Elections Study Pack
Kibin's free study pack on Elections includes a 6-section study guide, 25 quiz questions, 30 flashcards, and 5 open-ended Explain review questions. Sign up free to track your progress toward mastery, plus upload your own notes and recordings to create personalized study packs organized by course.
Last updated May 28, 2026
Elections Study Guide
Unpack the mechanics of U.S. elections — from primary versus general elections and Electoral College math to plurality voting, incumbency advantages, and the rise of Super PACs after Citizens United — plus the key drivers of voter turnout and voting behavior.
Key Takeaways
- •U.S. elections are divided into primary elections, which narrow the field to one candidate per party, and general elections, which determine the officeholder.
- •Plurality voting (first-past-the-post) is the dominant rule in American elections, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins even without a majority.
- •The Electoral College, not the national popular vote, determines the outcome of presidential elections; a candidate needs 270 of 538 electoral votes to win.
- •Voter turnout in the United States is persistently lower than in most other democracies, driven by factors including registration requirements, election timing, and voter engagement.
- •Campaign finance was transformed by the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. FEC (2010) decision, which allowed corporations and unions to spend unlimited independent funds in elections, leading to the rise of Super PACs.
- •Incumbents hold significant electoral advantages over challengers, including name recognition, easier fundraising access, and the ability to claim credit for constituent services.
- •Voting behavior is shaped by party identification, candidate image, and issue positions, with party ID remaining the single strongest predictor of individual vote choice.
How American Elections Are Structured
The U.S. electoral system organizes competition for public office through a sequence of distinct election types, each serving a different function in selecting candidates and ultimately filling government positions.
Primary Elections and Their Variations
- •A primary election is a contest held before the general election in which members of a party — or sometimes all registered voters — select that party's official nominee.
- •In a closed primary, only registered members of a party may vote in that party's primary, keeping candidate selection internal to the party faithful.
- •An open primary allows voters registered with any party, or as independents, to participate in whichever party's primary they choose on election day.
- •A blanket (or jungle) primary, used in California and a few other states, places all candidates from all parties on a single ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party.
General Elections and Their Purpose
- •The general election is the decisive contest in which nominees from each party (and independent candidates) compete for the actual office.
- •General elections in the U.S. are held on fixed schedules — for federal offices, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
Special and Runoff Elections
- •A special election fills a vacancy that arises mid-term, such as when a senator or representative dies or resigns before their term ends.
- •A runoff election is triggered when no candidate reaches the required vote threshold — common in states that require a majority rather than a mere plurality to win a primary.
Rules That Determine Winners: Voting Systems
The rule used to count votes and declare a winner has profound consequences for who wins elections and how candidates campaign.
Plurality Voting (First-Past-the-Post)
- •Under plurality voting, the candidate with the most votes wins, even if that total is less than 50 percent of all votes cast.
- •This system dominates American federal and state elections and tends to reinforce a two-party system, because votes for third-party candidates rarely produce victories.
Majority Requirements and Runoffs
- •Some states require a candidate to win an outright majority (more than 50%) in a primary to become the nominee, triggering a runoff between the top two finishers if no one reaches that threshold.
The Electoral College for Presidential Elections
- •Presidential elections do not use a direct national popular vote; instead, each state is allocated a number of electors equal to its total congressional representation (House seats plus two senators), for a nationwide total of 538 electors.
- •A presidential candidate must secure at least 270 electoral votes to win.
- •All but two states (Maine and Nebraska) use a winner-take-all rule, awarding all of their electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the state's popular vote.
- •If no candidate reaches 270 electoral votes, the House of Representatives selects the president, with each state delegation casting a single vote — a contingent election.
Campaign Finance: Money in Elections
Running for office, especially at the federal level, requires enormous financial resources, and the legal framework governing where that money comes from has shifted dramatically over recent decades.
Federal Contribution Limits and the FEC
- •The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency that enforces campaign finance law, requiring disclosure of contributions and expenditures for federal candidates.
- •Individuals may contribute limited amounts directly to a candidate's official campaign committee per election cycle; these hard money contributions are subject to strict FEC caps.
Citizens United v. FEC (2010) and Independent Expenditures
- •In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations, unions, and other associations have First Amendment rights to spend unlimited amounts on independent expenditures — political communications not coordinated with a candidate's campaign.
- •This decision enabled the creation of Super PACs, which can raise and spend unlimited sums to advocate for or against candidates as long as they do not directly coordinate with the candidate's official campaign.
- •The result has been a dramatic increase in outside spending in federal elections, much of it from wealthy donors and interest groups.
Public Financing and Its Decline
- •The presidential public financing system, created after Watergate, offered candidates federal matching funds in exchange for spending limits, but most major-party candidates now opt out because private fundraising yields far more money.
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About this Study Pack
Created by Kibin to help students review key concepts, prepare for exams, and study more effectively. This Study Pack was checked for accuracy and curriculum alignment using authoritative educational sources. See sources below.
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What is the minimum number of electoral votes a presidential candidate must secure to win the presidency?
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Plurality Voting (First-Past-the-Post)
Explain how plurality voting works in your own words. Why does this voting rule tend to produce a two-party system, and what are the implications for third-party candidates?
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