1. Voter Behavior

2. The Non-Voter Do you know the origin of the word “Idiot”?
Comes from the Greek word “idiotes”, meaning those citizens that do not vote
Tens of millions of Americans, for various reasons, fail to vote

3. Why Don’t People Vote? resident aliens physically unable
1) “Cannot voters”
resident aliens
physically unable
business travelers
persons confined to mental health care facilities or under legal restraint
prisons/jail

4. Convinced their vote will not make a difference
2) Actual non-voters
Convinced their vote will not make a difference
Some are content w/the political world
Others share a distrust towards politics
Political efficacy: lack of any feeling of influence or effectiveness in politics

5. a) Cumbersome election procedures Registration requirements
3) Inconvenient polling
a) Cumbersome election procedures
Registration requirements
Long ballots
Lines at voting polls
b) “Time-zone fallout”
Polls in East Coast close prior to Mountain/Pacific time zones
Media effect

8. Studying Voter Behavior
Two Methods:
Sociological Factors
voter’s personal characteristics
- age, race, income, education, religion
voter’s group affiliations
- family, co-workers, friends
Psychological Factors
- voter’s perception of politics

9. Sociological Factors Income and Occupation
Voters w/higher incomes tend to vote Republican
Voters w/lower incomes tend vote Democrat

10. Sociological Factors Education
Statistics vary on education and party affiliation.
College graduates lean Republican
Advanced degrees (Doctorate) lean Democrat
Those w/ only a high school diploma or less tend to vote Democrat

12. Sociological Factors
Gender Gap: measurable difference between the partisan choices of men and women
women tend to favor Democrats by a 5-10% margin
Similarly, men favor Republicans
Men and women are likely to vote differently on specific issue.
Abortion, social welfare, military

14. Sociological Factors Age: traditionally, younger voters tend to be
Democrats
Different generations
will have different
political values

15. Sociological Factors Religion Catholics=Democrats
Protestants=Republicans
Ethnic Background
non-whites=Democrats

16. Sociological Factors Geography=sectionalism Post Civil War
- “solid” South belong to the Democrats
- change began in the 1960’s, Republican Party controls the South today
Large cities/urban areas=Demo
Suburban America=Republicans

17. Red v. Blue , 1960

18. Red vs. Blue, 2012

19. Psychological Factors
Party Identification: loyalty of people to a particular political party
- partisanship strengthens over time
- single most significant predictor
Straight ticket voting: practice of voting for candidates in only one party

20. Rise of the Independents
Split-ticket voters: practice of voting for candidates in more than one party
Party identification is by no means the sole determinant of voter preference
Latest Gallup Poll:
47% of voters identified themselves as Independents (no party affiliation)

21. Role of the Media Provide entertainment Important force in politics
provide political info when they report the news
Provide opinions on politics
advertising
“watchdogs of democracy”

22. Mass Media Four major types: TV Newspapers (paper and web) Radio
Internet
Medium: a means of communication that transmits information

23. Television
replaced newspapers in the mid-1960’s as the main source for political info
- Kennedy/Nixon Debates
- Vietnam
Today we have 24-hr news coverage
Americans spend almost 1900 hrs. in front of a TV set=80 days

24. Print Media 1st used by the colonists against British rule
yellow journalism: sensational stories designed to attract readers
Muckraking or Investigative journalism: stories that uncovered business and govt. corruption
Print media is declining w/the advent of the Internet
Local newspapers are still popular

25. Radio Popularity exploded in the 1930’s
- FDR and his “fire-side chats”
Radio has survived due to its convenience
- car
- work

26. Internet
Social Media: Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, snap chats and Instagram provide immediate contact between candidates and the public
- voter turnout has increased w/the advent of social media
- 60% of American adults use some form of social media

27. Public Agenda
Public agenda: societal problems that the nations leaders and general public agree need govt. attention How can the media affect government and politics? 1. By influencing political opinions of voters. 2. By determining the behavior of candidates and public officials. 3. By setting the “public agenda”.