Ch 10 ap gov

how can citizens participate in the process other than voting

- hold public office - run for public office - donate money to a campaign - working for a candidate - write a letter to the editor - write a letter to the representative - participate in public meetings - sign a petition

how the electoral college works

- each state gets a number of electors (# of senators = # of reps) - candidates who win the plurality of popular votes in each state win that state's electoral votes - 538 votes possible - must have at least 270 to win - if undecided, house (R) picks the president, senate (D) picks the VP

initiative petition

a process where voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution if they get enough signatures calling for a referendum

why is voter turnout higher in presidential elections than midterms?

because it's more important, people don't give a shit about midterms, but everyone wants to know who will lead the freaking country

Bush vs Gore

bush vs gore against who would be president. florida declared for the winner, but supreme court overruled that and ruled that more precise and consistent standards for evaluating ballots would have to be applied in all counties. they also ruled there was not enough time to recount all the ballots in time for the electors to vote. they declared bush the president

how has influence of party identification on voting changed since the 1950s?

due to the emergence of television and candidate centered politics, people are not as committed to their parties as they once were. people are no longer tied to one specific party, they can evaluate and make their own free decisions about the candidates - more individualistic

3 most important dimensions for candidate image

integrity - what they stand for reliability - if they do what they say they will do competence - are the skilled in politics?

Citizens united vs FEC

landmark decision by the supreme court ruling that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts (independent expenditures) is protected by the first amendment and cannot be limited came up because a people wanted to air a video critical of Hillary clinton. It wasn't allowed to be aired because it appeared to be in violation of the mccain fiengold act

major provision of the motor voter act

makes voter registration easier by requiring states to allow eligible voters to register to vote when they renew or receive their new driver's license

7 demographic factors related to voter turnout

1. education - those with higher educations vote more 2. age - old people are more likely to vote than young people 3. race - whites vote the most, followed by blacks, then hispanics 4. gender - women and men are about equal, but women vote a little bit more than men 5. marital status - people who are married are more likely to vote than single voters 6. residence - have to live in one place 7. union membership - people who live with a union member are more likely to vote

3 reasons why people vote

1. if they believe that the policies of one party will bring more benefits than the policies of the other party. 2. high sense of political efficacy 3. high sense of civic duty

3 kinds of elections and their purposes

1. primary elections - voters select party nominees 2. general elections - between nominees of different parties 3. elections on specific policy questions - voters engage in making or ratifying legislation

reasons why the electoral college is important to presidential elections

1. requires a distribution of popular support to win the presidency 2. maintains federal character of nation 3. encourages stability through the 2 party system 4. provides for death or unsuitability of candidate

2 tasks elections accomplish according to democratic theory

1. select policy makers 2. shape public policy

4 conditions for true policy voting to take place

1. voters must have a clear view of their own policy positions 2. voters must know where the candidates stand on policy issues 3. must see the differences between the candidates on these issues 4. must cast a vote for the candidate whose policy positions coincide with their own

how have amendments affected the voter turnout?

15th amendment - black men can now vote 19th amendment - women can now vote 26th amendment - prohibits the state from denying anyone over 18 the right to vote - anyone 18 and over can now vote

1896

people: (R) mckinley vs (D) jennings bryan mckinley won discussed the coinage of gold vs silver. bryan wanted solve. he won the nomination becoming the youngest nominee ever. bryans traveled everywhere, mckinley stayed at home. mckinley won because only silver people and southerners backed bryan

1800 elections

people: adams vs jefferson jefferson won jeffersonian won slimly in electoral votes. vp burr and jefferson tied for first, burr tried to cut a deal with adams, and lost jefferson won

2004

people: bush (R) vs Gore (D) bush won florida keep messing up in deciding who won the state. the votes were recounted. the chads kept being changed eventually the case was taken to the supreme court. the florida court ruled in favor of gore, but the supreme court ruled that there needed to be a better way to count votes and declared bush president bush won due to supreme court decision

how do sex, race, and income influence the likelihood of voting?

sex - men and women vote about the same, but women a little bit more than men race - whites vote the most, followed by blacks, then hispanics income - those with higher incomes vote more

referendum

state level of direct legislation where voters are given a chance to approve or disapprove some legislative act

buckley vs valeo

the case that challenged the the constitutionality of the federal election campaign act. in this case, the supreme court struck down the portion of the act that had limited the amount individuals could spend to their own campaign, saying it was a violation of free speech

mandate theory of elections

the election winner has a mandate (an order/commission to do something) from the people to carry out their promised policies (and party platform) politicians like this theory the most

clearest way in which the elections broadly affect public policy

the greater the policy differences between the candidates, the more likely voters will be able to steer government policies by their choices

retrospective voting

when voters ask the question "what have you done for me lately?"

factors that have contributed to the decline in turnout of federal elections

work - people have it child care - kids need to be taken care of military - people in active duty can't vote ballot fatigue - too many elections low political efficacy