The Nominations.—The convention is now ready for the chief business for which it was called, namely, the nomination of candidates which the party desires to put forward for the offices to be filled at the coming election. The names of the candidates are usually presented to the convention in highly eulogistic speeches, and the nominations are generally seconded by one or more delegates. The balloting then proceeds until the nominations are all made. Sometimes where more than two candidates are placed in nomination no one of them is able to secure a majority, and a "deadlock" ensues, lasting maybe for days or even weeks, and terminated by the nomination of a "dark horse."
Objections to the Convention Method.—When deadlocks occur, the "dark horse" chosen is likely to be an inferior candidate. Another objection to the method of nomination by convention is that the nominations are frequently determined by a small number of leaders or "bosses" who control the convention, and thus the nominations do not represent the choice of the party. How a convention may be thus controlled by a few politicians is thus stated by a careful writer who is fully conversant with party methods:[23]
"The program of the convention, in practice, is almost always decided upon down to the minutest detail, before the convention meets. The party leader, or 'boss,' and his lieutenants discuss the relative claims of candidates and decide who shall be nominated. The party platform is written and submitted to the 'boss' for his approval. The officers of the convention are agreed upon and their speeches revised. All this is outside the law, which ignores the existence of the party leader and assumes that the delegates are free to exercise their own judgment. The real interest in the convention is usually centered in the secret conferences of the leaders which precede it and in which the contests over the nominations are fought out, sometimes with much stubbornness. The 'slate' is finally made up by agreement between leaders who control a majority of the delegates in the convention. The leaders of the minority may either surrender or they may register their protest by presenting the names of other candidates in the convention with the certainty of defeat, for it is rare in state conventions that there is so equal a division of strength as to leave the result in doubt.
"While the leaders are settling what the convention is to do, the delegates are left to their own devices, ignorant of what is going on in the 'headquarters' where the leaders are assembled. They are not consulted and their advice is not asked. It often happens that they do not know whom they are to nominate until they hear for the first time in the convention hall the names of the candidates agreed upon by the leaders. Although the law gives them the right to bring forward the names of other candidates, they seldom exercise it, and the delegate bold enough to disobey orders is regarded with disapproval."
Nomination by the People: the Direct Primary.—About 1889, because of growing dissatisfaction with the convention system, some of the states began to experiment with the method of popular nomination, that is, direct nomination by the primary instead of by convention. Instead of calling on the voters to choose delegates to a convention to which the task of nomination was intrusted, they were now called upon to vote directly for the candidates themselves. It was said that if the voters were competent to choose delegates to a convention they were equally competent to select the candidates themselves. The movement for the direct primary, as it was called, spread rapidly particularly in the South and West. Thus the convention has been done away with in a large number of states except where it is still retained to frame platforms, appoint the central committee, and select delegates to the national convention, and in some states it has been abolished even for these purposes, other means having been provided for taking care of these matters.
Objections.—The direct primary has been criticized because under it candidates for state offices need to canvass the entire state in order to become acquainted with the voters—a task which requires much time and is very expensive. Such a system, it is argued, gives the candidate of leisure and wealth a decided advantage over the poor man who cannot afford the large expense involved.
The direct primary method, however, has given general satisfaction where it has been adopted.
Nomination by Petition.—While most candidates for public office are nominated by the recognized political parties, the laws of many states allow candidates to be nominated also by petition of independent voters. The procedure of nomination by petition is for the candidate or his friends to prepare a nomination paper or petition containing the title of the office to be filled, together with the name and residence of the candidate, get a certain number of voters to sign it, and then file it with the proper election officer. The number of signatures necessary to nominate varies according to the nature of the office to be filled and the population of the district or territory over which the jurisdiction of the office extends. Thus in New York a petition for the nomination of a candidate for a state office must contain the signatures of at least 12,000 legal voters (including at least 50 from each county), while in Massachusetts 1,000 is sufficient. For the nomination of candidates for local offices the number of petitioners required is smaller. Thus in New York candidates for the legislature may be nominated by 500 voters; in Massachusetts candidates for local offices may be nominated by petitions signed by one per cent of the number of voters.
References.—Beard, American Government and Politics, chs. vii, xxx. Bryce, The American Commonwealth (abridged edition), ch. xlv. Fuller, Government by the People, chs. iv, v, xi. Hart, Actual Government, ch. v. Merriam, Primary Elections, chs. i, v.
Documentary and Illustrative Material.—1. Legislative manual or blue book of the state. 2. Copy of the primary election law of the state. 3. Democratic and Republican campaign textbooks. 4. Copies of party platforms. 5. Specimen ballots. 6. Copies of delegates' credentials, nomination certificates, petitions, etc.
Research Questions
1. Do you consider political parties essential under a system of popular government? Would it be better if there were in each state of the Union at least two strong political parties instead of one, as is virtually the case in some of the Southern states as well as in some of the North?