrats.org/
Official Republican Party Website - http://www.gop.com/index.php

Federal News Service ($$)

NPR Podcast of Talk of the Nation Program on the U.S. Constitution - February 13, 2012
[New York Times article discussed in the program]

Republican Party of Louisiana
2012 Louisiana Caucus Date

Democratic Party of Louisiana
[Wikipedia Website]
2012 Democratic Delegate Selection Brochure

2012 Election Central - Primary Election and Caucus Schedule, 2012

Jules Witcover, A Brokered Convention, [Article] - February 16, 2012

Josh Putnam, http://frontloading.blogspot.com/ [Blog on the nominating process]
Audio of Putnam's Interview on Fresh Air [NPR], February 16, 2012

Louisiana Presidential Preference Primary - March 24, 2012

Montana Ban on Corporate Election Spending Halted by U.S. Supreme Court - February 18, 2012
[Another report of the action.] [Still another report of the action.]

The Two Major Parties and Third Parties - [Politics1.com]

2008 PBS Election Map

"The Fix" - Focus on the Michigan Primary - The Washington Post

Electoral Votes, 1789-2008 - From InfoPlease

"Deconstructing a Republican Hopeful's Road to 1,114 Delegates," - PBS Newshour

Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball - University of Virginia Center for Politics

AmericaElects.org - America Elects 2012 - "First Online Primary Nomination of Presidential Candidates"

George F. Will, "How Republicans Win by Losing" - Washington Post

Louisiana Democratic Party 2012 Delegate Selection Plan

Louisiana Republican Delegate Allocation

Google's Super Tuesday Update Website z

The Green Papers - An abundance of detailed electoral materials
-- Louisiana Democrats
-- Louisiana Republicans

Campaign Finance - The New York Times - Compare the campaign coffers of candidates

Super PACs - From opensecrets.org

Life After Citizens United - From the Congressional Research Service

Republican Primary Map - 2012 - The New York Times

Checking Campaign Ads - From Flackcheck.org

CNN Election Center

Hayes-Tilden Election of 1876

Sample Ballot - Louisiana Primary Election - March 24, 2012
--East Baton Rouge Parish Political Subdivision Map

Election Results - March 24, 2012 - Louisiana Primary and Other Elections

Delegate Tracker - From The Wall Street Journal

Jules Witcover, "The Creep to Judgment," - May 27, 2012 - The WashingtonPost

Election Assistance Commission - "The Electoral College"

Supreme Court Round-up, 2011-2012 - From The Washington Post

Andrew Rosenthal, "Etching Back to the Mainstream," The New York Times, April 11, 2012

Major Court Cases Relating to Presidential Elections

Bush v. Gore (2000)

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)

Davis v. Federal Election Commission (2008)

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2009)

American Traditional Parternership, Inc. v. Bullock (2012)

Citizens United Case Gets Renewed Scrutiny (NPR, June 18, 2012)

Montana Supreme Court Ruling of December 30, 2011 -
Upholding state limits on corporate campaign contributions
http://electionlawblog.org/wp-content/uploads/MT-expenditures-decision.pdf

---News report on the Montana Supreme Court ruling - http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71133.html