CH 6 Sect.4

party identification

loyalty of people to a political party

independants

people that do not belong to a political party

Non-voters

people who do not vote. some have legitmate reasons for not voting others chose not to.

voters: higher income, education, and occupational status. involved in thier community, long time residents of community, strong party identification, believe that voting is important, live in areas where political competition is prevelant. non-voters: younger than 35, unmarried, unskilled, live in the south and rural areas, men less likely to vote than women.

Comparing voters and non-voters

1. party identification; the loyalty of people to a particular political party is the most significant factor affecting voting. 2. candidates and issues; a short term psychological factor that affects voting. the impression a candidate makes and the issues in an election impact voting.

Explain the psychological factors involved in voting.

1. personal characteristics; age, race, income ect. 2. group affiliations; family, coworkers, friends.

Factors that influence voters

1. income, occupation; lower income people tend to vote democrat. higher income people tend to vote republican. this has been true over time. 2. education; people with more education tend to vote republican in comparison to voters with less education then them. 3. gender, age; women and younger voters tend to vote democrat. 4. religious, ethnic background; protestants tend to vote republican, catholics and jews democrats. non-whites tend to vote democrat but there are differences between the latino groups. cubans vote republicans whereas mexicans vote democrat. 5. geography; where you live affects how you vote. voting is also affected by community, if you live in a big city or a rural place. 6. family and other groups; family tends to vote similiarly because political values tend to be passed down by parents. co-workers and friends also tend to vote similarly. people of similar social and economic backgrounds tend to associate with one another and reinforce the opionions they hold.

Sociological factors involved in voting

political efficacy

The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference.

gender gap

The difference between the political opinions or political behavior of men and women.

off year elections

congressional elections held in even-numbered years between presidential elections

1. cumberson election procedures, inconvenient registration, long lines and ballots 2. bad weather 3. time-zone fallout problems, the fact that polls close at different times in different time-zones. 4. lack of interest.

factors affecting turnout

straight ticket voting

practice of voting for candidates of only one party in an election

split ticket voting

the practice of voting for the candidates of more than one party in an election

political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

millions of americans who can vote, don't vote.

the size of the problem

1. the results of particular elections; the results from areas that are populated by large numbers of particular peoples for example african americans or catholics tell us how these groups are likely to vote. 2. the field of research; polls often identify what public opinion is. 3. studies of political socialization; the study of how people develop thier attitudes and opinions on political issues.

what are the three sources of voter behavior

1. resident aliens 2. ill and unable to go vote 3. travelers that were out of the country.

who are can-not voters

1. mentally incompetent persons 2. convicts of a serious crime in jail 3. religious beliefs 4. people who chose not to vote

who are non-voters

1. choose not to vote because they don't think it makes a real difference. 2. people are satisfied with the political world as is. 3. distrust politics 4. have no sense of political efficacy.

why people do not vote