political beliefs and behaviors

most liberals are

under 30, african american, hispanic, women, jews, catholic

most conservatives are

over 60, white, live in the midwest and south, "born-again" Christians

public opinion

distribution of poulation beliefs about politics and policy issues, measured by polling

impact of polling

pros: help candidates know what matters to people, "tool for democracy", allows for immediate response
cons: politicians become followers not leaders, bandwagon effect, exit polls can lower voter turnout

census

indicates changes in population, conducted every 10 years, reapportionment

minority majority

white majority will eventually not be the majority, hispanics are the largest at 15%

political culture values that most share

equality, freedom, security

political socialization

process through which an individual acquires his or her particular political orientations, family is the number one indicator, school educates on values of free enterprise and democracy, media is the new parent

idealogue voter

connect opinions and beliefs with broad policy positions

group benefits voter

groups they like based on benefits for their group

nature of the times voter

good times they want their party in power, during bad times they want their party out of power so they will vote in spite of them

no issue content group voter

vote on personality of the candidate

political participation

conventional: voting, campaign, run for office
unconventional: protest, civil disobedience, violence

road to the white house

announce candidacy 1-2 years before general election, campaign with money media and momentum, primaries in the winter/spring of election year, nominating conventions win majority of the delegates to win party nomination at the convention (not as big as used to be), more campaigning, general elections, electoral college

primaries

voting within state to choose nominee, majority of the states, New Hampshire has the first, usually proportional representative when selecting delegates

caucuses

meeting to express preference nominee, rural states, Iowa has the first, lower voter turnout

super delegates

national party leaders who automatically get a delegate slot at the national party convention

problems with nominating process

disproportionate attention to early states, long campaigns cost money and time, participation is low and unrepresentative, media has power they focus attention on NH and Iowa and the "horse race"

nominating convention

opportunity to energize campaign, adopt party platform, presidential acceptance speech

campaigning

media attention, direct mail, campaign commercials (most money spent here), importance of internet

campaign financing

federal election campaign act: federal election commission, tighten reporting requirements, limit overall expenditures, presidential election campaign fund, matching funds (not used since 2000)
soft money: for generic party advertising, banned under McCain Feinggold Act

527 groups

independent groups with unlimited funding for non specific political campaigns

501 c groups

unlimited contributions without reporting, half of funding on political activities

politcial action committees

concern of impact of pac on winners once in office

cost of campaign

time away from real job, fudraising efforts-money diesnt mean a win, selective perception-pay attention to what they already agree with, activate, convert-rare, promises made cost money and increase govt power

referendum

voters approve or disapprove of legislation or constitutional amendment

intitative petition

citizen proposed law with enough signatures to get on the ballot

political efficacy

belief that your vote matters

non voting

no-time, no difference between two parties, lack of political efficacy, voter registration-to prevent corruptions motor voter act to increase it, elections are often(too often?), limited choice in elections

likely voters

educated, older, white, women, married, govt. workers

electoral college

been called"archaic, undemocratic, complex, ambiguous, indirect, and dangerous", created to allow the nation's elite to elect the president

how do you become an elector

can't be senator or representative, can't hold any state or federal office

selection process

each party selects potential electors between the nominating conventions and the general election, on election day the party that gets the majority vote in the state sends that party's electors to vote the state capital to cast their ballot, some states require electors to vote their party that wins the majority vote but their is no federal guideline "honor system"

number of delegates in electoral college per state

based on number of congressman (house of reps and senators), texas has 38 (out of date), chosen by political party that wins popular vote

winner takes all system

overall winner of each congressional district gets 2 votes then the overall winner gets an additional vote, except in maine and nebraska

problems with electoral college

house of reps chooses the president and senate chooses VP if their is a tie, winner of popular vote may not become president-2000,2016,1824,1888, nothing requires an elector to vote for the candidate the people choose

pros of electoral college

gives smaller states a "voice", without it money would stay on coasts and in the cities, need a broad appeal across many states, stability through a 2 party system

cons of electoral college

winner can lose, not 1 person 1 vote, minority party not represented, regional campaigning has limited impact, lower voter turnout

district plan

electoral college on district level, still could win electoral college and lose popular vote, gerrymadering would become more prevalent

proportional plan

split states electoral vote according to percentage of popular vote, stregthen minor parties

direct popular election

voters elect president, small states would "lose power"

electors vote for whomever wins population vote

effective 270 votes worth of states adopt this method