Political Participation

Buckley v Valeo secured limits on individual donations but upheld unlimited self-financed campaign spending based on free speech.

McConnell v FEC challenged provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act without specifically upholding caps on individual giving.

Citizens United v FEC relaxed rules around independent political spending by corporations and unions but didn't focus solely on personal campaign contributions.

McCutehon v FEC struck down aggregate contribution limits from an individual to federal candidates but wasn't about affirming individual contribution caps per se.

January 20th to November 1st

January 1st to March 4th

November 1st to January 1st

March 4th to January 20th

Cooperation between large parties may lessen as they compete fiercely not just for first place but also against others' secondary choices.

Candidates may seek cross-partisan alliances knowing that second-choice preferences play crucial roles in winning majority support.

Ranked-choice voting wouldn't significantly alter bipartisanship since primary partisan loyalties dictate most electoral outcomes.

Bipartisan efforts could decrease due to complexities of strategy involving ranking instead of straightforward endorsements.

Passage of trade agreements

Development of public school curriculum

Nomination and confirmation of federal judges

Approval of military spending budgets

The Electoral College

The Senate

The House of Representatives

The Cabinet

An elector who votes against the popular vote in their state

An elector who is not eligible to vote

An elector who does not vote in the Electoral College

An elector who abstains from voting

It may cause an overall decrease in voter turnout due to disillusionment with political extremes.

It could lead to more consistent voting patterns within certain demographic groups across election cycles.

Polarization may encourage candidates from both parties to adopt more moderate platforms during elections.

It could result in more frequent changes between Democratic and Republican administrations.

Swing states are crucial targets for political campaigns as their outcome can determine the election.

Swing states hold a majority of electoral votes and are therefore always won by the leading candidates.

Swing states are only significant during primary elections, not general ones.

Swing states are those that have never voted for one specific party in a presidential election.

Based on its total number of Senators and Representatives in Congress.

States use their population size determined by census data alone without congressional representation consideration.

Each state legislature votes every four years to decide their allotment of electors.

All states receive an equal number regardless of size or population.

Equalizes voting power among all states regardless of size.

Decreases the influence of third-party candidates on election outcomes.

Focuses candidate visits and resources on swing states.

Encourages candidates to adopt more moderate positions in their platforms.