Honors Politics 2

obsenity & libel

inaccurate reporting

The most common response to why people don't vote

indifference, lack of engagement

Gate keeper

influences what stories become national news and how long it will be news

Bias by spin

it's a reporter's subjective comments about objective facts; makes one side's ideological perspective look better than another.

The US Free Press is the ________________ in the world

least restricted, censored

Bias by omission

leaving one side out of an article, or a series of articles over a period of time

National reporters slant...

liberal

Watch dog

looks for misconduct- like scandal and corruption

Motor Voter Laws suggest

number of registrants increased, and so did voter turnout

How to assess a public opinions poll?

(1) Define the universe that is surveyed (2) Construct random samples (3) Prepare valid questions (4) Select and control how the poll will be taken (5) Analyze and report the findings

Popular ways you can cast your vote in an election:

(1) In person (2) Absentee- excuse or no-excuse (3) Early Voting

Why do people vote? And who doesn't vote?

-People fulfill their responsibility of citizenship, they put effort into electing who they want as officials, they use their vote to represent what they want for the country. -Nonvoters, cannot-voters, and other groups. Some don't vote because they are not allowed to/ physically unable. Some choose to not vote, because of political efficacy. (laws keep them or local pressures do)

Summarize the arguments in favor of and against online voting. *not on the test*

Favors- it makes the process easier and faster Against- disenfranchises people who don't have access to the internet, easier to be hacked and skewed.

interview bias

In poll taking, if the question is asked in a way that leads you into a certain answer.

1/3 of voters are registered as

Independents

Sound bites

Information that is distorted in the media (quick n snappy)

Most popular source of news for the public

Internet, TV, Newspaper

Old Media

Newspapers, Magazines, and Radio reported the natural issues

What exactly are special interest groups and what is their function? Do you believe that interest groups help or hinder the democratic process? Explain using concrete facts to support your opinion.

Special interest groups are private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. I believe interest groups have a negative effect on the democratic process because some have too big on an influence, it's sometimes hard to tell how many people they represent, many groups do not actually represent the views the people in the group, and finally some use tactics like bribery and threats to undermine the political system. Special Interest groups are private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. We believe that interest groups help the democratic process because they can share a certain view that you agree with to help you know who to support. They present their views through letters, lobbyists, phone calls, emails, and political campaigns. These interest groups can alter what they want the public to see or hear through their means of communication. >there are multiple opportunities of corruption in these groups<

Voting for candidates from both parties

Split-voting

Voting for candidates from a single party

Straight-voting

New Media

Television, Internet, and Social Media tends to be bias now

What are the three universal requirements for voting in the United States? What new, controversial requirements were attempted to be added for North Carolina voters in 2016, and what has the District Court ruled about this? Do you agree or disagree with this--be sure to tell WHY

The Universal requirements for voting in the US are: - You must be a citizen - Residency requirement in each state - Age (an 18 year old cannot be DENIED the right to vote) They controversial requirements that were attempted to be added for NC were voter IDs. The District Court ruled it unconstitutional because it was discriminatory. Disagree because you need to prove who you are to be able to vote and prove you are a resident/citizen of the US. Agree because some people don't have any identification or a way to get one so it's denying them the right to vote.

You have read that some nonvoters are actually "cannot voters," because they are unable to vote. For those who are truly nonvoters, do you think there are any legitimate reasons to decide not to vote? If not, why not? If so, what might be a legitimate reason to decide not to vote?

The category of "cannot voters" are the people who are either sick, physically unable, and or along the lines of resident aliens A seperate catergory are the "non voters": they choose not to vote because they feel their voice/opinion isn't heard (political efficacy). Your job as a citizen is to vote, it's our duty-

Margin of Error

The smaller the group, the larger the margin

Who are the "political elites?" Give a description of their characteristics AND influence upon government. To what degree do they reflect the views of most Americans—explain. Why do they have the degree of governmental influence that they do—again, give concrete reasons.

They are the "highly-engaged" in politics. They are the very informed, hold political office, and create public policies. A small group of citizens that are well off financially, they have extreme views. This group often are apart of the extremely liberal or conservative. So they don't represent the common public very well.

What is public opinion?

Varied opinions that involve the government and policy. This is how the government knows what the people want. Examples of how opinions may be influenced: Family, values, income, and the media.

Without asking for an individual's political party identification, what three to five questions might you ask to determine his or her typical voting behavior?

What is your yearly income? How old are you? What is your ethnicity? The questions above factor in 1 of the 2 kinds of sociological factors in voting. (Your age, race, and income.) The personal characteristics in a voter Do you value what your family believes in? Do you and your friends agree on political issues? These questions focus on the 2 kind of sociological factors. (Your family and friends) The group affiliations with a voter. These kinds of questions pull together the social and economical aspects in a voter's' life.

Public Opinion poll

a device that attempts to collect information by asking questions

Interest groups

a group of people who share views on public matters, and work to shape public policy to their benefit.

Talk radio slant...

conservative

Party press- newspapers

extremely biased and written to express any views of the political party

Ballot Fatigue

the longer the list of candidates, the less votes casted

Party indentification

the most reliable way to know how someone is voting, and who they are voting for

the most in-depth coverage medium is

the newspaper

What are lobbyists?

the people who are hired to try and influence public officials to do those things that interest groups want them to do

Political efficacy

the people who feel they have no influence or lack of effectiveness in politics

Random sample

the polling group takes people from all the types of characteristics and lifestyles

Political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions. (childhood - adult life)

Describe the specific methods used by interest groups within the legislative branch of government to affect public policy. Be specific and provide as many details as you can.

they try to influence the government with a certain view; endorse candidates, hire lobbyist who give information to the government, interest groups shape public policy and some interest groups use bribery, have a mass of followers that they can influence to vote.

Coattail effect

when a weak candidate rides the coattails of the stronger candidate in the same party

Bias by placement

where on a website (or newspaper) or in an article a story or event is printed; a pattern of placing news stories so as to downplay information supportive of either conservative views or liberal views.

Score keeper

who is mentioned a lot- it can make careers