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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman! Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman!

Chapter 10: Elections and Voting Behavior •  How American Elections Work •  A Tale of Three Elections •  Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice •  How Americans Vote: Explaining

Citizens’ Decisions •  The Last Battle: The Electoral College •  Understanding Elections and Voting

Behavior •  Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives

•  How American Elections Work •  LO 10.1: Distinguish the types of elections

in the United States. •  A Tale of Three Elections •  LO 10.2: Trace the evolution of the

American electoral process from 1800 to the present.



•  Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice •  LO 10.3: Identify the factors that influence

whether people vote or not. •  How Americans Vote: Explaining

Citizens’ Decisions •  LO 10.4: Assess the impact of party

identification, candidate evaluations, and policy opinions on voting behavior.



•  The Last Battle: The Electoral College •  LO 10.5: Evaluate the fairness of the

Electoral College system for choosing the president.

•  Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior •  LO 10.6: Assess the extent to which

elections make government officials pay attention to what voters want.

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How American Elections Work LO 10.1: Distinguish the types of elections in the United States. •  Functions of Elections •  Institutionalize political activity – Make it

possible for most political participation to be channeled through the electoral process.

•  Regular access to political power – Leaders can be replaced.

•  Legitimacy – Fair and free way of selecting political leaders.

To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman! Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman!

How American Elections Work

•  Three Kinds of Elections •  Primary elections – Voters select party

nominees. •  General elections – Between the

nominees of the parties. •  Elections on specific policy questions –

Voters make (initiative petition) or ratify (referendum) legislation.

LO 10.1

To Learning Objectives

To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman!

LO 10.1 A Tale of Three Elections LO 10.2: Trace the evolution of the American electoral process from 1800 to the present. •  1800: The First Electoral Transition of Power •  1896: A Bitter Fight Over Economic Interests •  2008: An Election About Change



A Tale of Three Elections

•  1800: The First Electoral Transition of Power •  No primaries, conventions, or speeches. •  Campaigns focused not on voters but on

state legislatures who chose electors. •  After many votes in the House, the

presidency was transferred to Jefferson peacefully.

LO 10.2



•  1896: A Bitter Fight Over Economic Interests •  Democrats’ main issue was unlimited

coinage of silver. •  Bryan won the Democratic Party

nomination with speeches about the virtues of silver.

•  McKinley won the election and the Republicans regained majority status.


LO 10.2

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LO 10.2



•  2008: An Election About Change •  Obama’s main issue was changing the

health care system to extend coverage to everyone.

•  McCain’s main issue was making changes to improve the economy and the financial institutions.

•  Obama won and became the 1st African-American president.


LO 10.2


LO 10.2 Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice LO 10.3: Identify the factors that influence whether people vote or not. •  Deciding Whether to Vote •  Registering to Vote •  Who Votes?



Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice

•  Suffrage •  The legal right to vote, in the United States

gradually extended to virtually all citizens over the age of 18.

LO 10.3



•  Deciding Whether to Vote •  Anthony Downs – People who see policy

differences between the parties are more likely to vote.

•  Political Efficacy – Belief that one’s vote does matter and can actually make a difference.

•  Civic Duty – Belief that a citizen should vote to support democratic government.


LO 10.3

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LO 10.3



•  Registering to Vote •  Voter Registration – A system adopted by

the states that requires voters to register prior to voting.

•  Motor Voter Act – A 1993 act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for their driver’s license.


LO 10.3



•  Who Votes? •  Education – People with a higher than

average education vote more than people with less education.

•  Age – Older people vote more than younger people.

•  Race – Racial minorities are usually underrepresented among voters relative to their share of the citizenry.


LO 10.3



•  Who Votes? •  Gender – Women participate in elections

more than men do. •  Marital status – Married people vote more

than unmarried people. •  Government employment – Workers for

the government vote more than people who have jobs in the in private sector.


LO 10.3


LO 10.3



•  Who Votes? •  Possessing several of these traits (being

elderly, well educated, and married) adds significantly to one’s likelihood of voting.

•  Conversely, being young, poorly educated, and single is likely to add up to a very low probability of voting.


