Agenda

• Today

    - Announcements
    - Is the US a democracy?
    - Elections and Democracy: Why do they matter? What makes good elections?

• Next time

    - Elections: US elections system

Announcements

• Extra credit

    - two options
    - each will be a 3 hour project
    - worth up to 3% of your final grade
    - full details will be posted in Canvas Announcements ONLY
    - Following instructions is part of the assignment
    - two options for volunteer work: political and non-political 

Extra Credit: # 1

• Volunteer work in the political/government sphere

    - 3 hours of work
    - must be documented
    - person signing must agree to verify if I call or email
    - must be for a verifiable political campaign or organization
    - must be completed by November 25
    - must be submitted by November 25 - following the instructions - no credit for emails, etc.

Extra Credit: # 2

• Volunteer work in the voluntary/non-coercive sphere - non-profit and community organizations

    - 3 hours of work
    - must be documented
    - person signing must agree to verify if I call or email
    - must be for a verifiable non-profit or community benefit organization
    - must be completed by November 25
    - must be submitted by November 25 in Canvas, following the instructions - no credit for emails, etc. 

• Suggestions:

    - Houston Food Bank
    - Houston Humane Society

Is the United States a democracy?

• What is a democracy?
• The right wing critique: Democracy is bad (or not important) and the United States is a Republic not a Democracy (based on James Madison’s and Aristotle’s definitions of democracy)
• The left wing critique: Democracy is good and the United States fails to meet democratic standards (Assorted)

What is a Democracy?

• Accurate understanding requires definition

• Word roots:

            + demos: the people
            + cracy: a form of government

Democracy - rule by the people

Republic

• Republic

    - not a monarchy
    - res publica - political power resides in the public
    - a form of government in which the country is considered a "public matter" - not the private concern or property of the rulers

Democracy vs. Republic: Questions

• Can a country be a democracy and not a republic?

• Can a country be a republic and not a democracy?

• Can a country be both a republic and a democracy?

• Can a country be neither a republic nor a democracy?

Democracy or Not Democracy

• United Kingdom
• Sweden
• Nazi Germany
• Japan (current)
• People’s Republic of China
• Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
• Republic of Korea
• Soviet Union (20th century)
• France

Democracy or Not Democracy

• United Kingdom - constitutional monarchy, democracy, not a republic
• Sweden - constitutional monarchy, democracy, not a republic
• Nazi Germany - republic, not a democracy, dictatorship
• Japan (current) - constitutional monarchy, democracy, not a republic
• People’s Republic of China - republic, not a democracy, dictatorship

Democracy or Not Democracy

• Democratic People’s Republic of Korea - republic, not a democracy, dictatorship
• Republic of Korea - republic, democracy
• Soviet Union (20th century) - republic, not a democracy, dictatorship
• France - republic, democracy
• Saudi Arabia - monarchy, not a democracy

Characteristics of democracy

• Meaningful elections

            + Contestation - Party in power can lose

• Irreversability of elections

            + Party in power can not reverse a lost election

• Repeatability of elections

            + Political minorities (losing parties) must be protected

Rules to determine if these are true

• Near universal adult citizen suffrage

                            + Limits on convicted criminals voting          
                            + Noncitizens not entitled to vote

• The chief executive must be elected directly or indirectly

                            + Prime ministers are elected from the ranks of parliament in most democracies

• Elected legislature

                            + At least one chamber
                            + An unelected chamber is allowed
                            + Direct democracy not required!

