Exam Review-Lessons Flashcards
what is the US Congress made up of?
the HoR and the SENATE
what is the House of Representatives
435 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS, PEOPLE VOTE for who they want based on what district they LIVE in.
congress is FOR THE PEOPLE (represents districts), deals with things like TAXES, passing FEDERAL LAWS (2 year terms)
what is the Senate
made up of 2 senators from EACH STATE (represents states), pass BILLS (before they become laws), deals with TREATIES, etc. and ‘checks on’ house. fewer people and longer terms (6 years-elected by people)
how effective are campaigns?
CAN change public opinion, but NOT EASILY. politicians can only AFFECT INFO, not OPINIONS-look to CHANGE WHAT COMES TO MIND (ex. trump=felon, harris=abortion rights)
what is voter turnout?
how MANY people ACTUALLY VOTE
what are the general reasons people don’t vote?
PROBABILITY of actually CHANGING RESULTS of an election is extremely LOW, may have NO INTEREST in the RESULTS of the election, a SINGLE persons choice to vote is ONLY EFFECTIVE if OTHERS vote too, HIGH COST of voting (without necessary getting anything in return), overall NOT WORTH IT!!!
what is the rational voter model?
PxB>C
only BENEFICIAL to vote if PxB is MORE than C
P: PROBABILITY of have a PIVOTAL VOTE (based on how CLOSE an election is and how much pose a single vote has in your state)
B: BENEFITS received from having your PREFERRED CANDIDATE WIN (based on partisanship-what party you identify with, ideologies, candidate policies)-high this election!!
C: COST of voting-takes RESOURCES (ex. time, money, info, voting laws, etc.)
does the RVM typically support voting or not?
P is so SMALL (unless in swing state or vote is worth more-still small) and C is SUBSTANTIAL, meaning B needs to be VERY BIG to make it WORTH VOTING
MATHEMATICALLY it is BENEFICIAL for people to NOT VOTE
what are ways to reduce the cost of voting and get people to ?
ASK people to vote (feel obligated to-social pressure), provide FREE INFO (think about it beforehand, reduces cost, increases benefits-find candidate you like?), provide CUES (encourage you to vote: celebrity endorsements, how incumbent is performing in office, stte of the world-economic rn)
what is the rational voter method (evolved)?
PxB+D>C
D: INDIRECT and SOCIAL BENEFITS of voting (ex. doing your civiv duty-feels good contributing, social pressure)
how is doing your civic duty play into the benefits (“D” in RVM)?
there is a PSYCHOLOGICAL REWARD we get for doing our civic duty:
- INTRINSIC: do it because we FEEL GOOD (doing the right thing)
- EXTRINSIC: do it because there is a SOCIAL REWARD for being OBSERVED PARTICIPATING (ex. getting an ‘I voted’ sticker)-the socially acceptable thing
how social pressure encourage voting?
if you are AROUND people TALKING about voting, it puts PRESSURE on you to vote (ex. them asking what your political thoughts are, who you are voting for-want to have an opinion+gets you thinking).
SOCIAL NORMS: AWARENESS of norms (EXPECTATION that people will vote-civic duty) , INTERNALIZATION of norms (how STRONGLY a person FEELS they have a duty to vote), ENFORCEMENT of norms (judgement, disdain, violence, etc.)
what did Gerber, Green, and Larimer say/ study about social pressure?
EFFECTS of social pressure on VOTING. looked at if people were more likely to vote if they knew that OTHER PEOPLE (in house/ neighbourhood) WOULD KNOW if they voted or not. found that it did increase turnout
what does the GOTV campaign do?
GET OUT TO VOTE ENCOURAGES VOTING by making it EASIER (ex. helping with registration), go door to door, call you, send mail to make sure you vote (not for a party, just in general)
explain the history of ballot access
US was one of the LAST developed countries to have UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE. constitution of 1788)
DIDN’T GUARANTEE everyone the right to vote. originally only LAND OWNERS had a true STAKE in the vote (cared about who was elected and could influence others to vote-NO SECRET BALLOT-exploitative). only TAXPAYERS (people with jobs) had A SAY in how government money was being spent.
