Tadd's Presidency Notes
Primaries - anyone can vote
- Open - can vote for any candidate you want.
- Closed - can only vote within your party (MI.)
Caucus
- Groups of people who get together and vote for one candidate.
- Not everyone can vote in caucus.
Delegates
- Regular - groups of people from each state (based on population) that must vote according to the primary vote in that state.
- Super - smaller number of delegates made up of professionals that can vote for whoever they want in a convention.
Electoral College [538 votes available, 270 to win]
- Electors - groups in every state (based on population) that voters vote for in the general election.
- Top 10 states: NC, GA, MI, OH, IL, PA, FL, NY, TX, CA.
What happens if no one has 270 votes?
(1) House -> (2) Senate -> (3+) House (until tie broken) [1 vote per state]
Defects with the Electoral College
- Candidate could win popular vote but lose election.
- Favors small states.
Cabinet
- Homeland security - Mike Chertoff
- Defense - Robert Gates
- State - Condoleezza Rice
- Attorney General - John Mulkasey
- Labor - Elaine Chao
- Education - Margaret Spellings
- Energy - Sam Bodman
- Treasury - Henry Paulson