Participation Flashcards
Democracy is based on the principle of ______.
popular sovereignty
is Voting the sole form of political participation ?
no, attending rallies and protests, donating money, and trying to persuade other people are all forms of participation.
What is popular sovereignty?
The principle that the authority to make decisions on behalf of society belongs to the people
What is unconventional Participation ?
Illegitimate Participation (acts of violence like rioting, terrorism, vigilantism, or insurgency.
Ex: Killing doctors who provide abortions or bombing abortion clinics.
Stand-ins, strikes, and protests are unconventional but represent a gray area between legitimate and illegitimate civil disobedience.
What presents a gray area between legitimate and illegitimate civil disobedience ?
Stand-ins, strikes, and protests are unconventional
Collective Dilemmas in Participation ?
Political participation presents a collective action problem with incentives to free ride.
Whats the probability of a single vote or state being significant in the national election ?
close to 0
Interest groups often solve what collective dilemma ?
coordination problems (mobilize people to participate in politics)
What is the paradox of voting?
people still vote even though the individual costs of voting likely outweigh the individual benefits.
True/false : The costs of voting outweigh the likely benefits of a favorable outcome.
true
An individual’s “utility” from voting in a general election can be under-
stood as
p*B−C
p: probability that an individual’s act of voting will influence the outcome of the election.
B: individual’s share of the benefit derived from the election outcome occurring to his or her liking.
C: costs of voting, including risks of harm, loss of wages, and time taken away from other activities.
What individuals are more informed about politics ?
Wealthier and more educated
When is National Election Day ?
when the United States was an agrarian society because it was after the harvest season
- not on a Sunday (a holy day for the largely Christian country),
- not monday: gave people relying on foot or horse back one full day after Sunday to travel to the polls.
What is the Help America Vote Act of 2002 ?
intended to spur states to adopt electronic voting machines and to make it easier to vote in general.
- States reduced the number of voting precincts by almost 40 percent because of the costs of updating voting equipment so now fewer precincts
= longer lines, and less convenient polling locations
what is Motor Voter enacted (1994)? and has it increased voting rates?
when you apply for a driver’s license in your home state, you must be offered the chance to register to vote
- even if people who habitually do not vote register when they get their driver’s license, they still typically do not go to the polls on Election Day
vote by mail ?
allows voters to mail in their ballots rather than appearing in person at a polling place.
(increased turnout)
Which types of people,, find it less difficult (and more beneficial) than the average person to contact elected officials directly through email, letters, personal visits, and petitions ?
- Highly educated people
- People who write and fill out forms as a regular part of their job— that is, people in generally higher- paying jobs, as opposed to those who work mostly with their hands
- People who tend to join organizations or who are in leadership positions within organizations
- People who have experience communicating with public officials
Voting rights are typically restricted to citizens who what ?
who have resided in the state for a certain number of months (around three months)
What was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ?
made it a priority of the national government to enforce provisions of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments (major improvements in voting rights for blacks, other minorities, and the poor.)
who controls the franchise?
states
Republicans often oppose what voting reforms ? why ?
democrat-sponsored reforms aimed at making it easier to vote or to register (argue that it invites fraud and have proposed making it harder to meet eligibility requirements.)
______ politicians often resist changing rules to admit a new set of voters.
Incumbent
why did the states start to remove the requirement that stated that only property owners could vote?
Jacksonian Democrats and the Whigs— were in fierce competition and hungry to appeal to a new set of voters.
Article VI
no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States
what department was empowered to monitor and enforce equal voting rights for racial minorities ?
Justice department
what is voter turnout ?
amount of people that vote
*Between 1890 and 1920, the denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South led to a decline
campaign called “Let Us Vote,” or “LUV ?
lower the legal voting age from 21 to 18. (led to the 26th amendment)
what is Voter mobilization ?
efforts by organizations to facilitate or encourage voting.
*more people voted in the 2004 presidential election than in 2000, thanks largely to the intense mobilization efforts of both parties (but primarily the Republicans).
