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Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Recent Concerns about Voting Florida 2000 *video* –Contested ballots –Outdated voting machines –Lingering perceptions of partisanship Help America Vote Act 2002 Ohio 2004

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 The Way You Ask the Question Matters

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman What is Public Opinion? Intensity Latency Salience

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

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

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

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 *video* “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 - Should public opinion shape public policy? Or, should leaders/politicians influence/guide public opinion?

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Awareness and Interest *video* 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 Participation: Translating Opinions into Action What are some ways that citizens translate 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 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 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 Turnout

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

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

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

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? *Video* “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 How Serious is Nonvoting? Concerns about “class bias” Negative effect on Democratic candidates May indicate approval of the status quo *video*

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 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