LO 10.3

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How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions LO 10.4: Assess the impact of party identification, candidate evaluations, and policy opinions on voting behavior. •  Party Identification •  Candidate Evaluations: How

Americans See the Candidates •  Policy Voting


How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions

•  Mandate Theory of Elections •  The idea that the winning candidate has a

mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics.

•  Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.

LO 10.4




•  Party Identification •  People still generally vote for a party that

they agree with. •  Parties’ hold on voters declined in the

1960s and 1970s with rise of candidate-centered politics.

•  Many floating voters make an individual voting decision and are up for grabs each election.


LO 10.4


LO 10.4



•  Candidate Evaluations: How Americans See the Candidates •  3 most important dimensions of candidate

image are integrity, reliability, and competence.

•  Image plays a role in voting when a candidate is perceived to be incompetent or dishonest.


LO 10.4



•  Policy Voting •  Electoral choices that are made on the

basis of the voters’ policy preferences and where the candidates stand on policy issues.


LO 10.4

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The Last Battle: The Electoral College LO 10.5: Evaluate the fairness of the Electoral College system for choosing the president. •  Electoral College •  A unique American institution, created by

the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors.

•  Less populated states are overrepresented.

•  Winner-take-all concentrates campaigns on close states.


The Last Battle: The Electoral College

•  How Electoral College Works •  Electoral votes for each state equals its

members in Congress. •  48 states use winner-take-all system (not

Maine and Nebraska). •  State electors vote in December following

the November election. •  January – Congress counts votes. •  House of Representatives picks president if

no majority vote.

LO 10.5



LO 10.5


LO 10.5


LO 10.5


The Last Battle: The Electoral College

•  Important Electoral College •  The less populated states are

overrepresented because states get 2 electors for the senators regardless of population.

•  Winner-take-all means candidates will focus on winning the states where the polls show that there appears to be a close contest.


LO 10.5

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Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior LO 10.6: Assess the extent to which elections make government officials pay attention to what voters want. •  Democracy and Elections •  Elections and the Scope of

Government


Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior

•  Democracy and Elections •  The greater the policy differences between

candidates, the more likely voters will be able to steer government policy by their choices.

•  Retrospective voting – Voters cast a vote based on what a candidate has done for them lately.

LO 10.6



Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior

•  Elections and the Scope of Government •  Elections generally support government

policies and power. •  Voters feel they are sending a message to

government to accomplish something. •  So the government expands to fill the

needs of the voters.


LO 10.6


LO 10.1 Summary

•  How American Elections Work •  Primary elections are held to select the political

parties’ nominees for elective offices. •  General elections are contested between the

nominees to determine who actually wins these offices.

•  Referendums are held to let the voters decide specific policy questions at the ballot box.



An initiative petition can be considered what kind of lawmaking?

A.  elitist lawmaking B.  top-down lawmaking C.  indirect lawmaking D.  ground-up lawmaking

LO 10.1


An initiative petition can be considered what kind of lawmaking?

A.  elitist lawmaking B.  top-down lawmaking C.  indirect lawmaking D.  ground-up lawmaking

LO 10.1


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LO 10.2 Summary

•  A Tale of Three Elections •  Elections have changed dramatically since

1800 when Adams ran against Jefferson and neither candidate participated in the campaign.

•  By 1896, it was acceptable for candidates to campaign in person, and William Jennings Bryan did so with a vengeance.


LO 10.2 Summary

•  A Tale of Three Elections (cont.) •  Almost all American citizens over age 18 have

the right to vote. •  One constant throughout American electoral

history is that the appeal of “it’s time for a change” has been powerful when citizens are dissatisfied with the government’s performance; this was the case in both 1800 and 2008.



Based on the 3 elections described in the chapter, elections have become more over time.

A.  elitist B.  democratic C.  controlled by the Electoral College D.  all of the above

LO 10.2


Based on the 3 elections described in the chapter, elections have become more over time.

