Access to such funds has generally further isolated the presidential campaign from congressional campaigns. Candidates usually turn to pollsters or political consultants to develop a strategy that mixes party, issues, and images. The campaign message is then disseminated via the mass media through new coverage and advertising. The president is elected indirectly through the electoral college, in which each state has a number of electors equal to the total of its senators and representatives. Voters may vote either a straight ticket, in which they choose only one party's candidates for all offices, or they may vote a split ticket by choosing candidates from different parties.
Party identification is the most important long-term force.
The most important short-term forces are candidates' attributes and policy positions. Most studies of presidential elections show that issues are less important than either party identification or the candidate's image when people cast their ballots. Although the party affiliation of the candidates and the party identification of the voters explain a good deal of electoral behavior, party organizations are not central to elections in American. Both major parties fail to meet two of the four principles of responsible government noted in Chapter 8. They do not choose candidates according to party programs, and the governing party cannot be held responsible at the next election for executing its program because there is no governing party when the president is of one party and the Congress is controlled by the other.