Studied by 58 people
Limited Government
The government's powers are enumerated
Equality of Opportunity
All people are given a fair opportunity to move up the socioeconomic ladder
Free Enterprise
The markets determine the price of things rather than the government
The rule of law
No one is above the law
Civil Liberties
Enumerated rights
Federalism
How powers are shared between the national and state governments
Factors of socialization: Family
Done in an informal setting where children pick up on their parents beliefs over time even if they aren't overtly stated. Most young people vote based on parents' beliefs
Factors of socialization: Education
This helps promote national unity and promote individuals to support the political system. More educated individuals will have a higher chance of voting
Factors of socialization: Media
The selection of media sources will echo back and reinforce beliefs
Rational Choice
Rational-choice voters examine an issue or candidate to evaluate the promises and decide in a way that benefits the voter. They decide on the best choice for either themselves or a larger group.
Retrospective Voting
Retrospective voting is when voters look at the candidates’ track record. It is to find out what a person has done or hasn’t done to help decide who they will vote for.
Prospective Voting
Thinking about how something or someone will affect them in the future
Party Line Voting
Voting for the political party that they are loyal to
Gender Voting Trends
Unmarried women tend to vote democratic with a higher turnout. But married women and men tend to vote republican.
Age Voting Trends
18-30 year olds vote for democrats in lower numbers. Senior citizens vote repulican with higher numbers.
African American Voting Trends
Tend to vote democratic
Hispanic Voting Trends
Tend to vote democratic
Asian American Voting Trends
Tend to vote republican
Evangelicals Voting Trends
Tend to vote republican
Catholics Voting Trends
Tend to vote democratic
Jewish Voting Trends
Tend to vote democratic
Business Voting Trends
Tend to vote republican
Union Voting Trends
Tend to vote democratic
Conservative Voting Trends
Tend to vote republican
Liberal Voting Trends
Tend to vote democratic
Green Party Ideals
A left wing party supporting green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy, grassroots democracy; anti-war; anti-racism; libertarian socialism and eco-socialism
Libertarian Party Ideals
Promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, and limiting the size and scope of government.
First past the post (winner take all) vs. proportional voting
First past the post is the person who wins most votes. Proportional voting is an electoral system in which voters cast their votes for political parties and the percentage of the vote that each party receives translates into the percentage of seats that the party receives in the legislature.
Barriers to 3rd party success
Most US elections are first past the post so only one person wins. And the two major parties incorporate the platforms of third parties into their own
Open ended vs. close ended poll questions
Open-ended questions are questions that allow someone to give a free-form answer. Closed-ended questions can be answered with “Yes” or “No,” or they have a limited set of possible answers
Tracking Polls
They follow a question over time to see how attitudes change
Straw Polls
Informal polls which don't offer valid data to the population as a whole
Exit Polls
Collects demographic data. Used to project winners and why they won
Margin of error
The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll, +/-3%
Random Sample
Every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected.
Representative Sample
Draws from all groups in proportion to their representation in the population.
Pros of Polling
Gives access to political thoughts during non-elections and highlights points to focus on for candidates
Cons of Polling
Possible forced results, people without a full opinion usually guess which can make innacurate results, media/leader manipulation, sponsors, excluded groups, low info, and framing
Presidential Approval Rating
It is a survey to see if the president is doing a good job
Gatekeeper
What news makes and doesn't make it, signaling
Scorekeeper/Horse-race
Media reports polls of candidates, and reports on goals/messages from campaigns. Candidates can be seen on news programs almost 24/7
Watchdog
Reports on scandals, issues, and fact-check
Bully Pulpit
How the president is able to communicate with the people through the media
Press Secretary
grants to the press and television journalists access to any information about the president.
Forms of media
Television, Internet,...
Media Bias
the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered.
Voter turnout trends
Depends on electoral competitiveness, election type, voting laws, and demographics
Voter apathy
Not caring about the election or outcome
Voter efficacy
A belief that your vote matters
Voter ID Laws
The more laws/barriers decrease the voter turnout
Members of the House of Representatives
435
Members of the Senate
100
Initiative
a process that enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes and, in some states, constitutional amendments on the ballot.
Referendum
A state-level method of direct legislation that gives voters a chance to approve or disapprove proposed legislation or a proposed constitutional amendment
Recall
the power of the voters to remove elected officials before their terms expire
Cracking
Splitting the opposing party's voters into many different districts.
Packing
Packing as many voters as possible of an opposing party into one district.
Majority-minority Districts
a racial or ethnic minority makes up a large-enough share of the electorate to assure that the community has a reasonable chance to elect the candidate of their choice.
Baker v. Carr
federal courts could hear cases alleging that a state's drawing of electoral boundaries, i.e. redistricting, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
Shaw v. Reno
any law that results in classification by race must have a compelling government interest, be narrowly tailored to meet that goal, and be the least restrictive means for achieving that interest.
Note 
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