Political Beliefs of Citizens Flashcards
What’s political socialization?
how citizens form their political allegiances
What factors or cleavages are relevant when forming political opinions?
family, race, gender, class, religion, education, region
Who’s more conservative based on race?
whites more than blacks
Who’s more conservative based on gender?
men are more conservative than women
Who’s more conservative based on class?
upper class voters tend to be more conservative and low-income are more liberal
Who’s more conservative based on religion?
Evangelical Prostestants, then regular Protestants, then Jews and Catholics
Who’s more conservative based on education?
graduate schools makes people more liberal
Who’s more conservative based on region?
southerners, then mid-westerners, then east and west coasts
general beliefs of conservatives
emphasize individual initiative and local solutions, HOWEVER think government should regulate abortion and school prayer
general beliefs of liberals
favor change, see government as a tool for improving quality of life HOWEVER think government should have no say on abortion
Who regulates elections in the US?
mostly regulated by state law
What election responsibilities does Congress hold?
determining time, place, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives
What are the 2 processess that take place in elections?
- nominating candidates 2. choosing final officials
Define primaries
primaries screen and select final candidates
Define closed primaries
only registered voters can vote for the party’s candidates, democrats can only vote for democrats
Define open primaries
voters can vote for any candidate, regardless of party, and third-parties and independents can vote as well
Define crossover voting
voters can vote for candidates in other parties
What’s the significance of these different primaries?
open primaries can create higher voter turnout from third-parties and independents, and it can create party crashing where voters vote for the weakest candidate in the opposing party
When are national elections held?
November
What are off-year elections?
voting for Congressmen only, not president
How are political campaigns funded?
candidate’s own resources, private supporters, PACs, and the federal government
Define PAC
political action committee, formed in 1970s to circumvent laws limiting contributions to politcal campaigns
What’s the Federal Election Commission?
group formed to ensure that laws concerning campaign financing are followed
Who pays for costs of elections and registrars of voters?
state and local governments
What is the “motor-voter” bill?
1990s citizens could register to vote at their DMVs
What affects political participation?
voters are either apathetic and don’t think they’ll have any influence, or they’re happy and see no reason to change it
What’s an interest group?
any group of people who come together on an issue, either formally (labor unions or NRA) or informally (March of the Poor)
Define lobby
influence the passage or defeat of legislation
How is public opinion influenced?
mass media and political advertising, which is often slanted or reduced to sound bites
How is public opinion measured?
public opinion polls and exit polls, which can influence voters depending on when the results are given