• There must be more than one party

                            + Organized opposition
                            + Continues between elections

Democracy or Not Democracy

• United Kingdom - Y
• Sweden - Y
• Denmark - Y
• France - Y
• Japan (current) - Y
• People’s Republic of China - N
• Soviet Union - N
• Nazi Germany - N
• Fascist Italy - N

Right Wing Critique

• Modern: “The United States is a Republic not a Democracy.”
• This is mostly a result of 18th century (1780s) terminology and earlier
• This also considers Aristotle’s view that democracy was corrupt
• It’s also a result of people taking very seriously the writings of one person: James Madison
• These folks argue that the US is not a democracy and they argue that is a good thing

Aristotle Types of Government

Types of Government

James Madison

• Framer of the Constitution
• Coauthor of the Federalist Papers
• concerned with preventing “mob rule” type democracy
• Very much a student of Aristotle
• Referred to the United States system as representative government and called it a Republic
• Aristotle would have called this a Polity

James Madison on Democracy

• “The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse.” – 1787

• “Place three individuals in a situation wherein the interest of each depends on the voice of the others, and give to two of them an interest opposed to the rights of the third. Will the latter be secure? The prudence of every man would shun the danger. The rules & forms of justice suppose & guard against it. Will two thousand in a like situation be less likely to encroach on the rights of one thousand?” – 1821

Questions about modern democracy

Is modern democracy Madison’s mob rule or Madison’s Republic?

Is modern democracy a good protector of rights?

Madison’s Republic

• Representative government not direct
• Limited franchise
• Protection of political minorities
• Opposition to one party rule - protection against party domination
• Fragmentation of parties to divide their power
• Protection of basic civil liberties (Madison - Bill of Rights)
• Protection of property rights

Modern Western or liberal democracy

• Representative government not direct

• Universal franchise (or near)

• Protection of political minorities

• Opposition to one party rule - protection against party domination

• Fragmenation of parties to divide their power

        + US and British style  systems - no  
        + Proportional representation systems - yes

• Protection of basic civil liberties

• Protection of property rights

Question

Which of the following features of Madison’s Republic are present in modern liberal democracy?

    A. Election of representatives
    B. Limited franchise
    C. Protection of political minorities
    D. Opposition to one party rule

Republic vs Liberal Democracy and the United States

• Modern liberal democracies have all major features of Madison’s Republic except limited franchise

• Some modern liberal democracies have Madison’s fragmentation of parties to divide power

• The United States lacks two features of Madison’s Republic:

    - limited franchise (more democratic)
    - effective fragmentation of parties to divide power 

The Left Wing Critique

• Democracy is good

• The United States is not a democracy because:

            + Electoral College
            + Supreme Court
            + Economic inequality

Electoral College

• Chief executive must be elected directly or indirectly
• Electoral college is unique, but indirect election is not
• Prime ministers are elected by parliament in 32 of the 50 members of the European Union
• Prime ministers are elected by parliament in 50 out of 89 electoral and liberal democracies in the world
• Prime ministers are elected by parliament in 42 out of 67 liberal democracies

Electoral College

• The chief executive is indirectly elected in the majority of democracies

• The Electoral College is unique but indirect election of the chief executive is the standard in democracies

Supreme Court - Major Issues

• The Supreme Court may block laws passed by the elected branches
• The Supreme Court blocks majority rule

Supreme Court - Responses

Blocking majority rule to protect minority rights is crucial to a functioning democracy and this is the Supreme Court’s role

• The rule of law is major characteristic of liberal democracy
• Rights of political minority’s must be protected to ensure they can contest the next election
• Consensual democracy is partially defined by the idea that citizens have rights that a simple majority can not take away
• We may not like the outcome in a specific case, but the process of protecting rights guarantees our own rights

Economic inequality

• This is a complaint about outcomes, not really anything to do with the political system
• This is actually a complaint about the result of the democratic process not about a lack of democratic process
• Inequality is not unique to the United States among democracies
• Inequality is not uniquely tied to any particular political system

Questions about modern democracy

Is modern democracy Madison’s mob rule or Madison’s Republic?

Is modern democracy a good protector of individual liberty rights, freedom from organized coercive violence?

