Participation And Voter Behaviour

Question 1

What is the sociological model?

Answer 1

Long term factor of groups having similar issues and ideas on problems

Question 2

Rational choice model?

Answer 2

Particular issues and candidates have a strong influence on voter behaviour in short term patterns
Eg each election cycle change

Question 3

What is an argument for socialisation?

Answer 3

Increasing and high levels of partisanship

American identity aligns with parties

Consistently identifying with a party since the 50s.
; 42% in 2014 identified as independent

Question 4

How many voters in the US usually identify as strongly independent?

Answer 4

10%

Question 5

How extensive was party alignment during the 2012 election?

Answer 5

92% of democrats voted Obama
93% of republicans voted Romney

Question 6

How did the New Deal change partisan alignment?

Answer 6

Large numbers of urban workers joined democrats due to economic assistance

Led to vast majority of country voting democrat until 1944

Question 7

Why did party alignment change during Truman’s reign?

Answer 7

Civil rights movement led to southern democrats leaving to form the Dixiecrats

Question 8

What was the realignment which was brought on in the 70s?

Answer 8

Rise of social issues: abortion, civil rights
Rise of interventionist economics: Medicaid and welfare

Question 9

What were Reagans policies like?

Answer 9

Fiscal conservative
States rights
Supported religion in school
Opposing abortion and affirmative action

Question 10

What were party alignment trends established during the 80s?

Answer 10

White, richer, Protestant, elderly, high income vote republican

Minority, catholic/atheist, young, lower income vote democrat

Question 11

What was the democratic share of Hispanic voters in 88, 96, and 2020?

Answer 11

69%, 72%, 65%

Question 12

Who were the evangelicals who Reagan appealed to?

Answer 12

Moral Majority (1979)

Voted against issues such as gay rights and abortion

Question 13

What is the % of each age group who regularly attend religious service?

Answer 13

36% of youth
51% of 65+

Question 14

How do generations impact the youth vote?

Answer 14

Gen X grew up under Reagan and in 1992 47% voted republican
Millennials grew up under controversial Bush so vote democrat

Question 15

How do women tend to vote on policy areas?

Answer 15

Fiscal interventionism
Social liberal
Less supportive of foreign military intervention

Question 16

How does marriage impact voting?

Answer 16

Married are more likely to vote for republicans since they are more likely to be conservative, richer, and older

Question 17

How many televised debates are used?

Answer 17

3 presidential, 1 vice presidential

Question 18

How did televised debates become significant during the 1960 election?

Answer 18

Kennedy only had a 0.1% majority

65 million people watched the debates and they increased JFK popularity by 3%

Question 19

How do televised debates increase scrutiny and reduce the security of the incumbent?

Answer 19

Reagan criticised Carter through wit
Directly asking the electorate questions about the last four years

Question 20

How did televised debates allow independent candidate to gain popularity?

Answer 20

Perot went from 10% to 17% by the end of the debates

Question 21

What limits the effectivity of campaigns?

Answer 21

Debates are held in October, with estimate at 4% undecided by this point

Question 22

How many undecided voters were there in swing states in 2012?

Answer 22

900,000

Question 23

How effective was the 1964 campaign ads?

Answer 23

Democrats make it seem as though Goldwater will lead the country to nuclear waste
Very effective

Question 24

What was a feature of the 1988 ads?

Answer 24

Exploited racial tensions by showing a black criminal who attacked a white person

Raised controversial issue of the death penalty

Question 25

What was a feature of the 1984 ads?

Answer 25

Showed Americans’ lives improving during Reagans re-election

“Prouder, stronger, better”

Question 26

How many negative:positive ads were there in 2012?

Answer 26

132,000 positive, 882,000 negative

Question 27

What is the October surprise?

Answer 27

A major issue in October which distracts from campaign and massively influences the incumbents’ success/failure?

Question 28

What was the October surprise in 2012?

Answer 28

Hurricane sandy

Question 29

What were the October surprises in 2020?

Answer 29

Trump exposed as having 1bn in debt and paying $750 in tax in 2016

Article regarding Hunter Bidens laptop

Question 30

How important is the economy/

Answer 30

2012 60%
2020 79%

Consistently the most important issue

Question 31

How did Obama win Ohio?

Answer 31

GM bailout helped local economy

131 offices with 32,000 volunteers

Question 32

What is the trend in black voter turnout?

Answer 32

As low as 54% in 1996
Peaked at 67% in 2012
Fell to 59% in 2016

Question 33

Examples of amendments enshrining electoral reform

Answer 33

15th - African American suffrage
19th - female suffrage
23rd - 3 electoral college votes to DC
26th - 18-20 year old suffrage

Question 34

How has measuring turnout changed?

Answer 34

Analyse compared to elegible voters which excludes voting age people such as felons

Question 35

What results to chronic low participation?

Answer 35

Divided government means voters don’t know who to blame for policy failure

FPTP system leads to low political efficacy

Question 36

What shows lack of faith leads to falling participation?

Answer 36

7/10 top voting states were swing states

Question 37

Which third party candidate managed to gain ?

Answer 37

Perot. Anomalously higher by around 8%

Question 38

What is a reason content voters abstain?

Answer 38

Happathy. Can also be seen in Blair’s reign

Question 39

How is voter registration a barrier to voting?

Answer 39

American voter registration is voluntary which means people don’t

UK has state initiated voter registration

Question 40

Which states used registration increased voter discrimination?

Answer 40

Southern states making it difficult for black through literacy; grandfather clause

Question 41

What was African American voter turnout during 1960 and 1970?

Answer 41

29% moved to 70% after the Voting Rights Act 1965

Question 42

What was the National Registration Act 1993

Answer 42

Required states to allow registration through any public agency (could register at the welfare office)

States had to allow registration by mail

Question 43

What was the help American vote act 2002?

Answer 43

Voters not on the register can cast provisional ballot if they believe they should be elegible

Allows people to vote by the deadline and officials can check eligibility after the vote has taken place

Question 44

How many states allow same day registration?

Answer 44

12 including DC

Increased turnout by 12%

Question 45

What was Shelby Count v Holder 2013?

Answer 45

Upheld voting rights act and let congress mandate states’ needing permission for electoral reform

but ruled that the law was out of date and made it unconstitutional

Question 46

What were the effects of the ruling in Shelby Count v Holder 2013?

Answer 46

Texas and Mississippi introduce voter ID requirements

Question 47

Which turnouts have increased most?

Answer 47

Africans and Asians; white only slightly

Question 48

Example of demographic change leading to changing electoral expectation?

Answer 48

Hispanics will become the majority in Texas within the decade

Battleground Texas seeks to register Hispanics by the democrats