POLS 207 1st Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 12 17 The Individual in Democratic Government Principles 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 members o Depends on the election Highest participation in Presidential elections 20 50 in Western States o 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 office Forms of Public Participation Voting Talking about politics Organizations Attending public meetings Contributions donations Communicating with Representatives Campaigning Intimating and repealing law o Initiative and referendum Serving public office Difficulties in Scientific Study Self reported information o May not be reliable therefore cannot be valid Reliability and Validity o Improve this by maximizing cases and reaching more people Bias in response o Bias is often non response Survey Research and Polling The American Voter was published in 1960 and continues to influence the way we think about mass attitudes and behavior Studied the 1952 and 1956 Presidential Elections and discussed how class coalitions led to party 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 Wording a Bad questions lead to bad results 2 Sampling a Accurate sampling is necessary b Poor types of sampling straw polls non stratified sampling and most nonprobability sampling methods c 1200 1600 respondents for a good sample 3 Contacting Respondents a Method of contact is important b Avoid selection bias i 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 Polling 1 Sampling Error a Careful selection reduces this error b Especially important in close races 2 Limited Respondent Options a Need broad options or the results will be useless b 5 7 options is good 3 Lack of Information a Answer is invalid if the respondent does not have the necessary information to answer 4 Intensity a Polls do not measure intensity of response feeling well b Learn someone s position but not how strong this is 5 Elitism a 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 Uncommon o 50 60 vote Participants are not representative of the population o Low turnout indicates that only strong partisans voted o 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 liberal Electoral 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 AfricanAmericans This is why the Supreme Court struck down the Texas Voter ID law o Voter ID laws disadvantage the poor Explanations of Non Voting Alienation People don t see the point in voting Policies are not created for them Cost Benefit Rational choice theory for voter turnout o 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 Satisfaction Voting is lowest in years without a presidential election House turnout is lowest during non election years Gubernatorial elections have the lowest turnout Texas has these during off years which creates even lower turnout Declining Turnout Party Group linkages o Major parties both seek the same potential voters Declining competition o Incumbency creates safe seats o Some states are becoming one party systems Voter exhaustion o People get fed up with the amount they have to vote o However turnout of eligible population has barely changed over time Why do Americans vote less Lack of party group linkages Registration restrictions Non compulsory voting Voter exhaustion Initiative 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 issues o 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 Turnout Is below the national average due to Traditionalistic political culture Political socialization o Institutions teach children to accept but not participate The party system o