POLITICAL SCIENCE 309
FALL 2006 MWF 10:00-10:50 / PUP 206 N. MILLER
http://research.umbc.edu/~nmiller/POLI309/index.htm
SELECTED TOPICS AMERICAN POLITICS:
HOW SHOULD WE ELECT THE PRESIDENT?
Readings Available in the Book Center
George C. Edwards, III, WHY THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS BAD FOR AMERICA (paperback edition, Yale University Press, 2005) [ISBN 0-300-10968-7]
Tara Ross, ENLIGHTENED DEMOCRACY: THE CASE FOR THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE (Colonial Press, 2004) [ISBN 0-9770722-0-7]
Reading Available on the Web [http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/npv/]
John R. Koza, et al., EVERY VOTE EQUAL:A STATE-BASED PLAN FOR ELECTING THE PRESIDENT BY NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE, National Popular Vote.com,
Note: These books are not available in the UMBC Library. Used copies (e.g., from Amazon.com) of the hardcover version of WHY THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS BAD [ISBN 0-300-10060-4] may be cheaper than new copies of the paperback. Instructor-authored readings will be made available through the course website (above) and/or distribution in class. Additional readings will be made available through the course website, and/or E-reserves, and/or JSTOR.
Course Objectives
This upper-level elective course in American politics focuses on controversies (going back to the drafting of the Constitution) pertaining to institutions for electing the President of the United States. A variety of alternative institutions will be considered and compared with electoral methods in other countries and analyzed in light of concepts in the theory of voting and social choice. We will examine consider normative criteria for Presidential selection processes, the creation, evolution, and contemporary structure of the Presidential selection process, and the strategic considerations that derive from this structure. We will focus especially on the design and evolution of the Electoral College, its contemporary function as a vote counting mechanism, and proposals for its reform or abolition. Particular emphasis will be given to the problem of multi-candidate elections, a problem that is also relevant to major-party Presidential nominating procedures.
Place in Curriculum
This course introduces students to contemporary political science research at a moderately advanced level and to some theoretical and normative concerns of political science with respect to the electoral process and party systems. All students in this course are expected to have familiarity with the basic institutions and processes of American politics (such as is provided by a standard introductory course in American Government and Politics, e.g., POLI 100).
Course Characteristics
Consistent with its status as an upper-level course with a relatively small number of students, this class will be run in a somewhat collaborative fashion. The course outline below is somewhat tentative. The amount of attention we devote to different topics may be adjusted to reflect student interests and current events, and some additional brief readings may be assigned. Course work will emphasize careful analysis, critical reasoning, lucid oral and written exposition, and regular collaboration both between the instructor and students and among students. A typical class meeting will focus on a specific problem, and it will be essential that every student complete the reading or other assignments in preparation for (and then attend) each class.
Students will be assigned a number of exercises, problem sets, or other small research assignments. Individual students or small groups of students may be assigned to make brief oral and/or written presentations. Absent some dire emergency, every student should expect to come to every class fully prepared to participate. The plight of students who repeatedly miss class will not be viewed sympathetically by the instructor.
Course Requirements
(1) Regular attendance and participation in class discussions.
(2) Completion of problem sets and other homework assignments.
(3) A two-part midterm exam consisting of an in-class short-answer blue-book test plus a take-home essay question of about 5 pp. to be completed over the following week. This will take place about halfway through the semester and will cover lectures, readings, and class discussion from the first half of the course.
(3) A two-part final exam consisting of a one-hour short-answer blue-book exam plus another take-home essay question (also about 5 pp.). The blue-book exam will be given on December 18 and the take-home will be due at the end of the Final Exam period (December 20).
Make-up exams will be given only if your present a reasonable and timely excuse for not taking the exam at the regular time. Ordinarily, a “timely” excuse is one that reaches me or the Political Science Department prior to the regular exam time, and the make-up exam must be arranged and completed prior to the next class meeting if possible.
Course Grade
Homework assignments will be given approximate grades. You should pay much more attention to the attached Answers and Discussion than to the grade, and this part of your grade will reflect primarily whether you have completed the assignments sets faithfully. Each portion of each exam will receive a separate (and precise) grade. The mid-term (in-class and take-home) and the final exam (in-class and take-home) will be equally weighted. However, failure to complete either part of the mid-term exam or the final exam, or submission of a plagiarized take-home essay, will result in a grade of F for the course, regardless of other grades. Your overall grade will be determined as follows:
(a) class attendance, class participation, problem sets, etc. 30%
(b) in-class portion of midterm test 20%
(c) take-home portion of midterm test 15%
(d) in-class portion of final exam 20%
(e) take-home portion of final exam 15%
The course requirements and grading system have been designed to measure each student's accomplishment of these goals. Grades will reflect level of individual achievement; there will be no grade quotas.
