POLS 417: Voting and Elections

POLS 417: Voting and Elections Washington State University, Fall 2011 Tuesday, Thursday, 12-1:15 p.m., Todd 320 Instructor: Dr. Travis Ridout TA: Sanne Rijkhoff, MA, MSc Email: tnridout@wsu.edu Email: sanne.rijkhoff@wsu.edu Phone: 509-335-2264 Office Hours: T 1:30-3 p.m., Th 9-10:30 a.m. Office Hours: M 9:30-11, W 1-2:30 816 Johnson Tower 226 Johnson Tower Course webpage: www.wsu.edu/~tnridout/ps417.htm Introduction In a democracy, elections serve as the vital link between the people and those who govern them. During a campaign, candidates are forced to defend their performance in office and proposals for the future. And voters pass judgment on the performance of office-holders and on how much they like their ideas for the future. In this course, we will study voters and candidates and the two processes that link them: campaigns and elections. This is a course in which we will examine a variety of scholarly research about the behavior of voters and candidates. It is not a course in political management (i.e., how to run a campaign). That said, I will bring many examples of contemporary electoral politics into the classroom enough to satisfy most political junkies. This course will focus on elections in the United States, though I will provide examples from other countries. Moreover, we will spend some time learning about electoral systems used around the world. Readings There are four books available for purchase: -Broder, David. 2000. Democracy Derailed: Initiative Campaigns and the Power of Money. Harcourt. The softcover version of the book, published by Harvest books in 2001, is also acceptable. - Flanigan, William and Nancy Zingale. 2004. Political Behavior of the American Electorate, 12th edition. CQ Press. - Heilemann, John and Mark Halperin. 2010. Game Change. Harper Perennial. - Herrnson, Paul. 2010. Congressional Elections: Campaigning At Home and In Washington. CQ Press, 5th edition. Grading 1

There are 1000 points available for this course. Your final grade in this course will depend on your success in four areas: 1. Midterm Examination (300 points) THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13. This in-class exam will consist of three sections: the definition of key terms, short answers and short essays. 2. Final Examination (300 points) MONDAY, DECEMBER 12, 7 p.m. This exam will be similar in format to the midterm. 3. Presidential Campaign Memorandum (250 points) DUE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 5 p.m. In writing this memorandum, you will go beyond merely providing facts about a race and will offer advice to one of the candidates vying for the Republican nomination, as though you were that candidate s political consultant. For instance, you might decide to write to Mitt Romney, offering him a strategy for winning his party s nomination. Or you might choose to write to one of the other declared or potential Republican candidates, including Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Fred Karger, Thad McCotter, Roy Moore, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Buddy Roemer or Rick Santorum. And there may be others who enter the race soon! The advice you give must be grounded in the social scientific research of the type that we study in this course. Advice based on a gut feeling will likely earn you an F for this assignment. In writing your paper, you should address most, if not all, of the following questions: - Who are the candidates in the race, and who are your candidate's main competitors? - Where does your candidate stand in the polling now? Interpret the polling data in light of what we know about how citizens respond to polls. Do you expect the numbers to change as the campaign progresses? -What level of voter turnout do you expect in the various states holding caucuses and primaries? What are the implications of this for your candidate? How might your candidate get his or her supporters to the polls or prevent an opponent s supporters from showing up? - Which issues do you advise the candidate to emphasize? Why? Or should the candidate run a personality-based campaign? Why? - What type of advertising strategy should your candidate pursue? Positive or negative? Issue or personality-based? Should it change over time? Should it vary depending on the state or media market? Why? - How is your candidate faring financially? How much has he or she raised and spent? What is the primary source of money for your candidate (i.e., interest groups, individual, PACs, self-financing?) Given your candidate s lack or abundance of resources, how should they be allocated? To polling, television advertising, get-out-the-vote efforts? Something else? Why? And on which states should your candidate focus these efforts? - Has your candidate secured any important endorsements? What individuals or what groups have endorsed each candidate? Do you believe these endorsements may have an impact on the outcome of the race? -How much media attention has your candidate been receiving? How would you rate the quality of the media reporting on your candidate? Are there steps than can be taken to 2