Once women+other races could vote: married women were MENS SECOND VOTES, independent women were UNTRUSTWORTHY. white people wanted to EXCLUDE people of colour and their preferences (some states didn’t let certain groups become CITIZENS-prevent from voting)
what is the timeline of gaining voting rights in the us?
FIRST WAVE: MALE SUFFRAGE (land owner or not)
RECONSTRUCTION: slavery ends, BLACK VOTING rights established (Republicans wanted black votes to gain support in south)
WOMENS SUFFRAGE: SENECA FALLS (women’s rights convention), 19th AMENDMENT-women can vote
JIM CROW: LAWS and policies by the GOV. to try and RESTRICT BLACK RIGHTS (especially in south) ex. POLL TAXES, LITERACY TESTS (rigged, subjective), GRANDFATHER in-now banned
what are the 6 voting restrictions?
- REGISTRATION: way to REDUCE FRAUD and KEEP TRACK of voters, can be a BURDEN to do (the HARDER=LESS likely LOW INCOME people/ IMMIGRANTS VOTE)-have to do it early, takes time and distance, tricky hours, etc. (dems and challengers in favour of registration, reps and incumbents against it)
- VOTER ID: requires people to SHOW an ID to vote, poll workers may be PICKY/ selective (varies among locations), DIFFERENT locations may take DIFFERENT IDs (ex. no student ids, but yes firearm licenses-democrats are more students and republicans are more gun owners)
- POLLING PLACES: states choose HOW MANY/ WHERE they are (how CLOSE to your house/ work impacts WILLINGNESS to vote, different places have different HOURS)
- BALLOT DESIGN: can be tricky to know how to FILL OUT votes (MAIL IN ballots are more CONFUSING ex. butterfly ballot and require you to spell the persons name), whoever is FIRST is more likely to WIN
- BALLOTING PRACTICES: concerns/ distrust in MACHINES due to too many VARIABLES (miscounting, hacking, paper is more reliable ex. RECOUNTS-screens had paper receipts, why not vote on paper atp)
- FELON DISENFRANCHISEMENT: people convicted of felonies and RESTRICTED from voting when INCARCERATED, on parole, or forever, or until they PETITION to get rights back (usually have to pay fine-outstanding court fees-before voting)
shelby county v holder case
supreme court INVALIDATED section 4B of voting rights act due to it being UNCONSTITUTIONAL-ruled that it SINGLED OUT specific states based on racial discrimination
SECTION 4B: STATES that were KNOWN for being RACIST had POLICIES in place to make it HARDER for there to be EQUALITY
what does ‘voting restriction’ mean?
things that REDUCE VOTER TURNOUT (intentionally or not)
what is the issue with trust in polls?
trust WAIVERS when people see different polls with DIFFERENT RESULTS. people assume that SMALL SMAPLE sizes lead to INACCURACY-NOT TRUE (false issue-law of stats says that a sample size of 1200 can be accurate)
why is trust in elections low?
people DON’T TRUST RESULTS or the GOV.
ELECTION PROBLEMS make people lose trust in the system: voter FRAUD, election INTERFERENCE, others REJECTING the OUTCOMES (when people are scared of these things happening, their trust lowers)
what is the overall role of the media in politics?
MONITORS candidates, SOURCE of INFORMATION for most political news (accurate and truthful info), reports about PUBLIC OPINION (tells us how others are feeling), a way for POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVES to COMMUNICATE with the PUBLIC (interviews, social media posts, etc.) NOT a FORMAL INSTITUTION, but still plays a CRITICAL INSTITUTIONAL ROLE
what is the difference between how traditional and social media are used in elections?
Traditional: BROAD REACH, CREDIBILITY (facts are checked before being spread), ONE-WAY communication, PAID ADVERTISING
social: TARGETED (content based on what appeals to you-2 people may see different ad s from the same candidate based on their algorithms), INTERACTIVE (candidates can interact with people and show ore personality), CHEAPER, VIRALITY (can seep into mainstream media)
what does the media do to change peoples political opinions-how are they biased?
media is DRIVEN by different things (money, ideals, success, etc.)
AGENDA SETTING: CHANGING what a person THINKS is IMPORTANT (ex. showing candidates in a certain light or highlighting certain policies/ issues to impact voting OR bringing attention to issues they want the government to address)
FRAMING and PRIMING: INFLUENCING how people PERCEIVE INFO and MAKE DECISION
