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41 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
How do we measure public opinion? |
1. Elections 2. Straw Poll 3. Simple Random Sample |
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Election returns are low quality measures of public opinion. |
1. They do not measure public opinion on specific issues. 2. Opinions fluctuate between elections. |
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George Gallup proposed surveys as a solution for they |
1. Separate candidate preferences from issue preferences. 2. Can be conducted between elections. |
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Gallup also argued that polls |
1. Thwart lobbyists that misrepresent their organization. 2. Represent the unorganized. 3. Create better political leaders.
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Political Information |
* Large majorities know about the presidency and key political figures * Small (or near) majorities know basic facts about government institutions * Little attention is paid to policy and lower level political figures |
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Why is public ignorance of politics troubling? |
Information is the basis for political opinions Poll results may not be meaningful |
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If parents are |
Then children acquire stable predispositions such as * partisanship * religious orientation * attitudes on issues with a moral or affective component |
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Party Identification Helps explain
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* How people vote * What policy attitudes they have * How they interpret new political information * How they evaluate their political leaders |
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The Origins of Party Identification |
-Family |
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Change in Party Identification |
Individuals rarely change their party identification |
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Changing sides or changing minds? Political awareness Issue salience |
-Political awareness Republican party to the right of the Democratic party on abortion. -Issue salience responds “very important” or “extremely important” when asked “How important is the abortion issue to you?” |
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The Effects of Party Identification |
Party identification affects opinions about political issues.
Why don’t political events change individual party attachments? -Partisans ignore inconsistent information. -Low levels of political information. |
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If I know your partisan identification, I can predict |
* How you will interpret new political information * How you evaluate political performance * Your attitudes on issues * How you will vote |
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Why two parties? |
H1: State law gives the Democrats and Republicans the right to hold publicly run and financed primaries.
H2: Duverger’s Law |
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H2: Duverger’s Law |
An electoral system requires two basic decisions Select an electoral rule for each district - Proportional representation
Select the number of representatives for each district - Single member district |
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So why 2 parties with Duverger's Law? |
At the district level, plurality rule plus single member districts leads to two parties.
(Proportional representation and multiple member districts favors multi-partyism.) |
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Strategic Voting |
A strategic voter choose a candidate on the basis of - His preferences decide the election. |
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Single member districts and plurality rule in which countries? |
- Canda (since 1867) - United States |
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Spurious correlation |
A spurious correlation arises when two factors (such as income and voting) appear to be causally related but in fact are both caused by a third factor (education). |
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Spurious correlation EXAMPLE |
Who Votes? The rich are more likely to vote.
BUT ACTUALLY Educated people vote more. Educated people tend to be richer. Income appeared to drive voting.
People with the same education: income doesn't explain whether or not they vote. People with the same income: education explains whether or not they vote. |
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Why is turnout lower in the U.S.? |
* Hard to register * Mobile voters * Mobile districts * We vote more frequently and on more issues & candidates |
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1
Unlike interest groups, political parties are organizations that seek to influence government by: |
electing its members to office |
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2
What is the name of the process by which a party selects a single candidate to run for each elective office? |
nomination |
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3
In modern American politics, how are most candidates nominated to elected office? |
through primary elections |
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4
The type of primary election most conducive to strong political parties is the _____ primary. |
closed |
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5
Party get-out-the-vote efforts are critical for overcoming: |
the free-rider problem in voting |
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6
Political parties effectively lower the information costs of voter participation because they provide: |
brand-name recognition |
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7
Which term describes an individual voter's psychological tie to one party? |
Party identification |
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8
Which term best describes party members who are strong party identifiers, and who also contribute their time, energy, and effort to party affairs by ringing doorbells, stuffing envelopes, attending meetings, and contributing money to the party cause? |
party activists |
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9
At the national level, the most important organization for the Democratic and Republican parties for raising campaign funds, heading off factional disputes, and endeavoring to enhance the party's media image is the national: |
congressional campaign committee |
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The parties have evolved today into: |
service organizations |
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1. The choice of ballot format is usually made by the |
COUNTY |
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2. The real problem with quantitive presentations of voter participation lies in |
THE BASELINE POPULATION |
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3. How does voter turnout in the United States compare to that in other Western democracies? |
QUITE LOW |
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4. The critical years during which voter turnout dramatically declined across the United States coincided with two changes in the institutions of elections. One of these changes involved: |
THE CREATION OF FORMAL REGISTRATION SYSTEMS AND LISTS |
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5. Which of the following explains why Minnesota and Wisconsin tend to experience higher voter turnout rates? |
BOTH STATES EASE PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS BY GIVING VOTERS THE OPPORTUNITY TO REGISTER AND VOTE ON THE SAME DAY. |
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6. Which of the following is NOT a reason that the secret ballot has enjoyed widespread use in the United States since the late |
THE SECRET BALLOT IMPROVES VOTER TURNOUT |
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7. Ticket Splitting has led to more: |
DIVIDED GOVERNMENT |
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8. The referendum, initiative, and recall all entail shifts in: |
AGENDA-SETTING POWER |
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9. The incumbent president loses the chance for a second term in office because voters are unsatisfied with the current state of the economy. In this case, the voters employed: |
RETROSPECTIVE VOTING |
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10. Relative to other countries, campaigns in the United States are: |
LONGER |