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POLISCI102 Exam 3 > Political Participation > Flashcards

Political Participation Flashcards

1
Q

What is suffage?

A

The legal right to vote

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2
Q

Throughout American History, what were some reasons groups have been restricted to vote?

A

Because of their race, gender, and property ownership.

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3
Q

What factors expanded voting rights?

A

Wealth Limitations Eliminated Early 1800s

15th amendment - niggers
19th amendment - lol women
24th amendment - ends poll taxes
26th amendment - 18 y.o.

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4
Q

How has the internet helped with political participation?

A

It gave citizens greater access to political information and potentially, a greater role in politics than ever before.

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5
Q

What is online participation?

A

Interactive political engagement facilitated by vast opportunities to connect to causes, people, events, and information online.

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6
Q

Why does online political activity increase political participation?

A

Information is easier to obtain online.

It exposes people to politics such as when opening email, checking Facebook, etc.

Online news covers events and issues at same time the t.v. generally does, but is more in depth like newspapers.

Participation requires less effort.

Enables new forms of political expression through the creation of blogs, videos, social medias, and websites.

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7
Q

What are some drawbacks to online participation?

A

There is a digital divide because those who are poorer, lower educated, black, latino, and older are more likely to be without internet.

This can lead to increasing inequalities in political participation.

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8
Q

Voter turnout rates in history?

A

More votes during the last 1800s and dropped from there, then more voted during FDRs tyranny, and dropped from there, even more during 1992, then dropped, and even more following 9/11 until Obama’s reelection.

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9
Q

Do people vote more in the presidential election or the midterm election?

A

The presidential election.

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10
Q

Do states implement voting and election laws the same?

A

Nawwww

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11
Q

What are some state electoral laws?

A

Registration deadlines prior to election day

Length of residency at current address

I.D. requirements

Early and absentee voting rules

Variable vote locations

Ballot method: mail only, paper, kiosk, etc.

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12
Q

What incomes do the average voter have?

A

Tend to have >$50000 because leaving work to vote isn’t worth it for peasants.

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13
Q

What are some common traits with the education levels of votes?

A

Tend to at least have been in college.

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14
Q

What are some commons traits with the race of voters?

A

More whites vote greatly, then blacks, while Asians and Hispanics tend to not vote so much.

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15
Q

Do many nonvoters lack efficacy?

A

No.

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16
Q

Why do nonvoters lack efficacy?

A

They do not believe that the government listens to people like them or that their vote actually matters in determining the outcome of elections and the business of government.

Poorer people are more likely than better-off individuals to feel that the government does not listen to people like them.

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17
Q

What about the structure of the elections make people not vote?

A

It’s too complicated and discouraged people from voting by making it too difficult to register. The timing is an issue as well.

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18
Q

What is California’s New Motor Voter Act (2015)

A

Signed by Jerry Brown and going into action in the next few years and allow people to vote through the DMV.

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19
Q

What do scholars assert with democracies with low voter turnout?

A

It is more likely to generate threats to their own well-being, since it’s only represented in the views of those that vote.

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20
Q

What are three main factors in the voters decision?

A

Partisanship, Issues and Policy Concerns, especially when candidates take different positions, and Candidate characteristics such as their personality, career, and perceived things in common.

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21
Q

How many types of elections do each state have?

A

At least two, generally a primary and general election.

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22
Q

What is a primary election?

A

It is what comes first and determines the party’s nominees - those who will run for office.

Which voters decide varies greatly from state to state.
The popular vote determines which candidate’s delegates will attend the party’s nominating convention and vote for that party’s nominee.

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23
Q

What is a general election?

A

The parties’ respective nominees run against each other, and voters decide who should hold office, since the person with the most votes wins.

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24
Q

What was the result of the reforms that the two major U.S. parties made to the earlier delegate selection process after the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago?

A

It significantly increased the influence of party voters.

