Chapter Quiz

1) One reasons why public policy often differs from public opinion is that

A) The U.S. constitution places many checks on the influence of public opinion

B) Public opinion polling tends to express the opinions of the political elite

C) While public opinion is easy to tell, public policy is notD) Public opinion tends to change much more slowly than

public policyE) Public opinion is rarely informed at the beginning of the

policy making process

Chapter Quiz

2) The validity of public opinion polls may be affected by several factors, includingA) Poll overrepresentation of the views of a political

eliteB) The fact that public opinion tends to be relatively

stable over timeC) The wording of questions on a pollD) Poll overrepresentation of political culture factors

such as liberty and civic dutyE) Excessive polling in certain party of the country

Chapter Quiz

3) Some 60 percent of adults adopt the party preference of theirA) PeersB) EmployersC) TeachersD) PhysiciansE) Parents

Chapter Quiz

4) Liberal preferences on various policy issues are displayed LEAST often byA) JewsB) White ProtestantsC) African-AmericansD) White CatholicsE) African-American Catholics

Chapter Quiz

5) Recently, the Democratic party has been the party MOST likely to benefit fromA) Direct mail contributionsB) Paid political advertisingC) The votes of independentsD) The gender gapE) Interest group money

Chapter Quiz

6) Cleavages in public opinion are more common in the United States than in many other countries because the United StatesA) Has a socially heterogeneous populationB) Is a relatively classless societyC) Has a high degree of religious freedomD) Places a high value on social equalityE) Is more protective of freedom of press

Chapter Quiz

7) Which of the following is NOT a source of cleavage in public opinion?A) RaceB) ClassC) RegionD) The FamilyE) Ethnicity

Chapter Quiz

8) A coherent and consistent set of beliefs about who should rule and how is referred to asA) Political efficacyB) Public opinion C) PragmatismD) RealismE) Political Ideology

Chapter Quiz

9) You want to keep Japanese cars out of the country and close down strip clubs in your town. On the basis of these two issues you would best be classified asA) Pure liberalB) Pure conservativeC) LibertarianD) PopulistE) Neo-libertarian

Chapter Quiz

10) Compared to the average citizen, political activists (elites) are usually moreA) ConservativeB) LiberalC) IdeologicalD) NonpartisanE) Moderate

Political Participation

Political Beliefs and Behaviors #5

ParticipationPolitical Participation

The tendency is to look at participation as just voting in elections. However it refers to every way we take part in politics and government.

VotingJoining a political partyGiving a candidate a donation for their campaignEducating yourself on issuesHaving a reasoned debate over issues

Two Ways to Look at Voting

Voting Age Population• Measuring the vote of all

people who have reached the age of 18.

• Many people in this group are not eligible to vote (non-citizens, convicted felons)

• In 2008: 56.8% voter turnout based on VAP

Voting Eligible Participation• Measuring the vote of all

people who are legally allowed to vote.

• In 2008: 61.7% voter turnout based on VEP

Why Do People Not Vote?

• Registration Process is a barrier to voting• Although it does not take “much” effort it is still a burden on

the individual to go through the process of registering to vote.

• What about those who are registered but don’t vote?• 25% surveyed said they were too busy or had a scheduling

conflict• 12% said family obligations• 12% said they didn’t think their vote would matter.

• In Europe registration is automatic, in the U.S. the burden lies on the individual

Attempts to Encourage Voting• Early Voting, Absentee Voting, Mail-in Voting

– Forty million registered voters failed to vote in recent elections– Forty million voting-age citizens failed to register in either of the

two elections• Get Out the Vote Drives

– Limited impact. Door-to-door and phone calls were most effective

– In 2008, 38% of voters say they were convinced to vote in this way

• Easier Registration (Motor Voter Law, etc)– Increased registration but not voter turnout by a significant

factor

Rise of the American Electorate

• Under the Constitution states were able to establish who could vote and for what offices.

• Led to wide variations in Federal Offices–Some House members were elected by

district–Others elected in a state wide election

Evolution of Voting

1842: All House Members must be elected by districts

1870: 15th Amendment gives

right to vote to African Americans

1920: 19th Amendment gives right to vote to women. Increased

participation but no impact on results.

1965: Voting Rights Act guarantees the right to

vote for African Americans

1971: 26th Amendment gives

suffrage to all eighteen-year-olds.

Turnout low and has fallen since.

Evolution in Voting

In all cases it was the Federal Government stepping in and dictating to the states who

was eligible to vote and how elections are to take place.

This reflects the overall theme of Centralization of Government. More and more the Federal Government is exerting power in more areas.

Voter Turnout

• Two Theories• Real Decline–Decreasing Popular Interest in Government–Decreasing Power of Parties to Mobilize

Voters• Apparent Decline– Fraud Once Prevalent

Barriers To Voting

1) Age: 18 years or older2) Citizenship Requirement3) Criminal Record: Most states bar felons from

voting4) Registration Requirement• Not automatic• Residency Requirements• Registration must occur in advance of election

“Likely” Voters

• Older Voters• High Income• More Educated• When income is taken into account African

Americans and Whites vote at the same rate, which is a higher one than Latinos (although that doubled from 1996 to 2008)

• People who attend religious services

Political Participation

Verba and Nie have categorized 6 forms of participation in U.S. citizens

1) Inactives: Rarely vote, give money, or discuss politics (little education, low income, young,22%)

2) Voting Specialists: Vote but do little else (not much education or income, older)

3) Campaigners: Vote and get involved in campaign activities. (More educated, more interested in politics, identify with a party, have strong positions)

Political Participation

4) Communalists: Nonpartisan community activists with a local focus.

5) Parochial Participants: Don’t vote or participate in campaigns but will contact politicians about specific problems

6) Activists: Participate in all forms of politics (highly educated, high income, middle aged; 11% of population)