Academic Integrity
By enrolling in this course, each student assumes the responsibilities of an active participant in UMBC’s scholarly community in which everyone’s academic work and behavior are held to the highest standards of honesty. Cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, and helping others to commit these acts are all forms of academic dishonesty, and they are wrong. Academic misconduct could result in disciplinary action that may include, but is not limited to, suspension or dismissal. To read the full Student Academic Conduct Policy, consult the UMBC Student Handbook, the UMBC Policies section of the UMBC Directory, or go to http://www.umbc.edu/integrity. However, student collaboration on homework assignments (as opposed to tests) is encouraged.
Office Hours and Messages
My office is PUP 321. My official office hours for Fall 2006 will be MW 4:00-5:00, with other times available by arrangement. If it is important that you see me on a particular day (even during office hours), I recommend that you make a specific appointment. You can arrange this before or after class or you can contact me in any way shown below. (Communication by e-mail is encouraged for all purposes.)
E-mail: nmiller@umbc.edu
Office phone (with 24-hour voice mail) (410) 455-2187
Department office (to leave message) (410) 455-2568
Home (if need be, before 10:00 PM) (410) 381-3605
Course Website
There is a course web page at http://research.umbc.edu/~nmiller/POLI309/index.htm (or follow the links UMBC => Faculty => Poli. Sci. => N. Miller => POLI 309), which can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. Backup copies of the syllabus, class handouts, and other course material will be posted here, as well as announcements and some required readings and supplementary documents In addition, this page will provide links to many political organizations, media outlets, data sources, documents, and other resources for political research. In recent semesters, students in my courses have asked questions by email, which I have tried to answer individually by email. I answer them individually but, when the question is of general interest, I will also post my response on a “bulletin board” section of the web page, so that other students can also have ready access to it. All students are urged to check the course web page periodically.
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
This outline (including the midterm date) is tentative and subject to change. I want to leave the course schedule, and in some measure the its content as well, somewhat flexible. Readings should be completed prior to the class day under which they are assigned and should be reviewed thereafter. Some readings may added later. Topics marked with an asterisk (*) are likely to have Problems Sets or other homework assignments attached.
I INTRODUCTION
1. (August 30) Introduction
2. (September 1) NO CLASS (Instructor Attending APSA Conference)
3. (September 6) How the Electoral College Works in Practice
Reading packet enclosed with syllabus
Koza et al., Chapter 2 (preview)
4. (September 8) How the Electoral College Is Evaluated
Edwards, Forward (by Neal R. Peirce), Preface, and Chapter 1 (preview)
Ross, Forward (by George Will), Introduction, and Chapter 1 (preview)
Ross, Appendix B (preview)
II. U.S. ELECTORAL PRACTICE
5. (September 11) The Franchise, Voter Registration, and Voting Turnout
The
Franchise, Voter Registration, and Turnout (PPT)
6. (September 13) Ballot Types and Ballot Access
Ballot Types and
Ballot Access (PPT)
7. (September
15) Voting
Technology
8. (September 18) Apportionment and Districting*
House Size, Apportionment, and Districting
(PPT)
thirty-thousand.org Return the House
of Representatives to the People
Michael G. Neubauer and Joel Zeitlin,
“Outcomes of Presidential Elections and the House Size”
U.S.
Census Bureau, Congressional Apportionment
III. THEORY OF VOTING AND ELECTORAL SYSTEMS
9. (September 20) Individual and Collective Preference and Choice*
N.
R. Miller, “Individual and Collective Preference and Choice” [PPT]
N.
R. Miller, “Voting to Elect a Single Candidate” [PPT]
11. (September 25) Single-Winner Elections (cont.)
12. (September 27) Runoff Elections*
13. (September 29) Spoiler Effects*
14. (October 2) Multi-Winner Elections and Proportional Representation*
N. R. Miller, “Voting to Elect Several Candidates”
15. (October 4) Votes and Seats in Districted Elections*
N. R. Miller, “Votes and Seats in Districted Elections: Mechanical Effects”
16. (October 6) Votes and Seats in Districted Elections (cont.)
