POLS 207 1st EditionExam 2 Study Guide: Lectures: 12 - 17The Individual in Democratic GovernmentPrinciples of Democracy = Free and Fair Elections, Freedom of speech and Freedom of the press.Public Participation in Politics: A Hierarchy of Influence- Most people are non-participants – over 60%o Due to traditionalistic political culture- 10-60% of the population are voting memberso % Depends on the election Highest participation in Presidential elections- 20-50% in Western Stateso Direct democracy through initiatives and referendums that are mainly present in the Western states (i.e. California)- 3-20% attend public meetings- Protester numbers are uncertain but they are small!- Less than 1% run for officeForms of Public Participation- Voting- Talking about politics- Organizations- Attending public meetings- Contributions (donations)- Communicating with Representatives- Campaigning- Intimating and repealing lawo Initiative and referendum- Serving public officeDifficulties in Scientific Study- Self-reported informationo May not be reliable – therefore cannot be valid.- Reliability and Validityo Improve this by maximizing cases and reaching more people.- Bias in responseo Bias is often non-responseSurvey Research and PollingThe American Voter was published in 1960 and continues to influence the way we think aboutmass attitudes and behavior.- Studied the 1952 and 1956 Presidential Elections and discussed how class coalitions led toparty affiliation.- Led to the National Election Study (NES), still drives the research of political scientists in voting behavior.o Findings:  Different layers of the American public- Attentive & Inattentive Differences between elite and non-elite- Elite are constrained- However, the non-elite are not and therefore the elite can manipulate their thinking.- Most people vote because they believe it is their CIVIC DUTY.How do we measure public opinion?1)Question Wordinga. Bad questions lead to bad results2)Samplinga. Accurate sampling is necessary!b. Poor types of sampling: straw polls, non-stratified sampling and most non-probability sampling methods.c. 1200-1600 respondents for a good sample3)Contacting Respondentsa. Method of contact is importantb. Avoid selection biasi. Such as when the Literary Digest predicted a loss for FDR because they only interviewed their readers who had phones – at the time this meant you were wealthy.Shortcomings of Polling1)Sampling Errora. Careful selection reduces this errorb. Especially important in close races2)Limited Respondent Optionsa. Need broad options or the results will be uselessb. 5-7 options is good3)Lack of Informationa. Answer is invalid if the respondent does not have the necessary information to answer.4)Intensitya. Polls do not measure intensity of response/feeling well.b. Learn someone’s position but not how strong this is.5)Elitisma. Deliberative polls have been accused of elite bias.i. These polls provide you with the information before asking the question, therefore affecting your response.Participation- Uncommono 50-60% vote- Participants are not representative of the populationo Low turnout indicates that only strong partisans votedo States often try to lower turnout to affect the outcome Example = Florida Since if turnout is low, it will probably be a Republican win since more Americans identify as conservative than liberalElectoral Support for Governors- Normally fairly low- Highest in Texas was for Bush with 18% voting and the lowest was for Perry in 2006 with 14%Percent of Texas Voting Age Population Registered- Hit a peak in 2000 and has been declining since.o Due to the rules of the game – Republicans prefer to repress registration. Mass turnout normally leads to a Democrat win. Reduce registration and you reduce turnout Historically, the South has tried to suppress voting – especially of African-Americans- This is why the Supreme Court struck down the Texas Voter ID law.o Voter ID laws disadvantage the poor!Explanations of Non-VotingAlienation- People don’t see the point in voting- Policies are not created for them.Cost-Benefit- Rational choice theory for voter turnouto Is it beneficial to vote? It depends! When the costs are more than the benefits, there is no reason to vote. The rich can often bear these costs more easily than the poor.- Costs = time off work, transportation costs, education costs etc.- People therefore vote due to civic duty, which is gained through socialization. In schools, you are taught it is your responsibility.SatisfactionVoting is lowest in years without a presidential election.- House turnout is lowest during non-election yearsGubernatorial elections have the lowest turnout.- Texas has these during ‘off-years’ which creates even lower turnoutDeclining Turnout- Party-Group linkageso Major parties both seek the same potential voters- Declining competitiono Incumbency creates safe seatso Some states are becoming one party systems - Voter exhaustiono People get fed up with the amount they have to voteo However, turnout of eligible population has barely changed over timeWhy do Americans vote less?- Lack of party-group linkages- Registration restrictions- Non-compulsory voting- Voter exhaustionInitiative and Referendum- Forms of direct democracy- Found mostly in the mid-West and Western states- Initiative procedures are down to the states- This is why states such as Washington and Colorado were able to legalize marijuana. Examples of Voting- The easy option is to pick a candidate based on one major issue- The difficult option is choosing a candidate that is closest to you on most issueso Both examples of Rational Choice- A more difficult option is when you have one important issue that drives your choice- Difficulty in choice can increase when a candidate does not clearly state their stance on issues.Political Socialization- Explains how the attitudes and values of the conservative political culture that dominates Texas are transmitted from one generation to another.- We teach and learn political knowledge, beliefs, values, and habits of behavior by this process.- Basic agents: Family, schools, churches, and the media.Party Identification (PID)- Often transmits from your parents- PID means you are more likely to participate- More likely to be informed (follow that party)- Least likely to vote for the opposition- Often enduring, unlikely to change, especially as you get older- Best indicator of vote choice!Texas