Poli 100 Final Exam

What is the strongest indicator of vote choice in elections?

party ID

negative partisanship

a visceral dislike of the opposing party that affects political behavior and vote choice

Nonpartisan elections

candidates don’t run as members of a political party (ex. city council, school board, sheriff)

swing voters

voters who don’t consistently support one party’s candidates from one election to next

What do voters rely on to vote when partisanship isn’t a factor?

issues, candidate characteristics, likeability

single-issue voters

vote is dictated by a candidate’s position on one particular policy

retrospective voting

making voting decisions based on whether you’re better or worse off now that you were last time you voted

median voter theorem

most Americans are moderates, elections should move candidates to the midle

How do states have control in federal elections?

each state chooses how to allocate electoral votes (most use winner takes all), redistricting, states decide on how to conduct voting

Adam Taylor: American Voter Turnout is Still Lower Than Other Wealthy Nations

US is far behind on voter turn out due to:

• US voters register themselves

• elections are held on Tuesdays (people have school and work)

• parties have low favor-ability ratings

• voting isn’t mandatory

Wootsen and DeBonis: Democrats Shift Towards Accepting Voter ID Laws

Most Americans think you should prove to be who you are, despite Democratic arguments believing it suppresses votes from minorities

• Manchin offered a compromise to McConnell rejecting his package: 15 days early voting and voter ID

1971 Federal Election Campaign Act

citizens can contribute to federal elections: limited amount directly to candidates, can contribute to PACS, can contribute to political party, mandates disclosing information of donations over $200

Political Action Committees (PACS)

organizations that influence elections by endorsing candidates and donate to their campaigns

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

2010 supreme court case that struck down limits on how much corporations and unions can donate to elections

led to creation of SuperPACS

Super PACS

Political action committees that can accept unlimited contributions from individuals, unions and corporations

cannot donate directly to candidates or coordinate activities with their campaigns

There’s too much money in elections

rich individuals and companies donate millions of dollars, they expect candidates to push legislation favorable to them

There’s not too much money in elections

campaigns are expensive and cost money, same amount of money is spent on campaigns and to how much money companies spend on ads

Buckley v. Valeo 1976

campaigns can spend as much money as they want, individuals are limited in hard money donations but can donate to PACs

electoral college

system in selecting the president, voters in each state choose electors and they decide for them (principal-agent)

why did founders fear direct voting

founders feared too much democracy in the hands of the average person, need to have some influence of smaller states

electoral vote

House of Reps (varies) + Senators (2)

AKA congressional delegation

what is the principal agent problem associated with electoral vote?

nothing binding the agents to carry out the will of their principals, they don’t have to choose the candidate that their principals chose

who breaks tie if there is one or if no candidate gets 270 electoral votes?

House of Reps chooses

poll taxes

fees that voters had to pay when casting a ballot, suppressed black voters from voting

safe states

states where the outcome of a presidential election is typically not in doubt

swing states

states where neither party has a consistent edge with voters, electoral votes are up for grabs

spatial model for vote choice

voters pick the candidate closest to them on a political spectrum

directional model for vote choice

even if another candidate is closer to you on a political spectrum, direction still matters

voter turnout

percentage of voting age population that casts a ballot

compulsory voting

voting required by law, failure to do so results in penalties or fines

midterm elections

national election that takes place two years into a president’s term

avg. turnout of about 40%

primary elections

election in which members of a political party choose among their party’s candidates to decide who competes in the general election

Reasons why people don’t vote

• multiple elections (too much to keep up with)

• state rules vary in voting eligibility

• “there’s no point” (don’t vote if people think that there is a foregone conclusion)

• aren’t excited about candidate choices

• think a singular vote won’t matter

• low sense of political efficacy

political efficacy

belief among citizens that their voices will be taken seriously by political leaders and can influence gov

referendum

overturn something that state legislature did

initiative

directly put policies on ballot and vote for them

recall

remove an elected official

Christopher Demuth: The Electoral College Saved the Election

founders believe that electors are intermediaries of voters and candidates

if there was a popular vote:

• campaigns would concentrate in metro areas

• states would disappear from electoral calculus and fed gov would regulate elections (president in charge would have power)

• multiple party system (leads to divisions and confusion)

• vote rigging would be nationwide rather than concentrated in battleground state

Garret Epps: The Electoral College Wasn’t Meant to Overturn Elections

• states didn’t want their people to vote, they want them used for population #

• electors can defect

• states retain same amount of electoral votes regardless of how many people vote, makes vote rigging tempting

political participation

the ways in which citizens actively engage with their government and make their voices heard in the political system

political representation

the way in which the political system reflects the demographics, preferences and priorities of all the people it represents

voter mobilization

initiatives aimed at registering people and urging them to vote

slacktivism

term for participating through social media, requires less effort and commitment

Who participates the most?

people with time, money, civic skills and connection to political party

more educated and wealtheir

political leaders will respond to these groups

Why do younger Americans turnout less?

less income, age and education

civil rights

allow individuals to participate in government, grant freedom from oppression

civil liberties

freedom from gov interference in individual liberty, protection from gov

13th amendment

emancipation

14th amendment

black citizenship

15th amendment

right to vote (for men)

establishment clause

separation of church and state

free exercise clause

grants citizens the right to practice whatever religion they choose

lemon test

standard to determine whether a law is allowed under the establishment clause

gets discarded

When can kids pray in schools?

