Poli

SHORTENED)

  1. Define public opinion.

The aggregate of individuals’ attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population 

  1. If a large majority party agrees on an issue, it is called a ____. If there are widely diverging opinions of an issue, it is a condition of ____ opinion.

Consensus; polarized 

  1. The process by which individuals acquire political beliefs and attitudes is called ____ ____.

Political socialization (opinions/attitudes, ideologies, partisanship)

  1. What is the most influential source of political socialization?

Family

  1. Besides the most influential, what are other agents of political socialization?

Schools/education, religious institutions, political/opinion leaders, media, ideologies, partisanship 

  1. What are the demographic influences of political socialization?

Religion, race/ethnicity, gender, income/wealth, education, geographic region

  1. To be of use to politicians, public opinion must be able to be measured. The primary method of measurement is through a ___ ___ ___.

Public opinion poll (polling)

  1. What “magic” factor allows the polling process to work?

Probability/random sampling

  1. A ___ percent margin is considered to be the most mathematically correct national poll.  

3 percent

  1. In the last half of the 20th century, what type of polling has become the most used method?

Telephone polling (random digit dialing)

  1. What are some polling issues?

Dishonesty amongst respondents, ambiguous question framing, less overall responsiveness from public

  1. The worst voting restrictions occurred in what time period?

Jim Crow (Post Civil War)

  1. Post-Reconstruction, white voters in the South became solidly Democratic (“Solid South”). It was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in what case?

Smith v. Allwright (1944)

  1. What were some protections added because of the Civil Rights Movement?

24th Amendment (eliminated poll tax), Voting Rights Act of 1965 (eliminated racial discrimination in voting), 26th Amendment (voting age minimum 18 yrs old)

  1. What amendments led to ultimate universal suffrage in the United States?

15th Amendment (racial suffrage), 19th Amendment (women suffrage), 26th Amendment (18 yr old suffrage)

  1. What are the socioeconomic factors that influence voter turnout?

Higher education, higher income, and white-collar people are more likely to vote 

  1. What are demographic factors that influence voter turnout?

Racial minorities and younger people are less likely to vote, and women have started to equally participate as much as men 

  1. What are psychological factors that influence voter turnout?

Stronger feelings of civic duty, party identification, political efficacy, political interest, and social capital lead to higher voting tendencies 

  1. What are the distinctions of political efficacy, political interest, and social capital?

Political efficacy: feeling that one can have real impact on politics; political interest: strong interest in politics; social capital: feeling of social connectedness through politics 

  1. What are some legal/institutional factors that can discourage voter turnout?

Strict voter registration laws, too many elections, workday elections, and Rational Voter Theory (at individual level, costs of voting outweigh the benefits) 

  1. What is the most important determinant of how people vote?

Partisanship

  1. What are the important functions partisanship serves for voters?

Psychological connection between candidate and voter, combination of ideological issues, mental cues/cognitive shortcuts 

  1. Elections are the ___ of carrying out democracy and the public will. ____ is crucial to what type and what quality of democracy you get.

Mechanism; Representation

  1. What part of the Constitution allows states to set electoral procedures for Congressional elections, though Congress has a right to alter procedures?

Article I Section 4 

  1. What part of the Constitution outlines how the President is chosen by Electoral College, the President of Senate officially counts Electoral College votes, and the House of Representatives vote to break a tie (one vote for each state)?

Article II Section 1

  1. What are the types of elections?

Primary (choose candidates for major parties), general (choose who wins public office), run-off (choose between top two vote receivers in primary elections), and special (fill a seat vacated before end of term) 

  1. When was the date of Election Day (first Tuesday of November) established for presidential elections? When was it mandated to also be used for congressional elections?

Presidential elections: 1845; Congressional elections: 1872 Apportionment Act

  1. The ___ ___ is the physical location where people cast votes, and is usually a public building used for other primary purpose(s).

