Ap Gov Unit 4

Political Socialization

process through which an individual acquires political orientation and beliefs

Top three influences on political orientation

1. Family
2. School and Peers
3. Mass Media

Ideology

system of commonly held beliefs and values

Political Ideology

individuals beliefs about the scope of the government (liberty, political equality, and individualism holds Americans together)

Liberal or Conservative?: against government in personal lives

Liberal

Liberal or Conservative?: conserve old values

Conservative

Liberal or Conservative?: reduce gap between rich and poor

Liberal

Liberal or Conservative?: believe in family values and free market

Conservative

Proportions of each political party (3)

1/3 Rep
1/3 Dem
1/3 Moderate

Political Culture

historically rooted shared values about society and government held by most Americans regardless of ideology

Give 5 examples of historically rooted shared values about society and government held by most Americans regardless of ideology

1. Limited Gov't and Personal Liberty
2. Equality
3. Individualism
4. Rule of Law
5. Capitalism/Free Market

Public Opinion

what people think about an issue at any given point in time

Public Opinion Polls

surveys of a sample of people used to know how the public feels about a certain issue

What must a poll have to be considered accurate?

accurate sample of the universe

Random Sample

each person has same chance of being selected

Quota Sample

knowing stats of the universe and recreating them

Stratified Sample

divide population into groups in proportion to national population and take a random sample from each group

Three types of traditional polls

Random, Quota and Stratified

Shortcomings of polls

Sampling error (+ or - 3%), Limited respondent options, lack of information in question, difficulty measuring intensity and people giving answers they think are sociably acceptable

straw polls

unofficial poll taken to obtain the general opinion on an issue

push polls

taken to provide information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate

tracking polls

surveys that allow candidates to chart rise or fall in support

exit polls

conducted at election places during voting day to grasp popularity

Political Party

organization of people whose purpose is to win office and control both gov't positions and political power

Governmental Party

office holders and candidates

Organizational Party

workers and activists

Party in the electorate

voters

Conventional political participation

attempts to influence the political process through well-accepted, often moderate forms of persuasion

Unconventional political participation

attempts to influence the political process through unusual or extreme measures, such as protests, boycotts and picketing

Retrospective voting

somebody voting based on the performance of the party in power

Perspective voting

somebody voting based on how they believe a candidate will govern

Mandate

have to fulfill promises the candidate ran on

Open Primary

a primary election in which voters are not required to declare party affiliation

Closed Primary

a primary election in which voters are required to declare party affiliation

Runoff Primary

a primary election held if a candidate did not receive 51% of the votes==> top two candidates run again

Crossover Primary

voters cast ballots for a party with which they are not traditionally affiliated

General Elections

elections that vote people into office

Initiative

citizens propose laws

Referendum

legislature proposes, citizens vote on it

Recall

voting someone out of office (CA)

Frontloading

tendency to choose an early date on the primary schedule

Invisible Primary

people campaigning before primaries

Realignment

shifting of party coalition groupings in the electorate that remains in place for several elections

Critical Elections

election that signals a realignment through voter polarization around new issues

Dealignment

trend or process whereby a large portion of the electorate abandons their affiliation without developing a new one

26th Amendment

lowered voting age to 18

15th Amendment

citizens cannot be denied the right to vote

17th Amendment

direct election of Senators

19th Amendment

gave women the right to vote