42 Cards in this Set
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public opinion
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citizens reactions to current specific issues and events
-Our collective opinions
-said to be a powerful force in any political system.
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Voter turnout
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percent of eligible voters who vote in a given election
-characterization: Low
-highest level of participation- presidential election
participation: 50%
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electoral systems
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1. single-member district
2. proportional representation
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single-member districts
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single member
voters in each electorial district aka (constituency) choose one person to fill a specific post (elected office) generally whoever gets most votes gets elected (used in USA for national/state legislative elections) Is known as a simple plurality (the most even if less than …
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Proportional Representation
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multi districts.
Each district chooses several representation (from a list of candidates provided by the political parties)
-generally each voter casts one vote for one party list. The parties are awarded seats according to the proportion of the vote they received.
the goal: assign …
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Variations of single-member district
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1. Require majority (runoff)
2. Alternative vote system (ranking of candidates)
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Initiative
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Proposed legislation from the people. Put on the ballot by obtaining a certain number of signatures of registered voters.
ex:
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referendum
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allows the people to vote on already approved legislation by the legislature that will not become binding unless a majority of voters approve it.
- 49 of 50 states require referendum for constitutional amendments.
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recall
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ability of the people to remove an elected official from office prior to the end of his/her term
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Where does each states allotment for electoral college come from?
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each states allotment of electors is equal to the number of house members plus 2 senators.
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What is the total number of electoral votes?
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There are 538 electors in the electoral college
100 US Senate
435 House of Representatives
3 Washington D.C.
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Number of electoral votes needed to win
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a majority of 270 electoral votes required
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Who chooses the electors?
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the electors are a popularly elected body chosen by the states and washington D.C.
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What happens if no candidate wins a majority?
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the house would select the president by majority vote
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Electoral Votes for NJ
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14 Electors
12 House members
2 Senators
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State with Most Electoral Votes
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California
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Interest Group
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a group that seeks to influence public policy that would affect the interest of their members.
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special interest groups
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Focus-Exclusively on the interest of their members
-best organized
-most powerful
-* having a personal stake in the outcome makes one advocate much more fiercly for their cause!
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Public Interest Groups
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Focus-Causes in the public's interest not their own.
-as they fight for the general publics interest and broadly speaking everyone benefits from their work, securing membership is at times difficult.
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Tactics used by Interest Groups
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Affluent Groups:
1. Lobbying
2. Campaign Contributions
3. Public Relations Campaigning/Advertising
4. write letters
Limited Funds Group:
1. Demonstrate (Protest/strike)
2. Boycott
3. Advertising
4. Write letters/books
5. Stage events to attract media and public attention
…
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Pluralism
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Groups serve the interst of individuals better than individuals are capable of serving themselves
-power in numbers
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Elite Theory
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real power resides in the hands of the wealthy and other powerful groups (power elite)
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Where does the term Lobbying come from?
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was coined by Ulysses S. Grant during his tenure in office 1869-1877. He would frequent the famous Willard Hotel to seek repreive from his demands. His outings became known and individuals standing in the hotel lobby would approach grant asking for favors or jobs. He referred to these peo…
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polls
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-studies of the opinions of the public
-pollsters (those who conduct the polls)
-said to take a representative sample of the entire population.
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voter turnout for other elections
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-lower levels of participation
-possibly significantly lower than presidential election
-governer can be comprable than presidential turnout or be higher depending on the state.
30% of voters choose congressional leaders.
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November 2015 Election
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75% of the population did not know there was an election. turnout was 22%.
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congressional midterm elections
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turnout is in the 30% range
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What elections have lowest turnout?
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School board elections
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gerrymandering
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the rigging of legislative election-redistricting.
-drawing boundaries for both the state legislature and us house voting districts
when does this occur?
-after each census
-politicians have sought to influence elctoral outcomes by manipulating the organized electoral districts.
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Origin of Gerrymandering
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Elbridge Gerry
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Number of Electoral Votes for CA
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55
53 house electors
2 senate electors
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Number of Electoral Votes for Texas
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38
36 House Electors
2 senate electors
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Number of Electoral Votes for Wyoming
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3
1 House Electors
2 Senate Electors
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Minimum number of electoral votes that any state can have?
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3 Total Electoral Votes
2 in Senate/1 in House Minimum
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When was the last time a republican won NJ popular presidential vote?
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1988
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When was the last time NJ had a republican senator
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not since the 70s.
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Electoral College
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The electoral college was created as a compromise between election of the president by congress and election by popular vote.
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senate
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Picks vice president if no majority vote
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Most electoral votes ever won
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Reagan total 525
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battleground states
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toss up states/ no guarantee states for presidential election
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highest election turnout
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Presidential
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consituency
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electoral district
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POLI 101: Study Guide