Polling place/station

  1. What are the types of ballots (physical methods)?

Paper ballots, electronic voting machines (more common) 

  1. What is an Australian ballot (secret ballot)?

Voters mark their ballots in privacy (before 1888, many states allowed different colored ballots and ballot boxes, allowing for easier voter intimidation); two types: Massachusetts ballot (office-block) and Indiana ballot (party-column) 

  1. What is a down ballot?

Voting for the same party for every category/column

  1. When it comes to representation, ____ representation is the fundamental element of American representation.

Geographic (depends greatly on how district lines are drawn for House of Representatives)

  1. The drawing of district lines depends on what factors?

Boundaries, population size (10-year census for reapportionment)

  1. The United States has a ___-___ district electoral system, meaning one representative per geographic district.  

single-member

  1. What is the significance of Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)?

One person’s vote should be equal to any others when electing representatives of Congress

  1. What is gerrymandering?

A manipulating of district boundaries for a specific purpose, usually to the advantage of a particular candidate or party (never made unconstitutional) 

  1. In ____ case, the Court ruled that while efforts can be made to increase minority representation, redistricting solely based on race is unconstitutional.

Shaw v. Reno (1993) 

  1. What did the Federal Election Campaign Act 1971 do?

Restrict amount of campaign spending on ads and mandated disclosure of donors 

  1. What did the Federal Election Commission Act 1974 do?

Enforce compliance with election campaign regulation, but was overturned by Citizens United v. FEC (2010) which allowed corporations, unions, and nonprofits to spend freely 

  1. With Citizens United v. FEC (2010) result overturning the Federal Election Commission Act 1974, money essentially became equated to ___.

Free (political) speech

  1. What are Political Action Committees (PACS)?

Fundraising entities that can spend more freely and advertise than political parties (only on issue advocacy, not actual candidates) 

  1. What are the primary goals of an electoral campaign?

Introduce the candidate, get the message across, and motivate voters 

  1. What is a stump speech?

A succinct, repetitive message given at campaign stops (highlights main points and easily remembered) 

  1. When it comes to candidates’ images, which aspects are most influential/successful?

Personal appearance, perfect family appearance, and good vibe (photo ops can make or break a campaign) 

  1. In the modern era, professional ____ ____ run most major campaigns, and use tools like public opinion polling, hiring speechwriters and policy experts.

Political consultants 

  1. ____ campaigning is designed to highlight a candidate’s values, experiences, personality, etc., while ____ campaigning highlights an opponent’s weakness by exploiting voter uncertainty.

Positive; negative 

  1. Negative campaign ads target uninformed and uninvolved voters, making it more ___ than positive campaign ads.

Effective

  1. What are the staples of campaign ads?

Simplicity, repetition, exaggeration, and symbolism

  1. The first parties to develop came out of the constitutional debates between the ____ and the _____.

Federalists (strong federal government and commercial interests) and Anti-Federalists (strong state government)

  1. When/who was the Democratic Party founded?

Andrew Jackson/Jacksonian Era

  1. When/who was the Republican Party founded?

Abraham Lincoln (Civil War/Post Civil War)

  1. What is a party realignment?

Major constituencies shift party allegiance, creating long-term change 

  1. What party realignment occurred with the New Deal Coalition?

Majority of black support, lower and middle classes shifted to Democrats 

  1. In the past 90 years, we had the New Deal Realignment, but the 1960s and 1980s issued a ____ realignment. They did this by using the “Southern Strategy” to draw in more white, southern voters.

Conservative

  1. By the 1980s to present day, what are the focuses of the Republican Party?

Ideological focus on less government, nationalism, and “family values”/morality

  1. Today, the Democratic party is more like a coalition of groups who favor using government as engine for ____.

Change

  1. What are the types of Third Parties?

Reform parties, single-issue parties, and ideological parties 

  1. What are some continuing issues with political parties?

Party polarization, moderate voters not having representation, activists and special interests (who are more extreme) have louder political “voice” 

  1. What do news media typically do?

Identify public problems, socialize new generations, and make profits

  1. What are the functions of the press?

Watchdog (watch and report government action to public), common carrier (government and press need each other to communicate with public), and leak information

  1. What factors determine the content of news?

Carrying capacity, framing, status of source, controversy, negativity, and audience

  1. True or False. The more controversial or negative a topic is, the less media coverage there will be.

False

  1. What is yellow journalism?

Sensationalized or fabricated news to gain public interest (e.g. blaming Spain for the sinking of U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor 1898)

  1. What is muckraking?

Journalism aimed at exposing corruption or unfair practices

  1. How many Americans get news from social media?

Two-thirds

  1. Individuals’ choice of news source is heavily influenced by what factors?

Ideology and partisanship; demographic influences of age, gender, income, and political knowledge