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Recommended textbook solutions
Politics in States and Communities
15th EditionSusan A. MacManus, Thomas R. Dye
177 solutions
American Government
1st EditionGlen Krutz
412 solutions
American Corrections
11th EditionMichael D. Reisig, Todd R. Clear
160 solutions
Government in America: Elections and Updates Edition
16th EditionGeorge C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, Robert L. Lineberry
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Andrew Jackson won more popular votes and more votes in the Electoral College than any other candidate
However, because he did not win the majority [more than half] of the available electoral votes, the election was decided by the House of Representatives, as required by the Twelfth Amendment. The Twelfth Amendment limited the House's choice to the three candidates with the greatest number of electoral votes. Thus, Andrew Jackson, with 99 electoral votes, found himself in competition with only John Quincy Adams, the second place finisher with 84 electoral votes, and William H. Crawford, who had come in third with 41. The fourth-place finisher, Henry Clay, who was no longer in contention, had won 37 electoral votes. Clay strongly disliked Jackson, and his ideas on government support for tariffs and internal improvements were similar to those of Adams. Clay thus gave his support to Adams, who was chosen on the first ballot.
1. Americans, especially young people, are more interested in the topics discussed at the national level than at the state or local level. Presidential elections and the behavior of the U.S. Congress are also far more likely to make the news broadcasts than the activities of county commissioners, and the national-level party organization is mostly responsible for coordinating the activities of participants at this level
2. reason for the prominence of the national organization is that it usually coordinates the grandest spectacles in the life of a political party. Most voters are never aware of the numerous county-level meetings or coordinating activities. Primary elections, one of the most important events to take place at the state level, have a much lower turnout than the nationwide general election.
People may see or read an occasional story about the meetings of the state committees or convention but pay little attention. But the national conventions, organized and sponsored by the national-level party, can dominate the national discussion for several weeks in late summer, a time when the major media outlets are often searching for news. These conventions are the definition of a media circus at which high-ranking politicians, party elites, and sometimes celebrities,
3.
1. The first advance came with the introduction of the "one-person-one-vote" principle by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1962. Before then, it was common for many states to practice redistricting, or redrawing of their electoral maps, only if they gained or lost seats in the U.S. House of Representatives
In its one-person-one-vote decision in Reynolds v. Simms [1964], the Supreme Court argued that everyone's vote should count roughly the same regardless of where they lived.67 Districts had to be adjusted so they would have roughly equal populations.
Map designers, no longer certain how to protect individual party members, changed tactics to try and create safe seats so members of their party could be assured of winning by a comfortable margin. The basic rule of thumb was that designers sought to draw districts in which their preferred party had a 55 percent or better chance of winning a given district, regardless of which candidate the party nominated.
Proponents of the gerrymandering thesis point out that the decline in the number of moderate voters began during this period of increased redistricting
2. a computer-aided map making, truly transformed gerrymandering into a science. Refined computing technology, the ability to collect data about potential voters, and the use of advanced algorithms have given map makers a good deal of certainty about where to place district boundaries to best predetermine the outcomes. These factors also provided better predictions about future population shifts, making the effects of gerrymandering more stable over time. Proponents argue that this increased efficiency in map drawing has led to the disappearance of moderates in Congress.
Redistricting did contribute to polarization in the House of Representatives, but it took place largely in districts that had undergone significant change.