Voting and Elections

Voter Registration

System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents.

Voter Mobilization

The efforts of parties, groups, and activists to encourage their supporters to turn out for elections.

Expected Benefit

The expected benefit of the bargain is the advantage or benefit that a party reasonably expects to derive from entering into a contract.

Paradox of Voting

The notion that people still vote despite the fact that the individual costs of voting often outweigh the individual benefits, and that their vote will really have little to no effect on the outcome.

Voter Turnout

The percentage of eligible voters that actually "turn out" on election day to cast their ballots. About 50-60% in Presidential elections About 30-40% in Mid-Year elections

Civic Skills

The skills of writing, speaking, analyzing, and organizing that reduce the cost of political participation.

Costs of Voting

Transaction costs, information costs, and opportunity costs. Lack of motivation, campaign news and ads (whom views and how viewed), too busy, conflicted, protest, registration difficult, campaign not competitive, voting: polling places hard to get to, hard to get ballot or actually vote.

Socioeconomic Status

A person's position in society as determined by income, wealth, occupation, education, place of residence, and other factors.

Vote by Mail

A program in many states that allows voters to mail in their ballots rather than appearing in person at a polling place.

Voting Eligible Population

All U.S. citizens age 18 and over, who are not excluded from voter eligibility due to criminal status (felony convictions, incarceration, or parole), or excluded due to being declared being incompetent to vote.

Political Participation

All of the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common but not the only means of political participation in a democracy is voting. Other means include protest and civil disobedience.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

An act that invalidated the use of any test or device to deny a person the right to vote. It also authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised black people. As more black people became politically active and elected black representatives, jobs, contracts, facilities and services were brought to the black community. This encouraged greater social equality and decreased the wealth and education gap.

Help America Vote Act of 2002

An act which dealt with the problems of the 2000 presidential election by requiring states to update their voting machines, train poll workers, improve voter education and have a statewide registration system. Aid was given to poorer counties that did not have the means to update their systems. This means that the act also helped create a more uniform and regulated voting system.

Popular Sovereignty

Basic concept of the Constitution. The idea that political authority, and the authority to make decisions on behalf of society, belongs to the voting people.

Voting Age Population

Citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching the minimum age requirement.

Narrowcasting

Delivering programming to a specific group defined by demographics and/or program content, rather than mass appeal. Usually used to describe cable networks. The opposite of broadcasting.

Calculus of Voting

Downs' Model : R = pB - C Riker and Ordeshook's Model: R = pB - C + D R = Reward gained from voting in a given election (R, then, is a proxy for the probability that the voter will turn out) p = Probability of vote "mattering" B = "Utility" benefit of voting (The differential benefit of one candidate winning over the other) C = Costs of voting (time and effort spent) D = Sense of civic duty

The Franchise (Suffrage)

Entitlement starts at the 'age of majority', which is 18 and is dependent upon residency in a constituency. The right to vote.

Youth Turnout

Of people between the ages of 18-29, only ~20% turned out for mid-year elections, and ~45% turned out for the presidential election in 2012.

Cohort Effect

People of the same age are affected by factors unique to their generation, leading to difference in performance and opinions between generations.

Life-Cycle Effect

People tend to become somewhat more conservative as they age.