increase the quantity or quality of the coverage of your candidate? - End your memorandum with an honest assessment of your candidate s chances. What is the likelihood that your candidate will win? Why do you draw this conclusion? Eight to ten pages is a good length for this assignment. Please cite all sources using a generally accepted standard of citation. I will grade your assignment using several criteria, including the extent to which your paper: 1. Identifies, summarizes, and defines the issue or problem at hand 2. Clearly states purposes, objectives, or hypotheses. 3. Presents observations and results in a complete, logical and clear fashion. 4. Assesses, discusses, and reconciles the supporting data/evidence acquired from the exercise in relation to the existing literature. 5. Identifies conclusions, implications and consequences. 6. Effectively organizes and articulates information to promote understanding and communicate significance of the issue or problem. 4. Group Presentation (150 points) You and three or four classmates will work as a group to study the electoral system of a country other than the United States. You will present what you learned in the form of a 10-minute-long presentation during the last week of class. Your group may choose to use presentation software, such as PowerPoint. Your presentation should discuss: - When the country adopted its current electoral system and why it was chosen - The workings of the electoral system (e.g., is it first-past-the-post single-member district? How does that system translate votes into seats?) - The pros and cons of the electoral system as used in the country - Your overall evaluation of the country s electoral system - Any advice you have for reforming the electoral system in the country During your presentation, be sure to make reference to and summarize at least three books or scholarly articles that discuss your country s electoral system. Some other rules of this assignment: -You will sign up during class on September 15 for the country that you would like to study. I will provide you with 12-13 different options. Once all of the slots for a particular country are taken you must choose a different country. -Each member of the team must speak during the presentation. -You must provide me with a hard copy of your presentation. -I will be asking you to evaluate the performance of the other groups. I will be grading your presentation in terms of the 6 criteria outlined above for the Initiative Paper. GRADING SCALE: 930-1000 A 900-929 A- 3

870-899 B+ 830-869 B 800-829 B- 770-799 C+ 730-769 C 700-729 C- 670-699 D+ 600-669 D 0-599 F EXTRA CREDIT I generally do not provide opportunities for extra credit, but if a special event arises (e.g., a professor needs participants for an experiment or a political strategist comes to give a talk on campus), I may offer an extra credit opportunity. Other information If there are things I talk about in class that you do not understand, do not hesitate to talk to me about them. I am here to help you learn the course material. And if there are other matters that you think should be brought to my attention, let me know. MAKE-UP EXAMS. I will give make-up exams only in extraordinary circumstances. These are limited to 1) absences due to membership in an official university group or athletic team that will be out of town on the day of the exam 2) serious illness or injury and 3) family emergencies. Students who will miss an exam due to membership in an official university group must notify me at least FIVE days in advance, and I will have you take the exam before you leave town. LATE ASSIGNMENTS. Assignments must be at my office by 4 p.m. on the due date or they will be considered late. For each day an assignment is late, including weekends, I will subtract 10 percent of the assignment s total point value from your score. I prefer to receive hard copies of assignments in my office, but if you are turning in a late assignment, please also email me an electronic copy so I know exactly when it was submitted. ACADEMIC ETIQUETTE. Do not carry on side conversations or read the newspaper during class. Doing so is disrespectful to your classmates, and I will ask you to leave the room if you are disturbing others. Turn off all cellular phones during class. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT. I do not tolerate plagiarizing or cheating of any kind. Such behavior will result in failing the course and other disciplinary action. Please see the Student Handbook at the Division of Student Affairs website at www.studentaffairs.wsu.edu for a full description of the types of academic misconduct. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism or cheating, see me immediately. DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION. Students with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please visit the Access Center. All 4

accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center (Washington Building, Room 217). Please stop by or call 509-335-3417 to make an appointment with a disability specialist. Course Outline Introduction, Background and Context (Aug 23, 25) Flanigan and Zingale 1, Herrnson 1 Presidential and Congressional Nominations (Aug 30, Sept 6) Herrnson 2, Flanigan and Zingale (p. 199-202) NO CLASS SEPTEMBER 1 Anatomy of a Campaign (Sept 8) Herrnson 3 Parties, Interest Groups and Campaign Finance (Sept 13, 15, 20) Herrnson 4, 5, 6 IN-CLASS SIGN-UP FOR GROUP PRESENTATION (Sept 15) Campaign Strategy (Sept 22) Herrnson 7 Media and Campaigns (Sept 27, 29, Oct 4) Flanigan and Zingale 7, Herrnson 8 Winning Elections (Oct 6) Herrnson 9 MAKE-UP DAY/MIDTERM EXAM REVIEW (Oct 11) MIDTERM EXAM (Oct 13) Inside the 2008 Presidential Campaign (Oct 18, 20) Heilemann and Halperin, all Comparative Electoral Systems (Oct 25, 27, Nov 1) The American Electorate (Nov 3, 8) Flanigan and Zingale 3, 4, 5, 6 How Voters Decide (Nov 10) Flanigan and Zingale 8 Public Opinion and Polling (Nov 15, 17) 5

Flanigan and Zingale 9 Initiatives and Referenda (Nov 29, Dec 1) Broder, all IN-CLASS PRESENTATIONS (Dec 6, 8) FINAL EXAM (Monday, December 12, 7-9 p.m.) 6