Gov Exam 2 Book

public opinion

a collection of popular views about something (person, a local, national event, a new idea)

Beliefs

closely held ideas that support values/expectations about life & politics

Political socialization

process of how we are trained to understand & join a country’s political world

polarization

widely opposing views of two people/groups

agent of political socialization

a source of political information intended to help citizens understand how to act in their political system & how to make decisions on political matters. help citizens decide how to vote, where to donate money, how to protest govt decisions

(family,school, religous insitutions, friends media)

diffuse support

support characterized by high level of stability in politics, acceptance of the government as legitimate, and common goal of preserving the system

framing

choosing the way information is presented

covert content

political information provided under the pretense that it is neutral

overt content

writer/ publication makes clear to reader/viewer that the information offers only one side of the political debate

fascism

promotes total control of the country by the ruling party or political leader (run the economy, the military, society, culture, control the private lives of its citizens

traditional conservatism

supports the authority of the monarchy & the church, believing government provides rule of law & maintains safe/organized society

modern conservatism

assuming elected government will guard individual liberties & provide laws( prefer smaller government that stays out of economy & allowing market/business to determine prices, wages, and supply)

classical liberalism

individual liberties and rights( free will,people born equal with right to make decisions without government intervention,views government with suspicion)

modern liberalism

focus on equality & support government intervention in society/economy if it promotes equality(expect government to provide basic social & educational programs to help everyone have a chance to succeed)

socialism

government uses authority to promote social & economic equality within the country: Citizens with more wealth expected to contribute more to the state’s revenue through higher taxes pay (government should provide everyone with health care, subsidized housing & groceries, childhood education, inexpensive college tuition)

communism

promotes common ownership of all property, means of production, materials: Government own property, farms, manufacturing, businesses, prevent worker exploitation, wage controls/abandoning currency (theory: switch to communism supported & led by the workers & citizens of a country vs Reality: Human rights violations by leaders)

straw polls/informal polls

informally collect opinions of non-random population/ group(newspaper, media, social media)

random sample

limited number of people from overall population (selected so each has equal chance of being chosen)

representative sample

group whose demographic distribution is similar to the overall population

margin of error

a number that states how far the poll results may be from the actual opinion of the total citizen population(lower margin of error= more predictive poll)

bradley effect

theory that voters who answered the poll were afraid to admit they would not vote for a Black man because it would appear politically incorrect/racist

push polls

political campaign information presented as polls(respondents called & asked series of questions about their position/candidate selection & if answers are for wrong candidate next questions will give negative information about the candidate to try to change the voter’s mind)

methods to form opinion on issue/candidate

·Heuristics: shortcuts/generalizations are cues for decision making( political party membership),Research

political culture

states have unique cultures & different state governments instill different attitudes/beliefs in citizens

Two Party system

traditional system in U.S., Democrats and Republicans regularly win the presidency

public approval ratings

Measurement of public opinion about American institutions

theory of delegate representation

assumes the politician is in office to be the voice of the people

favorability polls

measure how positively voters felt about a candidate

bandwagon effect

media pays more attention to candidates who poll well during the fall and the first few primaries

horserace coverage

media calls out every candidate’s move throughout the presidential campaig( near-constant reporting on polls, commentary from election experts/ spokespeople for the candidates)

24th amendment

ended poll tax

voting rights act

prohibiting state laws that denied voting rights based on race

National voter registration act

required states to let citizens to register to vote when they sign up for driver’s licenses and Social Security benefits (easy & simple way to sign up)

voting eligible population

citizens eighteen and older (registered or not) eligible to vote because they are citizens, and not imprisoned

Crawford v. Marion County Election Board

Supreme Court decided that Indiana’s voter ID requirement was constitutional

early voting

opens polling places as much as two weeks early

chronic minority

voters that are so outnumbered that they are unlikely to affect the outcome of an election or ppl who vote for third parties ( Green Party or the Libertarian)

voter fatigue

voters may vote many times per year on ballots filled with candidates and issues to research (less time between elections lowers turnout)

incumbent

current office holder

war chests

campaign accounts registered with the Federal Election Commission, candidates can keep earlier donations if they intend to run for office again

political action committees (PACs)

organizations created to raise and spend money to influence politics and contribute to candidates’ campaigns

Buckley v. Valeo

limits on personal spending on campaigns by candidates not using federal money

Super PACs/ Independent Expenditure-Only Committees

cannot contribute directly to a candidate or strategize with a candidate’s campaign,  can raise and spend as much money as they please to support or attack a candidate (running advertisements and hosting events)

primary elections

have a number of rules and variations that can still cause confusion for citizens

closed primary

only members of the political party selecting nominees may vote

open primary

allows all voters to vote

top-two primary/ jungle primary

two candidates with the most votes become the final candidates for the general election, pits all candidates against each other (regardless of party affiliation)

caucus

a meeting of party members where nominees are selected informally (less expensive than primaries)

Party conventions

normally last four to five days, with days devoted to platform discussion and planning and nights reserved for speeches

Platform

issues important to the party and party delegates

Winner take all system

candidate who wins the most votes in November receives all the state’s electoral votes, and only the electors from that party will vote

District system

Electoral College voting method

Midterm elections

congressional elections (years that there isn’t presidential elections)

Coattail effect

which gives members of a popular presidential candidate’s party an increase in popularity and raises their odds of retaining office

Shadow campaigns

run by political action committees and other organizations without the coordination or guidance of candidates

Straight ticket voting

choosing every Republican or Democratic Party member on the ballot

Ballot fatigue

someone votes only for the top or important ballot positions (ex. president or governor) and stops voting rather than continue to the bottom of a long ballot

Incumbency advantage

In congressional and local elections, incumbents win reelection up to 90 percent of the time

Gerrymandering

the drawing of district lines to guarantee a desired electoral outcome

Referendum

asks citizens to confirm or repeal a decision made by the government

Congressional referendum

a legislature passes a law or a series of constitutional amendments and presents them to the voters to ratify with a yes or no vote

Initiative/proposition

normally a law or constitutional amendment proposed and passed by the citizens of a state

recall

allows voters to decide whether to remove a government official from office