PS360 Essay 3 (optional) - Fall 2008
Professor Renka

Essay 3 is worth 100 points. Write on one topic of the four shown below. The essay should be a paper of approximately 3 to 4 normal honest pages in length. Be sure to properly cite all source material, including regular class readings. If you quote from something I wrote on the Forum, cite which Forum item it is (with author, title of Forum article, and date of its posting). It's A-OK to use the assigned reading as sources on all papers and assignments; in fact, I actively encourage it. Same for anything I have written on our Forum.

Remember that this essay is Optional. If submitted, I grade it "blind" with 100 possible points, and average it in with everything else. If not, your average consists of everything else. Due: by or before midnight Friday, December 12, at the Drop Box Essay 3 site.

1. The presidential election is dominated by early-year presidential primaries, followed by the general Electoral College vote in November. What effect does the contemporary presidential primary calendar have upon campaign strategy of major candidates from either party? And what is the effect of the Democrats' PR use compared to Republican winner-take-all in determination of their respective presidential nominee?

2. What is the effect of unit voting by states on the two-party general election campaign? And what effect does the Electoral College itself have upon campaign strategy of the two major party candidates? What would change in national popular vote were to replace the Electoral College in the general election for president?

3. Morton 14 addresses duopoly, minor and third-party candidates, and the coordination problem associated with reliance on plurality voting in single-member districts. How often do third party and independent candidates win recent American partisan elections? Include 2006 and 2008 results if you wish; but 2002 and 2004 for sure. For third-party and independent candidate followers, specify when they engage in strategic voting and when they vote sincerely. Finally, specify structural designs used by supporters of duopoly to make viable three-candidate contests a rare thing.

4. Morton 11 and 15 considers the effect of congressional redistricting upon elections, and representation, in the current U.S. House of Representatives. First, what is the distinction of gerrymandering from malapportionment? Considering the attribute known as "responsiveness," what effect does gerrymandering have upon the partisan division of power in the House? And what effect does it have upon aspirations to achieve office by racial minority (black and hispanic) politicians?