THE UNITED STATES ELECTORAL SYSTEM:
2002 COURSE DESCRIPTION, REQUIREMENTS, and READINGS

    My approach to electoral studies focuses on the system within which candidates operate, not on the candidates themselves. That is, we concentrate on the enduring forces behind voting behavior. During the first week or two of the course we will examine the historical evolution of the two party system with special attention paid to "critical" elections. We will examine each of the five party systems and discuss the changing functions performed by political parties, as well as the various sources of cleavage, dissolution and cohesion. For the remainder of the course we shift our attention to voting theories, campaign techniques and electoral behavior.

    Our concern will be with those factors that almost always influence the outcome of elections regardless of issues or candidates. Indeed, it would be possible to focus on these factors without ever mentioning a particular candidate or that candidate's position on issues. Naturally, we will not do that, but the point is that there is an electoral structure in which candidates and issues operate. That structure places limits, establishes boundaries, and helps to determine what kinds of candidates and what kinds of issues can influence the electoral system.

    The topics we will be exploring, or "what counts", are the state of the economy, partisanship, the party bias, swing ratios, coattails, midterm congressional elections, presidential and congressional elections, referendums, initiatives and recall elections, the electoral origins of divided government, presidential popularity, registration laws, voter turnout, party coalitions, third party politics, primaries and divisive primaries, the incumbency effect, name familiarity, candidate evaluation, issue voting, media coverage, polls, voter targeting, symbolic politics, strategic politics, the structure of belief systems and their impact on voting decisions, the impact of charges of corruption on a candidate's prospects for success, and last, but surely not least, campaign finances.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

    Grades will be determined as follows:

    1) The midterm will be in class October 16th and will constitute 25 percent of your grade. It will cover both readings and lectures.

    2) Twenty-five percent of your grade will be based on an eight to twelve page paper on a topic of your choice covered in this class. Please clear your topic with me by October 2. The paper is due October 30 and will be down graded one grade for each 24 hour period the paper is late.

    3) Twenty-five percent of your grade will be based on the second midterm. It will cover both readings and lectures since the first midterm and will be in class on the last session.

    4) Twenty-five percent of your grade will be based on an eight to twelve page paper analyzing why a state voted the way it did for House and Senate seats during this election cycle. The paper is due during the period scheduled for the final exam: December 19, at 7:00 PM.

GRADING WEIGHTS

GENERAL COMMENTS

    In general, we will begin each class (through the first week of November) with current coverage of the 2002 campaigns, and relate those issues to the readings and lecture material. Class discussion will ensue. This will be followed by a lecture on the week's topic. To fully grasp the material, it is essential that you complete your readings prior to coming to class. The lecture topic will coincide with the readings but may not address the specific reading assigned for each class. Therefore, you should be prepared to ask questions about the reading and to relate your reading to the issues raised in the lectures.

    The purpose of the lectures is to supplement and deepen your understanding of the readings, particularly the more elementary texts. The research behind the summaries of findings reported in the readings will be discussed in the lectures, as well as divergent or tangential interpretations of electoral behavior. The lectures will be pitched at a higher level than most, but not all, the readings. If you find the readings too simple, I have an extensive supplementary bibliography used in preparing the lectures, from which additional reading or substitutions can be assigned. The bibliography will also be very helpful in preparing your papers and should be the first thing you look at once you have chosen a topic.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Abramson, Aldrich and Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Election

W.H. Flanigan & N. Zingale, Political Behavior of the American

Electorate, 10th edition.

L. Sandy Maisel, Parties and Elections in America

The Electoral Process, 3rd edition.

Niemi, R.G. & Weisberg, H.F., Controversies in Voting Behavior.

4th edition.

Internet Resources

Web Sites

Other Sources

Daily reading of the Los Angeles Times or the New York Times or CNN or Inside Politics.

SYLLABUS

The readings must be done before the date listed.

Sept 4: Orientation

Sept 9: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapters 1 & 2, pp. 1-63.

Sept 11: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American Electorate,

pp. 1-30.

Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,
pp. 1-11.

Sept 16: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 3, pp. 65-90 and Chapter 4, pp. 91-123.

Sept 18: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American Electorate

Chapter 2, pp. 31-55.

Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,
Chapter 4, pp. 71-95.

Sept 23: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 5, pp. 125-155.

Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American Electorate
Chapter 3, pp. 57-76.

Sept 25: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American Electorate

Chapter 4, pp. 77-98; Chapter 5, pp. 99-116.

Sept 30: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American Electorate

Chapter 6, pp. 117-147; Chapter 7, pp. 149-178.

Oct 2: Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,

Chapter 9, pp. 197-236; Chapter 10, pp. 237-253.

Oct 7: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 6, pp. 157-185.

Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,
Chapter 5, pp. 96-120.

Oct 9: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and Midterm Elections (On reserve)

pp. 1-48.

Oct 14: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American Electorate

Chapter 8, pp. 179-203.

Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,
Chapter 6, pp. 121-148.

Oct 16: First Midterm

Oct 23: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 9, pp. 265-318.

Oct 28: Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,

Chapter 1, pp. 12-30; Chapter 2, pp. 31-45.

Oct 30: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 10, pp. 319-369.

Nov 4: Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,

Chapter 3, pp. 46-65; Chapter 7, pp. 149-167.

Nov 6: Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,

Chapter 8, pp. 168-191.

Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,
Chapter 11, pp. 371-415.

Nov 11: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 12, pp. 417-443.

Nov 13: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 13, pp. 445-481.

Nov 18: Niemi, R.G. & Weisberg, H.F., Controversies in Voting Behavior.

"Why is Voter Turnout Low," pp. 22-37; "Solving the Puzzle of Participation in Electoral Politics," pp. 69-82; "Electoral Participation," pp. 83-99.

Nov 20: Niemi, R.G. & Weisberg, H.F., Controversies in Voting Behavior.

"What Determines the Vote?" pp. 180-199; "National Economic Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections," pp. 200-220; "The Responsive Voter: Campaign Information and the Dynamics of Candidate Evaluation." pp. 240-270.

Nov 25: Niemi, R.G. & Weisberg, H.F., Controversies in Voting Behavior.

"Do Voters Prefer Divided Government?" pp. 271-290; "Balancing Explanations of Divided Government," pp. 291-300; "A New approach to the Study of Ticket Splitting," pp. 301-321.

Nov 27: Niemi, R.G. & Weisberg, H.F., Controversies in Voting Behavior.

"Is the Party System Changing?" pp. 371-386; "Party Coalitions in Transition," pp. 387-404; "The Sixth American Party System," pp. 405-426.

Dec 2: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 7, pp. 187-218.

Dec 4: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 8, 219- 263.

Dec 9: Maisel, L. Sandy, Parties and Elections in America,

Chapter 14, pp. 483-499.

Abramson, Aldrich, & Rohde, Change and Continuity in the 2000 Elections,
Chapter 11, pp. 255-265.

Dec 11: Second Midterm