A.  elitist B.  democratic C.  controlled by the Electoral College D.  all of the above

LO 10.2



LO 10.3 Summary

•  Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice •  In order to exercise their right to vote, citizens

must go through the registration process. •  Registration reform was thought to be the

answer to low turnout, but the Motor Voter Act of 1993 has yet to produce the benefit of greater voter participation.


LO 10.3 Summary

•  Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice (cont.) •  Turnout in 2008 was virtually identical to what it

was in 1992, and in 2010 only about 40 percent of the eligible electorate voted.

•  Among the factors that make people more likely to vote are being better educated, older, and married.


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Which of the following is NOT true about Americans’ voting behavior?

A.  A college graduate is more likely to vote than a high school graduate.

B.  A single person is more likely to vote than a married person.

C.  Women are more likely to vote than men.

D.  A 50-year-old is more likely to vote than a 22-year-old.

LO 10.3


Which of the following is NOT true about Americans’ voting behavior?

A.  A college graduate is more likely to vote than a high school graduate.

B.  A single person is more likely to vote than a married person.

C.  Women are more likely to vote than men.

D.  A 50-year-old is more likely to vote than a 22-year-old.

LO 10.3



LO 10.4 Summary

•  How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions •  Party affiliation is the best predictor of voting

behavior. •  Candidate evaluations and policy opinions are

two factors that can sway people to defect from their preferred party, and play an important role in decision-making among Independents.


LO 10.4 Summary

•  How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions (cont.) •  Candidate evaluations involve important

performance-relevant factors such as competence, integrity, and reliability.

•  Policy voting – Voters see clear differences between candidates and determine whose stands on issues best represent their own opinions.



Party identification the political world for many voters.

A.  simplifies B.  confuses C.  does not influence D.  none of the above

LO 10.4


Party identification the political world for many voters.

A.  simplifies B.  confuses C.  does not influence D.  none of the above

LO 10.4


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LO 10.5 Summary

•  The Last Battle: The Electoral College •  Electoral College gives voters in the less

populated states greater weight in choosing the president.

•  The winner of the national popular vote does not always prevail in the Electoral College, as was evident most recently in the 2000 contest between George W. Bush and Al Gore.


LO 10.5 Summary

•  The Last Battle: The Electoral College (cont.) •  All but 2 states allocate all their electors in a

winner-take-all fashion and many states lean solidly toward 1 party or the other (CA, TX, and NY), so the candidates focus much of their energies on winning about 15 battleground states (PA, FL, and OH).



The Electoral College encourages candidates to campaign in , battleground states.

A.  small B.  large C.  southern D.  northern

LO 10.5


The Electoral College encourages candidates to campaign in , battleground states.

A.  small B.  large C.  southern D.  northern

LO 10.5



LO 10.6 Summary

•  Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior •  Under the right conditions, elections can

influence public policy, and policy outcomes can influence elections.

•  Most important condition enabling voters to steer government policy is that the policy differences between the candidates be clear.


LO 10.6 Summary

•  Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior (cont.) •  Voters can also make their voices heard by

simply voting to reward or punish incumbents based on their performance in office.

•  Elected officials who produce desired results are reelected; those fail to do are thrown out of office.


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Retrospective voting is when voters make their decisions based on their answers to the question _______.

A.  “What have you done for the world lately?”

B.  “What have you done for the interest groups lately?”

C.  “What have you done for your political party lately?”

D.  “What have you done for me lately?”

LO 10.6


Retrospective voting is when voters make their decisions based on their answers to the question _______.

A.  “What have you done for the world lately?”

B.  “What have you done for the interest groups lately?”

C.  “What have you done for your political party lately?”

D.  “What have you done for me lately?”

LO 10.6



Photo Credits

•  280: Robert King/Zuma Press •  281T: AP Photo •  281TC: Library of Congress •  281TB: Joshua Loft/New York Times •  281B: AP Photo •  282: AP Photo •  284: Library of Congress •  287: Joshua Loft/The New York Times •  288: Dennis Renault/Renault •  290: Tim Sloan/Getty Images •  296: The New Yorker Collection/Mike Twohy/www.cartoonbank.com •  297: AP Photo •  299: Getty Images

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