17. (October 9) Strategic Effects and Duverger's Law*
N. R. Miller, “Strategic Effects in Voting Systems and Duverger’s Law”
18. (October 11) Strategic Effects and Duverger's Law (cont.)
19. (October 13) Competition for Votes: Electoral Divergence and Convergence*
N.
R. Miller, “Party
Competition for Votes: Electoral Convergence and Divergence”
[PPT]
Bernard
Grofman, "Downs and Two-party Convergence" [Supplementary
only]
IV. THE ORIGINS OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
20. (October
16) What
the Framers Did and Why*
Origins and Transformation of the Electoral
College [PPT]
What the Framers
Did and Why
Edwards,
Chapter 4
Ross, Chapters 2 and 3
Ross, Appendix A
21. (October 18) Rules for a Game Never Played
Rules for Games That Were Never Played
Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 68 [website]
22. (October 20) Party Formation and a Hazardous Game: The Elections of 1789-1800*
Distributed material
Ross, Chapter 1
Koza, Chapter 2, pp. 33-53
23. (October 23) Party Formation and the Transformation of the Electoral College: The 12th Amendment and the Election 1824
Robin Kolodny, “The Several Elections of 1824,” CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENCY, Fall 1996 [website]
24. (October 25) Constitutional Foundations of Presidential Selection
Koza, Chapter 2, pp. 53-94
Edwards, Chapter 1
Edwards, Appendix A
25. (October 27) IN-CLASS MIDTERM TEST
V. POPULAR VOTES AND ELECTORAL VOTES
26. (October 30) Some Noteworthy Presidential Elections: 1860, 1876, 1888,
1912,
and 1948
Overview of Presidential Elections
[PPT]
Koza, Chapter 3, pp. 95-101
Ross, Chapters 12-14
27. (November 11) Some Noteworthy Presidential Elections: 1960, 1968, 1980,
1992, and 2000
28. (November
3) Popular
Votes and Electoral Votes: The Electoral College as a Vote-Counting
Mechanism*
N. R. Miller,
“Popular Votes and Electoral Votes: The
Electoral College as a Vote-Counting Mechanism” [PPT]
N.
R. Miller, Popular Votes and Electoral Votes Webpage
Edwards, Appendix B
29. (November 6) Popular Votes and Electoral Votes: The Electoral College as a Vote-Counting Mechanism (cont.)
30. (November 8) Popular Votes and Electoral Votes: The Electoral College as a Vote-Counting Mechanism (cont.)
VI. OTHER ISSUES
31. (November
10) Voting
Power in the Electoral College
The Changing Battleground [PPT]
N.
R. Miller, “Voting Power in the Electoral College” [PPT]
32. (November 13) Voting Power in the Electoral College (cont.)
33. (November
15) The
Contingent Procedure
N. R. Miller, "Multi-Candidate Presidential
Elections and the Contingent Procedure" [PPT]
Robin Kolodny, “The Several Elections of 1824” (review) [website]
Edwards, Chapter 3
Ross, Chapter 9
34. (November 17) The Electoral College and the Party System
Edwards, Chapter 6
35. (November 20) Other Issues and a Summary of Electoral College “Problems”
Edwards, Chapters 2 and 5
Ross, Chapters 4-8, 10-11, and Conclusion
VI. ELECTORAL
COLLEGE REFORM [Handout
on Electoral College Reform or Abolition]
36. (November 22) The Automatic System / Bonus System / Districted Systems
Ross, Chapter 11
Koza, Chapter 3, Section 3.2, and Chapter 4, Section 4.2
37. (November 29) Proportional Systems
Distributed material
Koza, Chapter 3, Section 3.1, and Chapter 4, Section 4.1
38. (November 29) Popular Vote Systems
Koza, Chapter 3, Section 3.3, and Chapter 6
39. (December 1) The Politics of Electoral College Reform
Edwards, Chapter 7
VII. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS
40. (December 4) The Nomination Problem and the Congressional Caucus
41. (December 6) The Party Domination System (1832-1908)
42. (December 8) The First Revolution in Presidential Nominations and the Mixed-System (1912-1968)
43. (December 11) The Second Revolution in Presidential Nominations and the Candidate-Dominant System (1972-present)
Monday, December 18, 10:30-12:30, IN-CLASS PORTION OF FINAL EXAM
Wednesday, December 20, by 5:00 PM in PUB 321 or 355 (Mailbox): TAKE-HOME PORTION OF FINAL EXAM due