Political Participation Test Flashcards
retrospective voting behavior
voting based on how a candidate has performed in the past
prospective voting behavior
voting based on how you think a candidate will act in the future
rational choice voting
voting based on what you think is best for you and best for the world
party line voting
only voting for a candidate that is in your party
function of political parties
they pick candidates to run for office, the run and win elections at every level, they monitor the party in power,, and they organize government, articulate policy platform and issues, coordinate policy, and support it’s party members, they also raise money
how do parties and media serve as linkage institutions?
parties broadcast media and information that links the voters to issues that influence how they vote in elections
how do interest groups impact policy
they lobby for policy that matches their agendas,, they litigate (naacp) though social power, they inform the public, and monitor government programs, they protest, create political parties, and endorse candidates
what is an interest group?
organizations of people sharing a common interest or goal that seek to influence policy
why do interest groups want to impact policy?
theory of participatory democracy (the belief that the people should have an influence on policy), pluralist theory (belief political power should be distributed among many different groups)
what was the citizens united ruling?
ruled that spending is protected speech under the 1st amendment, and the government cannot prohibit spending by corporations and labor unions to support or denounce individual candidates in elections
Closed primary
only voters registered with a given party can vote in that party’s primary
open primary
voters of any affiliation may vote in the primary of any party
winner take all vote
Winner-take-all systems elect the candidates who receive the most votes, thereby allowing 50.1% of voters to win 100% of representation.
proportional electoral votes
Proportional representation systems allow like-minded groupings of voters to elect representatives in proportion to their share of the vote.
what is incumbent advantage
he incumbent often has more name recognition due to their previous work in the office. Incumbents also have easier access to campaign finance, as well as government resources (such as the franking privilege) that can be indirectly used to boost the incumbent’s re-election campaign.
what is a critical election
Critical elections are an electoral earthquake where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party
realignment
Party realignment is the displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period
when is voter turnout low?
Low turnout is most pronounced in primary elections, off-year elections for state legislators, and local elections, Young people are much less likely to vote
when is voter turnout the highest?
in presidential elections
what is political efficacy
Political efficacy is the “feeling that political and social change is possible and that the individual citizen can play a part in bringing about this change”
demographics of likely voters
older people, whatever party is not in power, someone who can take off work,, higher class people with an official ID.