THE UNITED STATES ELECTORAL SYSTEM
1994 COURSE DESCRIPTION AND REQUIREMENTS
Political Studies 101 OFFICE HOURS
TuTh 1:15 Fri 2-4 Ward: Tu & Th 11-12:00
Dana Ward's Office: A207 M & W 11-11:45
Jack Sullivan's Office: A210 Sullivan: M & W 10-12:00
Ward's Phone: 3177 Sullivan's Phone: 3633
This course focuses on the American electoral system. The first
part of the course 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. In addition
we will look at the role political parties play as they attempt
(usually without success) to influence the governance process. For
the remainder of the course we shift our attention to the theory of
voting and electoral behavior.
This is not a candidate centered course. The focus of our concern
is the electoral system. We will look at those enduring factors that
almost always influence the outcome of elections regardless of issues
or candidates. Indeed, it would be possible to take this course
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. Candidates come and go. The
electoral system changes slowly if at all. Consequently, it makes much
more sense to concentrate on the system rather than on candidates in
the short time we have in this course.
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, 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. In short, our task
is to identify the enduring aspects of our electoral system that affect
not just this cycle of elections, but elections far into the past and
future.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Grades will be determined as follows:
1) Ten percent of your grade will be based on a self evaluation.
On September 8 you will each submit a statement of your goals for
the course. This statement should be as specific and detailed as
possible. Plan your method for meeting the responsibilities of
this course, set weekly goals and time schedules, or whatever will
help you to think about why you are taking this particular course
and how it fits into your over-all learning objectives. Then, on the
last day of class, turn in a self evaluation in which you will analyze
how well you met your goals, how your goals changed, and what unforeseen
goals emerged. You will then assign yourself an over-all grade based on
your judgment of your performance in this class.
2) On December 1 peer evaluations are due. Each student will turn
in an evaluation of each of the other students in the class. On the top
left hand corner of a sheet of paper type the name of the student being
evaluated, followed by a letter grade (e.g., A, A-, AB, B+, B, B-, BC,
etc.). Use one paper per student since the evaluations will be distributed
to the individual being evaluated. The evaluators will remain anonymous.
The grade given should reflect your evaluation of the student's contribution
to your OWN education. That is, how thought provoking, helpful, and
informative has the student in question been in your own attempts to
understand our subject. Below the student's name and the letter grade
assigned type as thorough and thoughtful an analysis as possible of
the basis for your evaluation, emphasizing strengths, weaknesses and
suggestions for improvements (use additional paper as necessary).
Part of the evaluation will be your judgment of the student's performance
in updating the class on election news throughout the semester and their
performance as the "raconteur" for each class. Each Thursday,
one student will up-date the class on election news. Each Tuesday, one
student will be responsible for a brief critique of that day's reading
assignment. As part of the critique, students should raise questions
of interest that the entire class can discuss. The peer evaluations
will represent ten percent of the final grade.
3) Thirty percent of your grade will be based on an eight to twelve
page paper on a topic of your choice. The topic must be cleared with
one of the professors by September 29. Late papers will be down graded
one grade for each 24 hour period the paper is late (e.g., from an A- to
an AB). The paper is due Oct 13.
4) Another thirty percent of your grade will be based on a second
eight to twelve page paper on a topic of your choice. The paper is due
on the last day of class and will be down graded one grade for each 24
hour period the paper is late. The topic must be cleared with one of
the professors by November 15.
5) The final twenty percent of your grade will be based on your
performance in the computer laboratory. There will be roughly a
half dozen exercises dealing with predicting and analyzing elections.
Grades on those exercises will be averaged and will total twenty
percent of your grade.
GRADING WEIGHTS
Self-evaluation 10%
Peer-evaluation 10%
Oct 13 paper 30%
Dec 8 paper 30%
Computer lab 20%
GENERAL COMMENTS
Professor Ward will be primarily responsible for the Tuesday and
Thursday lectures and grading the papers. Professor Sullivan will
be primarily responsible for the Friday computer laboratory and grading
the computer exercises. This is an experimental course, so please bear
with us as we fine tune the operation. Please feel free to contact
either of us if you have suggestions for re-organization or ways to
improve the class.
In general, Ward will lecture for approximately two-thirds of each
class, leaving the remaining time for class discussion. 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, Ward has 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.
Another purpose of the course is to examine ways in which computer
based information can allow us to increase our understanding of the
electoral process. Towards this end, the class will deal with three
different kinds of computer based information. First, we will use
aggregate data (i.e., information on a national and state level) to
predict the outcomes of both the 1994 mid-term elections and the
1996 presidential election. Second, we will work with a computer
based model of the electoral process and "play" presidential
candidates during an election campaign. Third, we will utilize survey
research data to gain some understanding of the electorate. There is
no expectation of any computer experience for these exercises.
SYLLABUS
The readings must be done before the date listed.
Sept 1: Orientation
Sept 6: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 1-50.
Sept 8: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American
Electorate, pp. 1-21.
Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 3-18.
Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 3-22.
Sept 13: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 51-73.
Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 21-67.
Sept 15: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 74-95.
Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American
Electorate, pp. 23-47
Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 56-82.
Sept 20: Teixeira, The Disappearing American Voter, pp. 1-57.
Sept 22: Teixeira, The Disappearing American Voter, pp. 58-105.
Sept 27: Teixeira, The Disappearing American Voter, pp. 106-185.
Sept 29: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 95-120.
Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American
Electorate, pp. 50-88.
Oct 4: Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 103-139.
Lewis-Beck & Rice, Forecasting Elections, pp. 1-41.
Oct 6: Lewis-Beck & Rice, Forecasting Elections, pp. 45-102.
Oct 11: Lewis-Beck & Rice, Forecasting Elections, pp. 103-141.
Oct 13: Jacobson, The Electoral Origins of Divided Government,
pp. 1-42.
Oct 20: Jacobson, The Electoral Origins of Divided Government,
pp. 45-102.
Oct 25: Jacobson, The Electoral Origins of Divided Government,
pp. 105-137.
Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American
Electorate, pp. 91-109.
Oct 27: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 121-171.
Nov 1: Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 145-195.
Nov 3: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 171-227.
Nov 8: Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 87-135.
Nov 10: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 228-255.
Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 137-168.
Nov 15: Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 25-53.
Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 295-335.
Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 235-253
Nov 17: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 256-294.
Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 173-202.
Nov 22: Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 206-238.
Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 255-292.
Nov 29: Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American
Electorate, pp. 111-168.
Dec 1: Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 245-273.
Flanigan & Zingale, Political Behavior and the American
Electorate, pp. 170-197.
Dec 6: Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 336-363.
Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 299-340.
Dec 8: Maisel, The Parties Respond, pp. 379-395.
Maisel, Parties & Elections in America, pp. 364-385.
Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992, pp. 277-299.
REQUIRED TEXTS
W.H. Flanigan & N. Zingale, Political Behavior of the American Electorate,
8th edition.
Gary Jacobson, The Electoral Origins of Divided Government
Michael Lewis-Beck & Tom Rice, Forecasting Elections
L. Sandy Maisel, Parties and Elections in America, 2nd edition
L. Sandy Maisel, ed., The Parties Respond, 2nd edition
Roy Teixeira, The Disappearing American Voter
Stephen J. Wayne, The Road to the White House 1992