Studied by 113 people
socialization
process by which individuals acquire political beliefs and attitudes
opinions/attitudes ideologies partisanship
how does socialization occur?
media, political opinions/beliefs, religious institutions, school/education, and family
what are examples of agents of socialization
certain religions, races, genders, income, education, geographic regions
who usually gets socialized?
partisanship
party affiliation can act a similar fashion to guide peoples opinions
ideologies
greatly influence peoples opinions on particular issues
states
who determines voting rules and regulations?
post civil war south
when did a majority of voting restrictions occur?
poll tax
a tax that had to be paid before a person was allowed to vote
literacy test
test for african americans to prevent them from voting
Grandfather clause
allowed poor, illiterate white men to get around the literacy and understanding test, had to have a grandfather who was eligible to vote before the civil war
white primary only
restricted voting in democratic primaries to white voters only
24th amendment
eliminated poll tax
voting rights act of 1965
eliminated all discriminatory practices disenfranchising black voters
26th amendment
everyone 18 years and older can vote and this was when we achieved universal suffrage
15th amendment
no discrimination in voting on account of race
19th amendment
no discrimination in voting on account of sex
socioeconomic factors, demographic characteristics, psychological characters, legal/institutional considerations, and regional voter theory
what are reasons people wont vote?
regional voter theory
cost of voting outweighs benefits
partisanship
why people vote the way they do, has to do with ideological beliefs as well as mental cues
mental cues/cognitive shortcuts
for voters who don't have the opportunity or desire to gain greater knowledge of candidates and issues
Race,gender,income →party ID→voter choice
channel of voter choice
race, gender, geographic region, religion, religiosity, and income/wealth/social
things that have to do with partisanship
elections
mechanism of carrying out democracy and the public will
states
who sets procedures for congressional elections
congress
who cannot alter the procedures for congressional elections
the electoral college
who chooses the president
electoral college
voting for a state of electors for one party/candidate or the other
primary election
choose candidates for major parties
general election
choose who wins public office
plurality
most number of votes
majority
50% + 1 vote
runoff election
choose between top two vote receivers in general/primary election
special election
choose who wins public office
1872 appointment act
congress mandates that this day also be used for congressional elections
polling place
where people cast their vote
paper ballot
usually fill in the bubble ballot that gets read by scanner
electronic voting machines
records votes electronically and instantly
australian secret ballot/massachusetts ballot
used today to secure privacy of who you are voting for
geographic representation
best way to show americans votes. They do this through redrawing state lines and having a census every 10 years
Wesberry vs Sanders(1964)
one person’s vote should be equal to any others when letting representatives // one person = one vote
single member district
one representative per geographic area
gerrymandering
manipulating district boundaries for a specific purpose usually to the advantage of a particular candidate or party
gerrymandering
not illegal but frowned upon
racial gerrymandering
majority-minority districts to try and increase minority representation in congress
shaw vs reno
ruled that we need minority representation but you cannot redistrict solely based on race because it is unconstitutional
electoral campaign
introduce candidate, get message across, and motivate the voters
create message that appeals to voters and must be simple and easily understood
what does a campaign speech need to do
stump speech
main points of candidates message and easily remembered by citizens
simplicity, repetition, exaggeration, and symbolism
main components of a campaign
parties
what did the founding fathers not want
major cleavage examples
broad government vs small government rural/agricultural interests liberalizing tendencies vs conservative tendencies
Federalist
john adams, strong government and commercial interest
Anti Federalist/jeffersonian republicans
thomas jefferson, states rights and agricultural interests
Democratic party
follows in jefferson’s common man footsteps
Whig party
formed in 1834, anti jacksonian “tyrannical power accumulation
Conservative southern democrats
did not want federal government intrusion on race issues - “solid south”
Republicans
favored government promoting business and economic growth and usually had protestant moral values including temperance
northern democrats
tolerant to immigrants and non-protestants and more concerned with urban issues
Populist
grew out of the democratic party- agrarian party
Progressive
concerned with lots of social and political reform
New deal
economic policy influences american politics and economics to present day
Party realignment
major constituencies shit party allegiance, creating long term change
Modern party era
another realignment that meant republicans used southern strategy to draw conservative, white southern voters
Two party system
two major parties dominate at any particular times
Reform parties
reform some aspect of politics
Single-issue parties
entire platform is structured around one issue
Ideological parties
typically the fringe of american ideologies
Progressive parties
civil service reforms, primary elections, initiatives and referenda, and australian ballot
Dealignment
decline in party loyalties reducing long-term party commitment
Party polarization
party platforms becoming more ideologically polarized
interest groups
an organized membership and pursuit of shared policy interest
Theory of collective action
logical for people not to join interest groups
Insider lobbying
most common and effective method of action for interest groups
Iron triangle of inside lobbying
interest groups, congress and bureaucrats form a network of info and support and makes it difficult for other voices to be heard in the policy building process
Issue networks
less structures and more inclusive in helping shape policy
Grassroots lobbying/astroturf lobbying
encouraging group members to contact legislators
Litigation
some groups and organizations litigate legal challenges on behalf of supporters and may file amicus curiae briefs
Amicus curiae
briefs on behalf of supporters or in support of issues that can guide legal decisions by giving their interpretations of law
size and resources, leadership, and cohesiveness
Three main factors of interest groups
media
wide variety of sources which perform a wide variety of functions
press
organizations that are devoted to reporting the news item of the day
Party-sponsored papers
mouthpieces for parties
Yellow journalism
news was sensationalized or fabricated to aid public interest
War with spain because the USS maine was sunk in havana harbor
What conflict was because of yellow journalism?
Muckraking
journalism that exposes corruption or unfair practices
Fairness doctrine
mandated equal time to candidate and political pundits from both political parties
ideology and partisanship, age, gender, income, and political knowledge
News source influences
2/3s
how many americans get their news from social media
Note 
Flashcard (34)