Voting

Question 1

What are reasons that people don’t vote?

Answer 1

1. requires time and effort
2. too busy
3. sick/disabled
4. uninterested
5. unhappy with choices

Question 2

What’s the best predictor of how someone will vote?

Answer 2

Party identification

Question 3

what are the party identification gaps

Answer 3

gender gap: more women identify with democrats

racial gap: minorities identify with democrats.

Question 4

What are sources of party identification?

Answer 4

1. Psychological attachment
2. Ideological affinity
3. Experiences (age will help determine this)

Question 5

What’s issue voting?

Answer 5

individual’s likelihood to vote based on agreement with issue positions.

Question 6

What’s prospective voting?

Answer 6

Voting based on predicted future performance of a candidate.

Question 7

What’s retrospective voting?

Answer 7

voting based on past performance of a candidate

Question 8

What’s the median voter theorem in regards to voting?

Answer 8

Candidates must win vote of median voter to win.
Both candidates will offer policy positions near the median voter (convergence) in order to gain the median vote and therefore the majority.

Question 9

What are valence issues?

Answer 9

Voters prefer higher value (outcomes), regardless of policy choices.

Question 10

Examples of valence issues

Answer 10

honesty
competence
peace
prosperity/economic growth

Question 11

What’s economic voting?

Answer 11

rewarding party in power for good economic conditions/punishing party in power for bad economic conditions.

Question 12

What does it take to win?

Answer 12

Money
Advertising/Messaging
Turnout