Law 201 - Week 2: Voters, Political Parties, and Polarization (Flashcards)

A set of vocabulary-focused flashcards covering key concepts from the notes on voters, parties, and polarization.

Electoral College

The body that elects the president and vice president; adopted in 1803 as a patchwork of compromises; uses state-level popular-vote results (often winner-take-all) and can produce a winner who does not win the national popular vote.

Winner-take-all system

A state rule where the candidate who wins the statewide popular vote receives all of that state's electoral votes.

House contingency procedure

The process by which the House would select the president if no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes.

Three-Fifths era (Three-Fifths Compromise)

Historical method counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for representation, influencing political power and the Electoral College.

Jacksonian Era

Period marked by Andrew Jackson’s criticisms of the Electoral College and subsequent reform debates.

Electoral College failures to reflect popular vote

Three historical instances in which the Electoral College winner did not win the national popular vote.

Deep Roots (Acharya, Blackwell, Sen)

The argument that slavery’s legacy continues to shape contemporary Southern politics and partisan polarization.

Racial sorting

The pattern by which race correlates with partisan loyalty (e.g., Black voters leaning Democratic; White voters leaning Republican).

Sen Hypothesis

Slavery’s legacy predicts regional partisan attitudes: whites in slaveholding areas tend to be more conservative toward Black progress; whites in non-slave areas tend to be more progressive.

Southern Realignment

The historical shift of Southern whites from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

Social Sorting

The process by which social identities (race, religion, class) influence political party allegiance.

Political Polarization

A condition where partisans are strongly opposed and coalitions are highly cohesive; polarization involves both divergence between parties and within-coalition discipline.

Three party concepts

Party-in-government, party-as-organization, and party-in-the-electorate—the three ways to understand political parties.

Functions of parties (efficiency in adoption)

Parties help voters interpret events, signal which side to support, and provide paths to engagement; they reduce informational costs and offer social identity.

Ideology

A set of internally consistent beliefs; many Americans identify as liberal or conservative; since the 1980s ideology and partisanship have become more closely linked.

Independent leaners

Most self-identified independents lean toward a major party, though not strongly or consistently.

Social Identity

Aspects of self defined by group membership (ingroups) and distinctions from others (outgroups); underlie political behavior.

Social Connectedness theory

Voting as a form of public participation tied to social life; evidence includes marital status, civic engagement, and engagement with current events.

New Deal Generation

The generation that came of age during the 1930s and largely identified with the Democratic Party; associated with the New Deal era.

Immigration and sorting

Immigrant groups’ political preferences can shift across generations; example: anti-C Castro sentiment among earlier immigrants, with later generations leaning more Democrat.

Culture and sorting (blue vs. red states)

Cultural factors (e.g., fertility, marriage age) associated with party alignment and regional differences.

Religious influence on sorting

Rise of the religious right and the Christian Coalition contributing to Republican support.

Media diversity and sorting

More varied media allows partisans to insolate themselves from opposing viewpoints, reinforcing political sorting.