The Commission on Federal Election Reform was a private, bipartisan organization founded in 2004 by former US President Jimmy Carter and James A. Baker, III, a top official under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, to overcome the flaws brought to light by the electoral uncertainty in Florida in the 2000 United States presidential election and in Ohio in the 2004 election [ broken anchor ]. [1] The commission continued work begun by Carter and former President Ford in a previous commission that studied unusual features of the 2000 presidential race. [2] Its mandate was to examine the electoral process in the United States, bringing together leaders from the major political parties, academia, and non-partisan civic groups to explore how to maximize both ballot access and ballot integrity. [3]
The commission was set up with twenty-one members, including Lee H. Hamilton, former Congressman and 9/11 Commission vice-chair; Tom Daschle, former Senate minority leader; Bob Michel, former House Minority leader; and Betty Castor, former Florida Superintendent of Public Instruction and 2004 Democratic Senate nominee. It set out to spend six months examining the state of elections and to offer recommendations on improving it.
The panel made 87 recommendations in all in its 91-page report. Implementation of all suggestions would require congressional action for some measures, as well as a total expected cost of $1.35 billion. A major point was the commission's call for nonpartisan professional and state oversight over elections. The panel noted that both the 2000 and 2004 elections were marred by partisan, campaign-affiliated officials who held roles in the Bush campaign and Florida and Ohio Secretary of State positions. Because the Secretary of State is responsible for certifying votes, these conflicts of interest were deemed by the panel as damaging to "confidence in elections". [2] [1]
The panel made a variety of other recommendations, including:
The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; grassroots democracy; anti-war; anti-racism. As of 2023, it is the fourth-largest political party in the United States by voter registration, behind the Libertarian Party.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 7, 2000. Republican nominee, Governor George W. Bush of Texas, the eldest son of George H. W. Bush, narrowly defeated incumbent Democratic Vice President Al Gore. It was the fourth of five U.S. presidential elections, and the first since 1888, in which the winning candidate lost the popular vote, and is considered one of the closest U.S. presidential elections, with long-standing controversy about the result. Gore conceded the election on December 13 after the Supreme Court issued its decision.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1992. Democratic governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent Republican president George H. W. Bush and independent businessman Ross Perot of Texas. The election marked the beginning of a period of Democratic dominance and the end of a period of Republican dominance in American presidential politics that began in 1968, and also marked the end of 12 years of Republican rule of the White House, as well as the end of the Greatest Generation's 32-year American rule and the beginning of the baby boomers' decades-long dominance lasting through the present day.
Primary elections or primaries are elections that are held to determine which candidates will run for an upcoming general election. Party primaries are elections in which a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the country and administrative division, there may be an "open primary", in which all voters are eligible to participate, or a "closed primary", in which only members of a political party can vote.
Each of the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five territories of the United States holds either primary elections or caucuses to help nominate individual candidates for president of the United States. This process is designed to choose the candidates that will represent their political parties in the general election.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 2008. The Democratic ticket of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, and Joe Biden, the senior senator from Delaware, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, and Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska. Obama became the first African American to be elected to the presidency. This was the first election since 1952 in which neither the incumbent president nor vice president was on the ballot, as well as the first election since 1928 in which neither ran for the nomination.
The Help America Vote Act of 2002, or HAVA, is a United States federal law, which was authored by Christopher Dodd, and passed in the House 357-48 and 92–2 in the Senate and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 29, 2002. The bill was drafted in reaction to the controversy surrounding the 2000 U.S. presidential election, when the Supreme Court narrowly ruled that Bush was the president. The necessity for this ruling stemmed from controversies surrounding the validity of the election and whether votes were cast in a fair and equitable manner. The main point of contention surrounding the perceived unfairness was due to the millions of votes that were not represented due to mechanical errors or errors due to the manner in which the ballots were cast.
In American politics, a superdelegate is a delegate to a presidential nominating convention who is seated automatically.
This is a timeline of events during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
In the election of the United States held for government officials at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, the nation's head of state, the president, is elected indirectly by the people of each state, through an Electoral College. Today, these electors almost always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, the Congress, are directly elected by the people of each state. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at the local level, in counties, cities, towns, townships, boroughs, and villages; as well as for special districts and school districts which may transcend county and municipal boundaries.
Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated the Democratic ticket of John Kerry, a senator from Massachusetts, and his running mate John Edwards, a senator from North Carolina.
The 2000 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 7, 2000, as part of the nationwide presidential election. Florida, a swing state, had a major recount dispute that took center stage in the election. The outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election was not known for more than a month after balloting because of the extended process of counting and recounting Florida's presidential ballots. State results tallied on election night gave 246 electoral votes to Republican nominee Texas Governor George W. Bush and 255 to Democratic nominee Vice President Al Gore, with New Mexico (5), Oregon (7), and Florida (25) too close to call that evening. Gore won New Mexico and Oregon over the following few days, but the result in Florida was decisive, regardless of how those two states had voted.
The American Center for Voting Rights (ACVR) was a non-profit organization founded by Mark F. "Thor" Hearne that operated from March 2005 to May 2007 and pushed for laws to reduce voter intimidation and voter fraud, and supported requiring photo ID for voters.
The 2004 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 2, 2004, as part of the 2004 United States presidential election which took place throughout all 50 states and D.C. Voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Florida took place on November 4, as part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Florida voters chose 27 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The election of the president and for vice president of the United States is an indirect election in which citizens of the United States who are registered to vote in one of the fifty U.S. states or in Washington, D.C., cast ballots not directly for those offices, but instead for members of the Electoral College. These electors then cast direct votes, known as electoral votes, for president and for vice president. The candidate who receives an absolute majority of electoral votes is then elected to that office. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of the votes for president, the House of Representatives elects the president; likewise if no one receives an absolute majority of the votes for vice president, then the Senate elects the vice president.
The 2012 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. South Carolina voters chose 9 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.
The Freedom to Vote Act, introduced as H.R. 1, is a bill in the United States Congress intended to expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new ethics rules for federal officeholders.
Virginia state elections in 2020 was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. With the exception of its Democratic Party presidential primary election held on March 3, 2020, its primary elections were held on June 23 of that year.
The Forward Party, also known simply as Forward (FWD), is a centrist political party in the United States. The party, founded by former Democratic 2020 presidential and 2021 New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, describes its goals as the reduction of partisan polarization and the implementing of electoral reforms. As of early 2024, Forward has ballot access in the states of Colorado, Florida, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. It is looking to achieve ballot access in all 50 states by 2025. The party seeks federal recognition by 2028.