1. 26K Things that influence Voters: Nonvoters: Cannot voters (otherwise voting)  Suddenly had to travel on voting days  Are resident aliens (barred from the polls)  Are so ill or disabled that it is not possible for them to vote  In mental health facilities  Cannot vote due to religious beliefs  In jail

2.  Many people do not vote because they believe that their vote makes little to no difference.  Others don’t because they have no sense of political efficiency - lack influence or reason to vote.  Long Lines, inconvenient registration requirements, and bad weather can also push voters away.

3. The people who are most likely to vote:  Higher levels of income  Higher education  Higher occupational status  Are well integrated into community life  Long time residents  Strong sense of party identification  Live in areas where laws, customs, and competition between parties promote turnout.

4. The People most likely not to vote:  Under the age of 35  Unmarried  Unskilled  Living in the south / rural areas *Women are more likely to vote than men.*

5. Voting Influences:  Income  People in lower income brackets and those who work manual jobs tend to vote Democrat. (Blue Collar)  People in higher income brackets, professionals and business people tend to be Republicans.

6. Education:  College graduates vote Republican in higher percentages than high school graduates.  High School graduates vote Republican more than those who have just gone through grad school. Religious or Ethnic background:  Protestants tend to be Republicans  Catholics and Jews tend to be Democrats  African Americans usually vote  Democrat as do Latinos.

7. 26L Mass Media in American Politics Propaganda  A technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors.  Goal is to create a particular belief that may be completely true or completely false.  Propagandists are advertisers, persuaders, and occasionally even brainwashers  They influence others to agree with their point of view.  Mass Media in this country encouraged propaganda in the field of commercial advertising then politics.

8. Public Agenda:  Societal problems  Influence public options  Politicians pay close attention to how the media reacts to different things.

9. Electoral Politics :  Allows politicians to directly appeal to the media  Media image influences voting

10. Polls  Straw Vote:  Polls that sought to read the publics mind simply by asking the same question to a large amount of people.  Scientific Polling:  Designed to avoid errors  There are now more than 1000 national and regional polling organizations in his country.

11. The Media  There are four major ways the public receives its information.  1. T.V. 2. Internet  3. Newspaper/Magazines 4. Radio