If the electoral races are expected to be close, then at least three related patterns emerge:
- Voters might believe their votes actually matter.
- greater effort to turn out voters because of heightened competition.
- more media coverage
What correlates with higher probabilities of voting and other forms of political participation ?
Higher socioeconomic status
What is Socioeconomic status (SES) ?
measure of the way that individuals are regarded within a society by virtue of their wealth, income, education, and profession.
Voting among what group is lower than other racial or ethnic groups ?
Hispanics due to language barriers and lower SES.
African Americans are mobilized effectively by ?
civil rights organizations and churches
What are the 4 indicators for voter turnout (SES)?
Wealth/Income, Education (Most important), Age, and Profession
Voter turnout for religious groups ?
Protestants and Jews > Catholics > evangelical Protestants
__________ are a major source of voter mobilization among working- class voters; if they decline in numbers and importance, so does the mobilization of those who are below average in income and education.
Unions
True/False: the gap between the United States and other countries is likely not as large as the most widely used measures indicate (true/false)
True
What do Leighley & Nagler say ?
Voters and non-voters are very different in terms of their preferences for government-led redistribution
- Voters are more conservative on economic redistributive policies and in terms of party ID and candidate preference
Today, voting rates among blacks across the country ____ those of other racial groups.
A. Largely match
B. Are double
C. Exceed
D. Fall short of
E. Are triple
A. Largely match
In the late 1960s, college students in California launched a campaign called “Let Us Vote,” or “LUV,” to lower the minimum legal voting age from 21 to 18. Congress passed a law that mandated voting rights for 18-to-21- year olds. However, the Supreme Court ruled that states had the right to set their own voting age restrictions. Some states set the voting age at 18, while others left it at 21. As a result, many young people on Election Day had to be given separate ballots because they were only permitted to vote for federal offices. This is an example of a/an _____.
A. Prisoner’s dilemma
B. Collective action problem
C. Coordination problem
D. Unstable coalition
E. Principal-agent problem
C. Coordination problem
The United States is thought to be rich in social capital, which is key in explaining what paradox in American politics?
A. Political parties are weaker in the U.S. than in other countries, but the majority of Americans claim a party identification.
B. The many different levels of electoral politics in the U.S. causes voter fatigue and depresses turnout.
C. Americans are less likely to write letters to political representatives than citizens of other countries but vote at higher rates.
D. Although Americans tend to vote at lower rates than other democracies, they join organizations and clubs at higher rates than citizens of other countries.
E. All of these are correct.
D. Although Americans tend to vote at lower rates than other democracies, they join organizations and clubs at higher rates than citizens of other countries
What do Holbein & Hillygus say ?
Young people vote at much lower rates than older people cause they highly motivated to vote but lack civic and non-cognitive skills
Solution: make voting easier for new voters
What do Valentino, Wayne & Oceno say ?
- sexist people don’t usually go out to vote.
If they:- afraid: LESS likely to go out and vote.
- upset and angry: MORE likely to vote.
What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?
A. Mandated voting rights at age 21 for all elections, including state and local contests
B. Granted women the right to vote in all federal and state elections
C. Stated that voting rights could not be denied on the basis of sex
D. Devised a wide-ranging set of federal protections of voting rights for minorities, especially in the South
E. Mandated that people 18 years of age and older had the right to vote in federal, state, and local elections
D. Devised a wide-ranging set of federal protections of voting rights for minorities, especially in the South
One compelling explanation for the higher turnout rates among wealthy individuals is that wealthier and more educated people face lower costs when voting and participating in politics. Which of the following provides another explanation for this trend?
A. The rise in political activity of union and business-related interest groups
B. Mobilizing organizations tend to have an easier time reaching wealthier and more educated people.
C. Churches play a much less important role in politics than other organizations, and wealthier individuals tend to be less religious.
D. All of these are correct.
E. None of these is correct.
B. Mobilizing organizations tend to have an easier time reaching wealthier and more educated people.
_______ increase voter turnout more than impersonal appeals on radio or television.
In- person contacts
