The electorate are those that are eligible to vote, and many factors can influence the way in which the electorate do vote. Primacy, also known as long-term, factors are those that have a long term influence on the way in which somebody votes, for example the social class in which that person belongs to. Recency also referred to as short-term, factors are those which have a short-term influence and most prominently during the lead up to an election, an example of a recency factor is the impact of mass media. In the last few decades many long-term factors have become less important due to partisan and social de-alignment, whilst the short-term factors have been ever more emphasised and prominent.…
The correlations between a candidate running for election and a voter who participates in the election, in terms of support and participation, often involve the use of shared attributes to explain how said correlations have an impact on the outcome of the election. In a representative democracy such as the United States, the belief is that those who vote in elections wield the power to select government officials, who then in turn create, uphold, or interpret the law of the land accordingly. Those who participate in elections, therefore, believe that the candidate they select will make decisions or introduce legislature according to the beliefs that those who voted share with one another. A voter or a group of voters are more likely to support a candidate if they share at least one attribute with one another. In order to understand how candidate selection based on belief is accomplished, an account of how exactly comparisons between the candidate and the voter must be made to accommodate a multitude of potential attributes. Both physical attributes, such as race, and non-physical attributes, such as political ideology, can be used to compare and contrast a candidate with a voter. With this data, we can then predict the outcome between a certain attribute that a voter shares (or does not share) with a candidate and the support that candidate receives from that conglomerate.…
Voters know how their elected representatives vote on important policy issues and are more likely to reelect them because they agree with their stands.…
Public Opinion: The attitudes of individuals regarding their political leaders and institutions as well as political and social issues…
The belief that a person’s fate can be closely attributed to his or her own efforts is…
1. The major differences between the Democratic and Republican parties have to do with the role of government in citizens’ lives, the role of the United States in world affairs, Interpretation of The Constitution, states’ rights. Dems believe that the government should have a large amount of control over peoples’ lives while republicans believe there should be less. Dems have a loose interpretation of The Constitution while republicans have a stricter one. While the two parties differ in many ways, they share one common desire: bipartisanship.…
Political Culture: the norms, customs, and beliefs that help citizens understand appropriate ways to act in a political system; also shared attitudes of how the government should operate…
The American system of government is democratic. Democracy is a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting. In America, they hold elections at the local, state, and federal level. In the elections the voters choose among the leaders of political parties for the open office position. America has two major political parties: Democrat and Republican. There are more political parties than that, but with the way the electoral process works most third parties are doomed to fail since they will not get the popular vote. Though for President and Vice President the popular vote does not matter since the Electoral College chooses the President and Vice President. Many eligible voters have decided to “protest vote” meaning not voting…
‘Voting behaviour at UK elections is determined more by issues of personality and image than on the basis of policies or performance in office’. Discuss.…
Political partisanship and an ever growing divide between the two major parties in the political landscape are becoming an increasingly popular topic of discussion. This partisanship continues to create more political gridlock in Congress, an increased level of animosity between the two parties, and impact other areas of political study that change American society. Another issue that has been on the minds of a lot people revolves more around Judicial Partisanship. Federal and State courts across the United States find their judges through varying manners of appointments and elections, and in many cases, these elections are partisan, which requires these judges to declare where they stand politically before they can do their job to uphold…
Do you ever stop to think about how powerful modern day technology is? Nowadays, technology is way more influential and persuasive. Everywhere you look there is some kind of advertisement or promotion being broadcast by the use of technology. The overwhelming use of technology allows people to be influenced and persuaded much more easily. Before, information was either passed along by word of mouth or it took a while for posters and commercials to be produced but now it takes one click of the mouse to spread the word about anything. It takes little…
Each voter wants to see their beliefs mimicked in the candidate that would potentially have the power to make them laws. If their ideals match, and the voter feels that a certain candidate has a similar perspective, they overlook their other qualities that are not as electable. Take for example Donald Trump’s electability, people would think he would immediately be pushed out of the race by more formal candidates, but instead he is the favorite to win the republican nomination. But why? It could be an issue with our brains and reasoning skills. Dan Kahan, in his study for the Cultural Cognition Project, found that people’s political beliefs can disrupt their ability to properly process data contrary to their ideas. He says, “ICT sees the public’s otherwise intact capacity to comprehend decision-relevant science as disabled by cultural and political conflict.”(Kahan 2-3). In what he calls the Identity-protective Cognition Theory (ITC) someone's ideals and political beliefs are shaped, not by factual data, but cultural and social identity. The easiest example of this concept is someone who identifies as a republican having to vote for a republican despite…
During the first weeks of class, students learned about what political polarization is. The authors from Political Polarization in American Polarization see America on a level where polarization is increasing, especially in the state legislature. However, authors from Culture War? would disagree, saying that America is not becoming more polarized, rather political activists are the ones who are polarized. The Frontline documentary “Divided States of America-2” provides insightful information on the process of America becoming more polarized. After class discussions based on assigned readings and watching the Frontline documentary, one can come to the conclusion that America is polarized to a certain extent. Political activists and politicians make America polarized, but uninformed citizens contribute little to the polarization that…
Specifically to Texas, some major factors that affect voter turnout are traditional and individual actors have a major impact on elections. The traditional culture is more of a conservative type that embraces the old roots of Texas and does not really place an emphasis on voting. Also the history of…
When Americans think of democrats and republicans they think of politicians, but they are not just politicians but voters as well. Voters and politicians can affiliate with either the Democratic or Republican Party through their ideals and stance on certain issues. Also we see that voters’ traits can help to classify them as either republican or democratic. Unlike some may…