Campaigns and Elections

Who runs elections in the United States

• State and local governments

• Federal government sets some rules

    - Centered on 14th Amendment
    - Voting Rights Act
    - Help America Vote Act

• Parties also play a role in primary elections, caucuses, and conventions

Types of electoral rules (voting systems)

• Plurality system

    - First-past-the-post system
    - Winner-take-all system
    - Common in the United States
    - The winner take all aspect accounts for the dominance of two major parties
    - If there are a dozen closely matched candidates, the winner may only get 20% of the vote

• Majority system: candidate must win 50% + 1 vote

• Runoff election: if no candidate wins majority, top two candidates face off in a second election

• Ranked choice voting / instant runoff voting

    - voters rank candidates in order of preference
    - Uncommon now but used in the past in some major cities
    - Now used in Maine and Alaska for federal elections

Types of Elections

• Primary elections
• General elections
• Special elections

Types of Elections: Primaries

• Usually set by state law along with party rules
• Parties are private organizations
• Parties have freedom of association
• Party rules are not subject to judicial review

Types of Elections: Primary elections

• Select the parties nominees for the general election
• Closed primary
• Open primary
• Blanket primary
• Jungle primary / Top two primary / Louisiana primary
• Caucus

Types of Elections: General elections

• Select officeholders
• Most use plurality system
• Some use majority system or runoff elections
• Maine and Alaska use ranked choice voting

Types of Elections: Special elections and other elections

• Fill vacancies
• Recall elections
• Ballot initiatives
• Referendums

Party conventions

• Held every four years

• Delegates are elected in the state primaries and caucuses

    - Delegates are pledged to support a candidate
    - Delegates select the party’s nominee for president
    - Delegates also draft the party platform
    - Usually a formality
    - In the past, conventions were more important

• Rules set by party National Committees

Democratic Convention Rules

• Superdelegate

    - party leader or elected official who is automatically a delegate
    - not pledged to support a candidate
    - can vote for any candidate
    -  out of total delegates       

• 2020:

    - 771 superdelegates
    - 3,979 pledged delegates
    - 4,750 total delegates

• Superdelegates helped Independent Bernie Sanders in 2016

Republican Convention Rules

• Superdelegates are not used in the Republican Party
• Former Democrat and Reform Party Member Donald Trump won the Republican nomination in 2016

Presidential General Election

Electoral College

    - Indirect election
    - Candidate names are on the ballot
    - We elected Electors pledged to those candidates
    - Electors meet in December to cast their votes
    - Congress counts the Electoral College votes in January
    

• Indirect election of the chief executive is not unique to the United States

    - The Electoral College is unique to the United States
    - Most democracies are parliamentary systems where the chief executive is chosen by the legislature
    - The Electoral College is a compromise between direct election and election by the legislature
    - Preserves federalism and the power of the states
    - Preserves the Separation of Powers (Congress role is extremely limited)

Election campaigns

• Campaigns are long and expensive

• Campaigns are run by professional staff

• Campaigns are media-driven

• Expensive campaigns favor incumbents over challengers

    - incumbents: current officeholders
    - challengers: candidates running against incumbents

• Incumbents have name recognition and a record to run on

• Incumbents have access to campaign funds from PACs and other sources

Federal Election Campaign finncing

• Campaign Finance Legal Framework

    - Goes back to 1867
    - Federal Election Campaign Act (1971)
    - Federal Election Commission (1974)
    - Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (2002)

• Free speech issues

    - Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
    - McCutcheon v. FEC (2014)

• Campaign finance entities

    - Campaign committees
    - Political Action Committees (PACs)
    - Super PACs
    - 501(c)(4) committees (IRS designation for a type of nonprofit social welfare organization)

State and local elections

• State and local governments have their own campaign finance laws for state and local races
• Texas elections and local elections are covered in Texas Government GOVT2306

Authorship and License

Do not submit to Quizlet, Chegg, Coursehero, or other similar commercial websites.

• Author: Tom Hanna

• Website: tomhanna.me

• License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.