Slides

1. POL 318
Spring 2020

5.  Most common form of participation is voting.
 How often do people participate?
 To what extent?
 How much information relayed to
candidates?

7. VOICE EXIT
LOYALTY NEGLECT
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
CONSTRUCTIVE DESTRUCTIVE

8. Historical and Constitutional Barriers

13.  U.S. rates have lagged behind those in
industrialized countries.
 Why might this be the case?
 Answers:
 Voting Not Compulsory
 Registration Laws
 Election Day is Weekday

18. Whites used several techniques
to disallow Blacks from voting.

19. This amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote.

20. This act prohibited discrimination on race in public
accommodations and in employment practices.

22. TheVRA eliminated past discriminatory practices,
like literacy tests and grandfather clauses.

24. Current Issue:VoterTurnout

25.  Can “turnout” be operationalized?

30.  Age Older >Younger
 Gender Women > Men
 Income Richer > Poorer
 Education College Degree > HS Graduate
 Race and Ethnicity Mixed Evidence

34. SOCIOLOGICALTHEORY
 Voting happens in social
context
 Partisanship from groups
(family, peers)
 Importance of SES and
Religion
PSYCHOLOGICALTHEORY
 Voting caused by
individual decisions
 Political Socialization
 Party ID
 PoliticalAttitudes
 How are attitudes formed?
 Feelings toward Parties
 Individual Interests
 Domestic/Foreign Policy

35.  Voting based on past performance
 If you are the incumbent:
 Remember great things?
 “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
 If you are the challenger:
 Remember problems?
 “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

36.  Voting based off of future considerations
 If you are the incumbent:
 Plans for a new term
 What will future look like with challenger?
 If you are the challenger:
 Reject incumbent’s policies
 Vote for change

38.  Based on costs and benefits
 Voting Components:
 Probability ofVote Mattering (“P)
 Benefits ofVoting (“B”)
 Costs ofVoting (“C”)
 “Civic Duty” (“D”)
 Individuals weigh these items
and make their voting decision

39. POCKETBOOKVOTING SOCIOTROPICVOTING
Personal Finances
National Financial Health
(e.g. deficit)

41. Proportion of Sample Proportion ofVoters
Ideologues
2.5 3.5
Near-Ideologues
9 12
Group Interest
42 45
Nature of theTimes
24 22
No Conceptualization
22.5 17.5
Converse (1964). The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics.
Table 1. 1956Voters, By Level of Conceptualization

42. Citizens’ political
knowledge hasn’t increased
in the last few decades.

43.  Party ID
 Interpersonal Communications
 The Media
 Idea of “Representativeness”

45.  Legal Obstacles
 Attitude Changes
 Voter Mobilization
 Decrease in Social Connectedness
 Generational Changes
 The “Rational Nonvoter”

47.  What is a primary?
 What are the main types of primaries?
 Closed Primary
 Open Primary
 Jungle Primary

53.  Initiative
 Direct: Measure Proposed  DirectVote
 Indirect: Measure Proposed  State Legislature
 Referendum
 Legislature submits laws to voters for ratification
 Recall
 Vote to remove elected official from office

55. Year Republican
Party of
Florida
Florida
Democratic
Party
Minor Parties No Party
Affiliation
Total
2019 4,761,405 4,986,520 147,546 3,641,359 13,536,830
2018 4,718,720 4,975,895 113,489 3,588,518 13,396,622
2017 4,544,708 4,807,950 65,526 3,449,005 12,867,189
Demographic Data for
Florida Registered Voters, 2019