voting behaviour Flashcards
definition of voting
Voting is the act of choosing someone or something - such as a candidate, party or political notion – in an election – whether this a general election or a referendum
why is it hard to accurately pinpoint and categorise why each voter votes they way they do
it will differentiate from each individual as individuals may base their vote upon a number of issues/categories rather than a single one
What were many parties from the 1920’s onwards formed upon? and how did this affect voting behaviour
Many parties from the 1920’s onwards were formed or based around the social cleavages such as class, religion, ethnicity etc. that were present in society at the time which in turn led to party’s images being adapted around these social groups. Voter’s then attached themselves to a party they associated their social identity to being similar to and voted accordingly. voting was seen as an expression of loyalty to a party
what factors contributed to partisan dealignment (breaking away from the party you had loyalties/associations with)
Factors such as the deterioration of social divisions (such as class, race and religion), cross class locations, ideological disillusionment with party politics, cognitive mobilization (relying less on cues from parties on issues and forming individual opinions on complex politics) and the rise of television (and more recently the internet) are all key contributing factors towards the rise of partisan dealignment
two facts about partisan dealignment
By the 1990’s, a decline of over 10% of the proportion of party identifiers had occurred in countries such as Canada, Germany, Sweden and the USA and have followed a trend of decreasing since
Furthermore, in the UK, the percentage of the electorate who considered themselves ‘very strong’ party identifiers have barely a quarter of what it was in in the 1960’s
“In the 2010 election, Conservatives had a larger share of votes in constituencies with more professional and managerial workers, property owners, older voters, people with degrees and in more rural areas and Labour’s share of votes in constituencies reflect the mirror opposite of this” demonstrates what? and how could this be countered
This highlights that despite the loosening of party identification throughout the decades, the type of voters who vote for these parties are still in line with the party’s image therefore suggesting that the party image is still a strong factor in contributing to why voters vote the way they do. However, it should be considered that this evidence relates to constituencies and not individual voters which therefore make it difficult to explain the relationship between individual’s choice of vote and their social group
what is a position issue
position issues are issues where people take either one side or the other, such as the nationalisation of certain industries. With the exception of referendum’s, these have become increasingly insignificant in recent politics in influencing voters, as “the difference between parties on position issues become relatively small as they all crowd into middle ground”
what is a valence issue
issues where almost everyone takes the same side, such as preventing terrorism or reducing crime.
how might a valence issue form the voters decision
Upon evaluating the different candidate’s or party’s stances on, voters tend assess the party’s likely performance and competence in response to the issue. Furthermore, Denver, Carman and Jones argue voters tend to make a judgement on voting based upon one or two key issues and whether the government competently performed in them
3 counter arguments to valence issues forming voters decision
However, single valence issues (depending on the salience of the issue) tend to not only not influence as party choice as a whole but also only influence part outcome if there a great imbalance in perceived competence.
Scholars such as Heath, Jowell and Curtice (Heath, et al., 1985)as well as Rose and McAllister (Rose & I, 1990)dismiss that voting choices are made upon their views on issues but are instead formed on their ideological beliefs surrounding the issue. (however new evidence suggests valence issues influence voting behaviour more than ideological beliefs)
It should also be considered that pre-existing party association may influence judgements on valence voting, demonstrating the underlying significance of party image on voting behaviour.
The economy may be considered a significant valence issue depending on its ____
salience
evidence that salience of the economy affects the voters decision
in 2010 UK election, the 50% of voters said the economy was the most important issue surrounding the election due to the global economic climate. Yet in 2005 when the UK economy was experiencing a boom, only 5% of voters cited the economy as the most important issue surrounding the election
economic voting is often based upon the basis of what?
economic voting is often formed on the basis of the current governments economic performance rather than proposals of the opposition and is more likely to punish bad economic performances than rewarding good ones
what has become a more significant factor in recent elections in influencing voters
candidates and leaders
evidence about leadership linking to voting behaviour and a counter argument to it
In the 2010 election opinion poll trends in party support were closely related to the trends in voter’s overall satisfaction with the party leaders. Despite the close correlation between party support and reactions to leaders, one does not necessarily cause the other
