Unit 9 Public Policy and Voter Behavior

Question 1

benefits of interest-group influence on elections and policy-making

Answer 1

-interest groups put a lot of effort into informing the public regarding both issues and candidates

Question 2

potential problems of interest-group influence on elections and policy-making

Answer 2

-public policy is shaped to serve the needs of a particular “client” or interest group
-people receive the benefits of interest-group’s work without joining the group
-Interest groups influence elections through political action committees or super PACs. Wealthy influence groups can heavily influence an election

Question 3

How do individuals and groups outside the government exert influence over public policy?

Answer 3

-influence the federal budget process through earmarks
-influence the way voters align and realign themselves based on key issues (ie: Lyndon B. Johnson’s support for the civil rights movement, combined with Republican Barry Goldwater’s opposition to it, led members of the movement, and of the African-American community as a whole, to more willingly support the Democratic Party)

Question 4

Voting Rights
The Fourteenth Amendment

Answer 4

guarantees the rights and protections of citizenship to all born in the United States—including African Americans

Question 5

Voting Rights
Fifteenth Amendment

Answer 5

prohibits the federal government and the state governments from denying individuals the right to vote based on race or color

Question 6

Voting Rights
Nineteenth Amendement

Answer 6

allowed women to vote

Question 7

Voting Rights
Twentififth Amendement

Answer 7

prohibuted poll taxes

Question 8

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Answer 8

-did away with many of the restrictions that effectively kept African Americans from voting in the South
-allowed for greater regulation of election law in states that had a history of discrimination
-imposed criminal penalties for interfering with a citizen’s right to vote

Question 9

What are the main factors that influence voter turnout?

Answer 9

social and demographic factors
-education
-race
-employment
-age
-state registration laws
-day of week the election is held
-frequency of elections

Question 10

Describe factors that influence voter choice

Answer 10

-party affiliation of voter
-integrity of candidate
-reliability of candidate
-competence of candidate

Question 11

Voter Behavior Models

Answer 11

-rational choice voting
-retrospective voting
-prospective voting
-party-line voting

Question 12

Interest groups

Answer 12

two main goals:
- to shape the opinions of voters
- shape the opinions of policy makers

Question 13

Issue networks

Answer 13

they include interest groups, but also members of the media, think tanks, academic experts, and anyone else who has a stake in a particular issue

Question 14

free-rider problem

Answer 14

heavy influence of the larger special interest groups

Question 15

PACs (Political Action Committees)

Answer 15

-usually support a political candidate, but they are not allowed to coordinate with that candidate during the election
super PACs
-make only independent expenditures for or against candidates and make no financial contributions to candidates or parties, so they can raise funds from individuals, corporations, unions, and other groups without any legal limit on donation size

Question 16

Industry and business associations

Answer 16

advocate for a wider range of related issues

Question 17

earmarks

Answer 17

money set aside in a spending bill to benefit a specific interest group or geographic area

Question 18

Thirteenth Amendment

Answer 18

prohibited slavery

Question 19

The Fourteenth Amendment

Answer 19

guaranteeing the rights and protections of citizenship to all born in the United States—including African Americans.

Question 20

Fifteenth Amendment

Answer 20

It prohibits the federal government and the state governments from denying individuals the right to vote based on race or color but was avoided with literacy tests etc.

Question 21

Nineteenth Amendment

Answer 21

came as the result of long and intense efforts by the women’s rights movement.

Question 22

Twenty-Fourth Amendment

Answer 22

This amendment prohibited poll taxes

Question 23

Twenty-Sixth Amendment

Answer 23

guaranteed the right to vote to all Americans eighteen and over.

Question 24

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

Answer 24

Did away with the restrictions that effectively kept African Americans from voting in the South, allowed for greater regulation of election law in states that had a history of discrimination, and imposed criminal penalties for interfering with a citizen’s right to vote.

Question 25

Election dates

Answer 25

-presidential elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Many states have followed the pattern of holding elections on a Tuesday for primaries, state elections, and local elections

Question 26

candidate characteristics

Answer 26

integrity, reliability, and competence

Question 27

Rational choice voting

Answer 27

refers to voting in one’s own rational self-interest

Question 28

Retrospective voting

Answer 28

based on a candidate’s past performance

Question 29

Prospective voting

Answer 29

based on a candidate’s anticipated future behavior