Chapter 11

Strongest predictor of how someone votes?

with those who identify as being religious much more likely to be conservative and vote for Republicans

Urban voting

Big cities vote strongly liberal or left. Small towns and rural areas tend to vote conservative.

Characteristic of the average voter

Middle aged Better educated Urban Likely to identify with a political party

Income and who votes

People with high income levels are much more likely to vote than those with lower income levels

Education and who votes

People with higher education levels vote at higher rates than those with less education.

How has regional voting changed over time?

The North/South voting patterns in the United States are now the reverse of the period following the Civil War.

Marriage gap

Unmarried people are much more likely to vote for Democrats than are married people, who tend to be more conservative and vote for Republicans. The problem for Republicans is that fewer people are getting married, which is a product in part of postmaterialism.

Ethnicity and who votes

Until recently, African Americans had a much lower turnout rate than other groups in society.

Place of residence and who votes

Urban areas have higher voting turnout rates than rural areas (Population Density).

Gender gap

Women used to be more traditional and conservative than men, but now are more liberal by several percentage points and consistently vote for Democratic candidates, something that helped the candidacy of Obama.

Age and who votes

Young people vote at a consistently lower rate than older citizens. Young people under the age of 25 are less likely to vote.

Voter turnout in presidential elections

averaged between 55% and 65% over the years.

Voter turnout in non-presidential elections

averaging 40% or less.