Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Longman PoliticalScienceInteractive Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 8 Public Opinion, Participation, and Voting

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Recent Concerns about Voting Florida 2000 –Contested ballots –Outdated voting machines –Lingering perceptions of partisanship Help America Vote Act 2002 Ohio 2004 Voter Registration Requirements – Picture IDs

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting How doe we make voting transparent to all Americans?

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman What is Public Opinion? Public Opinion The distribution of individual preferences for or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population The proper wording and phrasing of the questions are vitally important to producing reliable, objective data Appropriate language and vocabulary Neutral wording Open-ended versus closed-ended

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman How do we express Public Opinion? Newspaper Articles Letters to Officials Protests Conversations Voting Surveys Polls (Phone, Exit)

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Polls Most Popular Polls Gallup Pew New York Times Rasmussen Politico

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Polls Characteristics: Relatively small number of participants Must use random sampling (every individual in that group as equal chance of being selected) Margin of error (+ or – 3%) Open –Ended Questions Questions are pre-tested to eliminate researcher bias Polarized or Consensus

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman The Way You Ask the Question Matters

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman What is Public Opinion? Intensity – the degree to which people feel strongly about their opinions Latency – opinions that people have not openly expressed Salience – the measure as to how relevant an issue is to an individual

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Differing Opinions on Gay Marriage

How Do We Get Our Political Opinions and Values? Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Political Socialization The process, most notably in families and schools, by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs. Participation in groups at all ages.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Agents of Socialization Family Schools Media –Selective exposure: Choosing the media with which one agrees Religion

Stability and Change in Public Opinion Adult opinions tend not to change over time. Those that do usually experience a harsh event in life: death of a loved one, job change, war. Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman

Stability and Change in Public Opinion

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Public Opinion and Public Policy “What I want is to get done what the people desire to be done, and the question for me is how to find that out exactly.” - Abraham Lincoln

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Public Opinion and Public Policy Public Opinion Drives Public Policy Public Policy Drives Public Opinion Officials want to get re-elected, therefore they pay attention to their voters.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Awareness and Interest Knowledge Levels Politics is not the major interest of most Americans, and as a result, knowledge about the political system is limited

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Awareness and Knowledge 25% - Attentive Public 33% - Political “Know-Nothings” 40% - Part Time Knowledge of Politics

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Political Participation How citizens influence government action: Voting, Blogs, party meetings, campaigning, urge friends to vote, letters to newspapers, call to radio station, protests, strikes, etc. Internet has allowed political participation to expand. Building “Social Capital”

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Participation: Translating Opinions into Action Only a small percentage of the American people are actively engaged in the political process, yet they receive most of the media attention

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Internet and Politics Allows public to be better informed Private participation Fund raising activities Campaigning thru Internet Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Presidential websites

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting Constitution allowed for States to create qualifications for voting Voting Act of 1965 – eliminated discriminatory voting practices within states and mandated that any changes to state requirements had to be approved by the Department of Justice.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting Amendments 1870 – 15 th Amendment – forbade discrimination based on race, color or previous servitude 1920 – 19 th Amendment – gave women the right to vote 1961 – 23 rd Amendment – District of Columbia residents allowed to vote 1964 – 24 th Amendment – prohibited the use of poll taxes th Amendment – extended voting rights to those 18 and older

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting Voter registration: A system designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents, including proof of residency -Reduces voter turnout -Instituted in the U.S. only in the late 1800s -Most other democracies have automatic registration -Recent reforms - “Motor Voter” bill (1993)

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting In an effort to make registration easier, states have made registration forms available at motor vehicle stations, schools, public buildings, and even highway tollbooths

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Absentee and Early Voting Absentee ballots must be received by election day Used for military personnel, college students, citizens living abroad Early voting (2008) to prevent insufficient machines, lines, etc. Allowed in 31 states.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Types of Elections Primary Election – elections in which voters determine party nominees General Election – elections in which voters elect officeholder Presidential Election - elections held in years when the president is on the ballot (every 4 years, even year) Mid-Term Election – elections held midway between presidential elections. 1/3 of Senate, All of House of Representatives, governors of most states

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voter Turnout Higher among educated Higher among whites Higher among wealthy 80 Million eligible voters did not vote in 2008 (40% of voting population) More women than men Young least likely to vote ?????

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Turnout

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voter Turnout in Western Democracies Average Turnout

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Who Votes? Race and ethnicity Gender Age

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Mobilization Mobilizing the “base” (most loyal supporters) Mobilizing “swing voters” Canvassing

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman How Serious is Nonvoting? “I’m not going to shed any crocodile tears if people don’t care enough to vote….I’d be extremely happy if nobody in the United States voted except for the people who thought about the issues and made up their own minds and wanted to vote.” - the late Senator Sam Ervin A huge army of nonvoters “hangs over the democratic process like a bomb ready to explode and change the course of history.” -Arthur Hadley

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Why People Don’t Vote

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman How Serious is Nonvoting? Concerns about “class bias” Negative effect on Democratic candidates May indicate approval of the status quo

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting What if everyone voted?

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting Choices 1.Voting on Basis of Party 2.Voting on Basis of Candidates 3.Voting on Basis of Issues

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting on the Basis of Party In the absence of reasons to vote otherwise, people depend on party identification to simplify their voting choices Dramatic increase in self-declared Independents since 1970s Party Identification An informal and subjective affiliation with a political party that most people acquire in childhood

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting on the Basis of Candidates 1980s mark a critical threshold in the emergence of a candidate-centered era Increasingly, campaigns focus on the negative elements of candidates’ history and personality Candidate Appeal How voters feel about a candidate’s background, personality, leadership ability, and other personal qualities

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Voting on the Basis of Issues Prospective Issue Voting Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected Retrospective Issue Voting Holding incumbents responsible for past performance on issues

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Counting Votes Until the 2000 election, Americans took the counting of ballots for granted. Bush won by only 537 votes. According to State laws. Varies state to state Election officials must make judgment calls on incomplete/flawed ballots Poll workers (regular people from the neighborhood) influence the security, efficiency, and overall environment of polling locations