• kids can pray on their own time

• schools cannot organize or promote prayer on property

freedom of expression

clause in 1rst amendment that establishes the right to hold and freely communicate opinions

Restrictions towards threatening speech

directed towards president, incites lawless behavior, libel and slander

Libel

false written statements that damage a person’s reputation

not protected by 1rst amendment

slander

false spoken statements that damage a person’s reputation

not protected by 1rst amendment

symbolic speech

nonverbal forms of expression that benefit from same constitutional protections as verbal speech

generally protected by court even during time of war

LBJ 1964 Civil Rights Act

• prohibits segregation

• banned discrimination in employment

• creates equal opportunity commission to help blacks file racial discrimination lawsuits

LBJ 1965 Voting Rights Acts

• thought to be most effective law ever

• authorized justice department to suspend regulations in south so that congress ran election and registered voters in the south

Shelby County v. Holder

decides that 1965 Civil Rights Act is no longer necessary, granting election control back to the states

De facto segregation

not mandated by law but from byproduct of past discrimination

Obergefell v. Hodges

ruled that the right to same sex marriage is guaranteed from Due Process Clause and Equal Protection clause of 14th amendment

Right to privacy 1965

Court establishes that citizens have a right to make intimate and personal decisions free from gov intervention

Roe v. Wade

abortion became constitutional right

Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022; decision on abortion was given to the states

What clause in 14th amendment that became a force in push for legal equality?

equal protection clause

Jim crow laws

state and local statutes that sanctioned racial segregation after the civil war end

Plessy v. Ferguson 1886

supreme court case establishing “separate by equal” → equal protection under the law didn’t require integration

Brown v. Board of Education 1954

• Supreme court case that reversed Plessy V. Ferguson

• established separate but equal violated the equal protections clause

• outlawed racial segregation in schools

Strict scrutiny

employed when law treats people differently by race, assumes law is unconstitutional unless the gov can demonstrate a compelling interest to treat people differently based on race

What are the 3 frameworks for applying civil rights?

• Strict scrutiny

• intermediate scrutiny

• rational basis test

Intermediate scrutiny

cases of sex, law assumes unconstitutional if they treat men and women differently unless there’s an important reason for treatment (draft)

rational basis test

court assumes a law is constitutional if it treats people differently as long as it meets a “legitimate gov interest” standard (applies to age, income level, sexual orientation, etc.)

religious freedom

rights to exercise religious beliefs

Why is there tension between gay rights and religious freedom?

certain religions identify being gay as a sin and they have religious freedom to believe that but gay people also have the right to be gay

national party organizations

committees focus heavily on presidential election process, monitor primaries, determine rules for amassing delegates, host national conventions, set debate schedule and raise and spend money to get their nominee to win

Democratic national committee (DN)

Republican national committee (RNC)

talking points

a set of clear, succinct ideas that outline a party’s position and arguments

independent expenditures

spending in an election that is not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign to get around limited $

fed law limit’s party direct contributions to fed candidate

weak party system

parties only exert loose control over candidate selection process

parties only get involved in tight, competitive races

third party

any political party other than the democratic or republican party

what are procedural obstacles to third parties?

• states make it hard for 3rd parties to get on the ballot → have to collect enough signatures

• 3rd party candidates are excluded from debates → hard to get recognition

• most elections are winner takes all (duverger’s law)

duverger’s law

theory that countries with single member districts and plurality voting almost always wind up with a strong 2 party system

what are ideological obstacles to third parties?

• some only advocate for single issue policy which isn’t broad enough to attract enough voters

• broad 3rd parties are typically too extreme (communist party)

• Republican and Democratic party will adopt platforms to gain new votes (Democratic party adopting Green party platform so that they don’t lose environmentalist’s votes)

why are third parties known as spoilers?

they can sway elections by taking away votes from either of the major parties

news media

journalists, editors and commentators who deliver information to citizens

objectivity

a principle of news organizations that require journalists to present info in a nonbiased fair way

why did news outlets change from being trustworthy to partisan?

• new brands entered the field in the 1980s thus more competition

• news became a business → want to put things out that will drive a profit (negative stories, conflict)

negativity bias

tendency of news coverage to focus on negative aspects of a story because viewers are more likely to view negative stories

people also gravitate towards conflict

horse race coverage

news stories that focus on the competition involved in an election rather than details of the candidate’s policy position

sensationalism

use of exciting language, visuals and content to attract people’s attention

journalism

style of news production that results from rigorous process of research and verification

pundits

commentators who share their opinions about news and tell citizens how to interpret events

news aggregator

internet based sources that compiles stories and commentary from other news organizations (google news, yahoo, etc)

why has news become unrealiable?

with the introduction of online news, its common that unconventional new sources don’t follow all of the practices of journalism

agenda setting

media’s power to determine what to cover and thus what is important for the public

depending on the channel of news that you watch, you will have a different perception of political issues

priming

highlight certain aspects of individual or issue

framing

overall tone of a story--context

selective exposure

consuming only news that you agree with and avoiding news that you don’t agree with