POL EXAM 3

Public Opinion

The collection of attitudes and preferences of the population pertaining to political issues, leaders, institutions and events

Views that liberals hold

support social and political reform, governmental intervention in the economy, economic equality, expansion of federal social services, greater concern for consumers and enviorment

Views that conservatives hold

Support the social and economic status quo, suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulas and economic arrangements. Conservatives believe a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom.

Political Socialization

The process through which individuals develop their political beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors. This is related to understanding politics

Agents of socialization

The people, institutions, and forces that influence a person’s overall social development and help them learn how to function in society.

Public Opinion Poll

Scientific instruments for measuring public opinion, It usually involves asking a sample of people a series of questions and using their answers to represent the views of a larger population.

Sample

A small group selected by researchers randomly to represent the most important characteristics of an entire population

Social desirability effect

The effect that results when respondents in a survey report what they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe.

Three factors that explain voter turnout

Individual level characteristics, political environments (competition) , the election in someone's state.

ideology

is a system of beliefs that can help people assess whether they believe the government is doing what it should be doing.

individual level factors of those deciding to vote

Education level is the most important individual-level factor explaining voter turnout rates

Age is the second most important

mobilization (specifically voter mobilization)

getting people to show up and vote. It's all about encouraging, persuading, or helping eligible voters to participate in elections.

Face-to-face voting, phone calls, text

Voter turnout rates

Calculated by the number of people who voted divided by the number of voters.

Election Laws

Election-day voter registration?• Voting rights for those convicted of a felony?• Identification requirements? Photo ID?• Vote by mail?• Early voting?.

Turnout

the percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote

Midterm vs Presidental elections

Since the 1890s the particpation in elections has declined substantially, except for the 2020 presidental election. One pattern is consistent across time, more americans vote in presidental electionthan midterm elections.

Three factors that explain voter participation,

Socioeconomic status, age, race and ethnicity.

(Those with higher income and education vote more, older people are more likely to vote due to property ownership and being aware of the importance of government, and white are more likely to vote republican over racial and ethic groups voting democratic.)

womans suffrage

19th amendment

The right of women to vote, in the 1840s and 1850's was a public movement for women's suffrage.

State-by-state efforts, successful in parts of the nation.

DID NOT CHANGE social norms.

History of election laws

Voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, changed during Vietnam war

"old men send young men to die in war."

"18-20 to fight and die in war, old enough to fight old enough to vote.

This caused a wave of public support in Congress, which was rapidly approved.

Electoral College

270 Votes needed to win, trends in the 2016 election, the 2024 election and the 2022 election. Winner takes all in states.

Election outcome

Who does the best in swing states, a significant majority of states does not determine who wins or loses. Due to the electoral college, not all states are equally important in presidential elections.

Partisan Gerrymandering

Drawing a district line to maximize the number of seats won by a political party

Redistricting

The process of redrawing the boundaries of election districts, usually done every 10 years after the census to reflect changes in population. This affects how communities are represented in Congress and state legislatures.

Microtargeting

A strategy used in political campaigns to send tailored messages to very specific groups of people—based on data like age, location, shopping habits, or interests. It helps campaigns reach voters more effectively through ads, emails, or social media.

Retrospective Voting

When voters make decisions based on a politician's or party's past performance. Example: "Did the economy improve under this president? If yes, I'll vote for them again."

Mobilization

The process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political party

Prospective Voting

When voters base their choice on what they believe a candidate or party will do in the future. Example: "This candidate has a strong plan for healthcare, so I'll vote for them."

Political Parties

organized groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices.

Two-party system

A political system in which only two parties have a realistic opportunity to compete effectively for control.

Third party

Parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties. They often focus on specific issues but struggle to win major elections due to limited resources and the winner-takes-all electoral system.

Interest group

individuals who organize to influence the government's programs and policies and want to influence government on behalf of specific companies/causes (Do not nominate candiates for office.) often use lobbying

Lobbying

A strategy by which organized interests seek to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on governmental officials.

Agents of socailization that influence opinions

family, social networks, key insinuations (school, religious clubs, and groups.) Political context during teens and 20’s

polarization

growing divides in ideology, policy views. Fewer of those identifying as moderates.

Challenges faced while obtaining poll results

Non-response, social desirability effect, question wording effects, mode effect.

Non-response

when people contacted to take a
poll are unwilling or unable to participate
▪ Some non-response is fine and expected
▪ But, if certain specific groups in population
are much less willing or less able to take poll,
this could cause problems

mass media

means of conveying information to large public audiences such as news papers, television networks, podcasts and websites,

mass media roles

inform the public about political issues and events

Provide forum for debate about issues

Serve as a watchdog on actions of politicians and government

SECTION 230 of 1996 Telecommunications Act

• Social media companies are not legally

responsible for what users post

• They can restrict or remove content (ex: hate

speech, misinformation) under their own rules

Goal of section 230

protect new and developing companies from lawsuits in 1990’s of internet

Common criticism for section 230

Do social media platforms censor certain voices

through biased moderation?

Do social media platforms often fail to limit harmful
content? Do they even amplify it via algorithms?

Decline of local newspapers

Craigslist, marketplace, and similar websites hurt local newspaper industry,

Decreased participation in state/local politics

increased corruption in state and local government

Filter bubbles

When people consume media that reinforces their pre-existing beliefs

Key features of a political party

Promotes ideas about public policy, competes in elections, promotes ideas about public policy, nominates canidates for public office.

Strategic voting

When people want to vote for a canidate that has a realistic chance of winning

Factors that limit third party success

Ballot access laws, exclusion from debates, lack of money and resources,

inside strategies

involve some form of contact with elected officials or other government officials.

(meeting with government officials, drafting laws and proposing them)

outside strategies

do not involve direct contact with elected officials or other government officials (ex: participating in protest, make phone calls to politicians, send emails.)