I haven't done one of these in ages, but I'm trying to finish what's turning into a very long post about the imperial presidency, so I think I'll try a Question Day. If you have questions, I'll try to have answers. I think I'll make the topic: Elections. Midterm elections, Congressional elections, presidential elections -- nomination process or general election. You can leave questions here in comments, and I'll also monitor email and
twitter. I never know how these things will go, but if you have any questions about how American elections work, here's your chance to get them answered. Don't be shy!
Hi Jonathan,
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a question, so feel free to ignore. I was curious about your thoughts on the current IL special election fiasco. I've included a link to a Chicago Tribune story. Two elections for the same office on one ballot. Just stupid.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/elections/ct-met-eight-week-senate-special-elec20100722,0,5035919.story
If economic growth is the most important factor in winning elections why did Gore barely win the popular vote?
ReplyDeleteIn a number of recent elections (the 2000 presidential contest and, much more recently, the Senate race in Mass., and the W.V. Senate election), we've seen legislatures or judges dismiss rules regarding appointments, vote counting, election timing, etc. Is this an aberration in U.S. political history, or is this gaming of the system for short-term victories ordinary? As hard fought as our elections are, I'm surprised elected officials and judges can change the rules so easily, with very little blowback either from the political parties or the voters.
ReplyDeleteAre all elections more "nationalized", now than, say, 30 years ago? Then ten years ago? That is, are elections even for Congressional candidates (hell, even for State legislature candidates!) less likely to turn on local issues (Even the local economy) than on national issues? If so, what caused this? My hypothesis would be the rise of a national political media and the very recent fall of local reporting, so if you wanted to comment on that, specifically, it'd be cool. :)
ReplyDeleteNeil,
ReplyDeleteI don't really have much of a response on this one...yeah, it's silly, but it happens from time to time. It's not really very likely to have much of an effect on anything. One would hope that it could be avoided, but it's more a violation of aesthetics than anything else.
Has anyone studied campaign effects over time, and if so, how have they changed? (A more loaded way to ask this question is whether advanced voter files, microtargeting, and other advances have actually made campaigns more effective now than when it was some guy using a file cabinet).
ReplyDeleteJust as disposable income is a good predictor for presidential and to a slightly lesser extent congressional elections, is there a predictor for gubernatorial and other state elections?
ReplyDelete