Chapter Eleven Flashcards
Define Two party system
A way in which a government can operate where only two parties have a realistic chance of forming government and they alternate between doing so. In Australia, these parties are Labor and the coalition.
Define Winner’s bonus
A phrase which refers to the idea that the preferential system in the lower house greatly exaggerates the winning margins of governments.
Define Voter Volatility
The number of voters that change their vote from election to election and thus make the election harder to predict.
Define Swinging Voters
Voters who change their support from one major party to the other through the course of many elections.
Define Non-Aligned voters
Voters who have no party commitment and may vote for any party differently in any election.
Define Voting Behaviour
The reason why a voter votes for who they do, which are according too institutional, long term, medium term short term and media related factors.
Define Institutional Factors
Institutional factors relate to how the electoral system used impacts how a voter would vote. For example, preferential voting in the lower house elections will always favour the major parties.
Define Long Term Factors
These are factors such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, socio-economic position and geographic location which lead voters to pledge to one party for a long period of time. For example, someone who is white, old, upper-middle class and living in the western suburbs is generally going to be a Liberal voter because these long term factors are more aligned with the liberal party.
Define Gender revolution
Referring to how the role of women has increased in the past 30 years which leads to big swings in the votes of women and a decreasing change from the vote of men.
Define Medium Term Factors
These factors are more about how parties have performed over the last electoral term, and include the record of the government, the performance of the opposition, the economic management of the party and the party leadership. For example, someone who voted for the LNP in the 2013 federal election may have voted for the ALP in the 2016 election because they were disappointed with Malcolm Turnbulls leadership and were impressed with the performance of the opposition.
Define Hip Pocket Nerve
The idea that the most important factor for winning an electorate is the economic policy that a candidate represents.
Define ‘Blue Collar’ worker
People who work in industrial jobs such as manufacturing, mining and trade occupations that involve manual labour. People in these jobs generally earn a lower income and are more likely to vote for the Labor party.
Define ‘White Collar” worker
Someone who works in a professional, managerial or administrative occupation which is situated in an office. People in these jobs are generally more wealthy and are more likely to vote for the Liberal party.
Define Misery Index
A measure of economic prosperity which is calculated by adding together the unemployment rate and inflation rate. A higher misery index denotes a bad state of economy.
Define Negative Advertising
A technique that can be used for campaigning which focuses on the negative aspects of the oppositions campaign.