Chapter 8 Flashcards
Political participation
Refers to a wide range of activities, including voting, contacting an elected official, protesting, or signing a petition, that are designed to influence, government, politics, and public policy.
How has digital politics influenced traditional forms of political participation?
-encourages people to gather information and interact with others by combining the content of traditional media with interpersonal communication, and this promotes interest in politics, and increases traditional forms of participation.
Critics dismiss social media as
clicktivism
Participation in politics is becoming more —— due to digital politics
expressive
What are the drawbacks to digital political participation?
-echo chambers
-filter bubbles
- ideological polarization
-hyper-partisanship
- May lead to “disruption of the public square”
-Anonymity can lead to forums for hate speech, terrorist appeals, and harassment
What was the voter turnout in 2020?
66% -the highest since 1900
most consistent factor in predicting who votes
socioeconomic status
(-higher levels of education and income)
A critical aspect of political environment is whether people are
mobilized.
Mobilization efforts attract voters to the polls.
Mobilization: process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity
a violent attack on government; the act of revolting against civic authority or an established government
insurrection
participation that involves assembling crowds to confront a government or other official organization
protest
the right to vote; also called franchise
suffage
activities designed to influence government, including voting, campaign contributions, and face-to-face activities such as volunteering for a campaign or working on behalf of a candidate or political organization
traditional political participation
activities designed to influence politics using the internet, including visiting a candidate’s website, organizing events online, and signing an online petition
digital political participation
the process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity
mobilization
the option in some states to have a ballot sent automatically to your home for each election, rather than having to request an absentee ballot each time
permanent absentee ballots
What are the effects of felony disenfranchisement laws?
-Given the rising incarceration rate over the past few decades, felony disenfranchisement has taken away the voting rights of over 5 million people.
-Due to racial bias in charges and sentencing in the criminal justice system, people of color are disproportionately affected by felony voting restrictions.
Rank elections by voter turnout levels, from highest participation rate to lowest.
presidential elections, midterm elections, state and local elections
What is true about Digital participation?
-Digital participation has made political participation easier.
-Older voters are more likely to use social media for political participation.
-Political participation digitally is likely to increase offline participation.
Many congressional, state, and local elections are noncompetitive due to
gerrymandering.
drawing districts to favor one political party over the other.
Gerrymandering
True or False: Those who do not self-identify with a religion are more likely to be political independents.
False
The main goal of the groups like Rap the Vote and Rock the Vote is to
encourage young people to vote
Which of the following statements about voter participation among young people is most accurate?
Youth voter turnout is much lower in midterm congressional elections than in presidential elections.
True or False: Most Americans believe that social media has a mostly positive effect on how things are going in the United States.
False
A state with a roughly equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the population is often referred to as a ________ state.
battleground
Which of the following best describes the provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act?
authorized the federal government to register voters in states that discriminated against non-White citizens
What role did digital participation play in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol?
Social media and podcasts played a significant role in disseminating the ideas behind the attack and encouraging protestors to mobilize.
What was notable about the 2018 midterm elections?
Turnout was up significantly and was more akin to turnout in presidential elections.
True or False; In the United States, but not in other Western democracies, those who vote tend to have higher income and more education.
True
The goal of the EMILY’s List organization is to
raise money for pro-choice, Democratic women candidates interested in running for office.
True or False; White voters in American tend not to have a strong sense of group identification, but such identification has grown since 2016.
true
Gerrymandering may
increase voter turnout, by increasing the amount of money that is spent on advertising.