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25
How does California run its primary election?
It is a semi-closed/modified closed primary. Top two candidate open primary system for state offices. All candidates on a single ballot for primary. Top two advance to run off. This applies to US senators, reps, state senators, and assembly and executive.
26
When is the general election generally?
Most are held on the first tuesday after the first monday in November (election day)
27
What type of system does general elections for congress and most state legislatures feature?
winner-take-all system.
28
What do some states require when no candidate receives the majority of the votes cast?
A runoff election.
29
What is a referendum?
An election in which voters in a state can vote for or against a measure proposed by state legislature.
30
What is an initiative?
A citizen-sponsored proposal that can result in new or amended legislation or a state constitutional amendment.
31
What is a recall?
An election that allows voters to cut short an officeholder's term of office.
32
What is a plurality vote?
The candidate with the greatest number of votes to win, which is most of America's elections and people often win with far less than 50% of vote.
33
What is a majority vote?
To win,, the candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. If not, there will be a runoff and is very rare in america.
34
Traditional Political participation
Various activities designed to influence government
35
What are the voting trends in the US?
Fewer Americans exercise their right to vote
36
Who can vote in the US?
The right to vote is extended to citizens 18 years and older while some states have lifetime bans for convicted felons
37
What does online political activity do to a person?
Online political activity increases the likelihood that someone will participate the political process Example: Occupy Wall Street, SOPA and PIPA protests
38
Why do people vote?
People see that voting is a rational choice | A person's political environment and their state's electoral laws affect it as well
39
What makes people vote?
The more educated and older you are the more likely you are to vote
40
What does voter fatigue and negative campaigns do?
The lengthiness of the campaign leads to voter fatigue
41
Why do some people not vote?
Lack of efficacy, voter fatigue and negative campaigns, the structure of elections, the rational abstention thesis, and the consequences of nonvoting.
42
What is the rational abstention thesis?
It states that some individuals decide that the "costs" of voting- in term of the time, energy, and inconvenience required to register to vote, to become informed about candidates and elections, and actually to vote - are not worth the effort when compared with the expected "benefits," or what the voters could derive from voting in light of these cumulative "costs."
43
What are some impacts of nonvoting?
The peoples' views are generally not represented. Some argue that it doesn't matter however.
44
What are the four types of elections?
Primary, general, runoff, and referendum or initiatives.
45
What is an open primary election?
Any registered voter can vote in any party's primary, as can independent voters not registered with a party.
46
What is a closed primary?
Voting in a party's primary is limited to members of that party.
47
How do states run their presidential primaries?
They determine the timing of it, and historically, states that hold their presidential primary earlier in the year had a greater say in determining the nominees than did states with later primaries.
48
What is Super Tuesday?
The day in early March on which the most presidential primary elections take place, many of them in southern states.
49
What are some factors of a direct democracy?
Legislative Referenda Popular referenda Recall Elections
50
What is a legislative referenda?
All 50 states' legislatures refers policy to the public for a popular vote.
51
What is the popular referenda and initiative?
24 states only, citizens petition to place issues on the ballot for a vote, bypass the legislature, and often are controversial and/or expensive policies.
52
What are recall elections?
18 states only, citizens can vote to remove elected official from office.
53
What are some pros of a Direct Democracy?
More effective than the legislative process. Public support (>60%) for direct democracy
54
What are some cons of a direct democracy?
Poorly drafted, difficult to understand, need money to get the necessary signatures in a five month period, and the process is complex and unintended consequences are identified until too late.
55
A ____ is a nonprofit independent group that receives and disburses funds to influence elections.
527 committee
56
A recent comprehensive study of the decline in political participation in the United States found that half of the drop-off could be accounted for by
reduced mobilization efforts
57
In the case of Buckley v. Valeo, the Supreme Court ruled that
there could be no limits placed on candidates’ expenditure of their own funds, since such spending is considered free speech.
58
Nonprofit groups that also engage in issue advocacy and are allowed to spend up to half of their revenue for political purposes are called
501c(4) committees.
59
Presidential primary elections are held to select
state delegates to the national conventions.
60
The Electoral College is composed of
presidential electors from each state who cast ballots for president and vice president.
61
The ____ is an example of indirect voting in national elections.
Electoral College
62
The ____ was promoted by Progressive reformers at the turn of the twentieth century in hopes of weakening the power of party leaders.
primary system
63
The outcome of which of the following races is most likely to be decided by voters’ party ties?
a state legislature race
64
The party that holds the majority of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives selects the
Speaker of the House.
65
Turnout for midterm elections in the United States is about what percent of eligible voters?
33 percent
66
What is a closed primary?
an election in which voters can participate in the nomination of candidates, but only of the party in which they are enrolled for a period of time prior to Election Day
67
What is a relatively recent barrier to voting that is now in place in 31 out of the 50 states?
the requirement to provide proof of identity
68
Who is the incumbent?
the current officeholder, running for re-election
69
Why did Republicans spend much more effort building a party apparatus than Democrats in the fifty years prior to 2004?
They held a minority status in the electorate.
70
Why was Mitt Romney an early frontrunner for the Republican nomination in 2012?
superior organization and funding
71
____ refers to an individual’s right to vote.
Suffrage
72
In the 2012 Presidential election, how many states were considered "battleground" states, because they were neither safely Democratic or Republican states?
8
73
The biggest issue in the 2012 Presidential elections was
the economy
74
In the 2012 presidential election, public funding was
was declined by both major-party candidates
75
What are ways to register to vote in California
Obtain a voter registration form from any post office or library and return it to the Registrar of Voters Obtain a voter registration from from any DMV and return it to the Registrar of Voters register to vote on-line Obtain and complete a voter registration form at the Registrar of Voters
76
What proportion of California voters voted by mail in the 2012 election?
51%
77
Which of the following is NOT a reason why political campaigns for office are more expensive in California than in most other states?
high proportion of Latino/a voters
78
Proposition 14 mandated the __________ system for state legislative and congressional seats as well as for statewide offices, such as governor and attorney general.
top-two vote getters blanket primary
79
Under current law, California is best described as having a ____________________ presidential primary election.
semi-closed (or modified) primary
80
The Campaign Disclosure Project conducted by UCLA in 2008, gave a(n) _____ grade to California for its laws requiring public disclosure of campaign financing.
A
81
California is one of _________ states in the United States that allows initiatives on the ballot.
24
82
The most important predictor of vote choice is
partisan identification
83
The most important predictor of voter turnout is
education

POLISCI102 Exam 3 (6 decks)

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