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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Elections and Voting Behavior
• Is an election an expression of popular will?
• When we vote have we truly expressed our beliefs on public policy?
• This chapter discusses why it is difficult for elections to be a mechanism for expressing the public’s desires.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Elections and Voting Behavior
• Are the people represented by elections in America?
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter 10: Elections and Voting Behavior• How American Elections Work• A Tale of Three Elections• Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice• How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’
Decisions• The Last Battle: The Electoral College• Understanding Elections and Voting
Behavior• Summary
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives
• How American Elections Work• LO 10.1: Distinguish the types of elections
in the United States. • A Tale of Three Elections• LO 10.2: Trace the evolution of the
American electoral process from 1800 to the present.
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Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives
• Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice• LO 10.3: Identify the factors that influence
whether people vote or not.• How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’
Decisions• LO 10.4: Assess the impact of party
identification, candidate evaluations, and policy opinions on voting behavior.
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Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives
• The Last Battle: The Electoral College• LO 10.5: Evaluate the fairness of the
Electoral College system for choosing the president.
• Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior• LO 10.6: Assess the extent to which
elections make government officials pay attention to what voters want.
How American Elections WorkLO 10.1: Distinguish the types of elections in the United States.
• Functions of Elections• Institutionalize political activity – Make it
possible for most political participation to be channeled through the electoral process.
• Regular access to political power – Leaders can be replaced.
• Legitimacy – Fair and free way of selecting political leaders.
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How American Elections Work
• Three Kinds of Elections• Primary elections – Voters select party
nominees.• General elections – Between the
nominees of the parties.• Elections on specific policy questions –
Voters make (initiative petition) or ratify (referendum) legislation.
LO 10.1
To Learning Objectives
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 10.1
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Marijuana legalization passes in Colorado, WashingtonBy Aaron Smith @AaronSmithCNN November 8, 2012
Voters in Washington and Colorado passed ballot initiatives Tuesday to legalize marijuana for recreational use, the biggest victory ever for the legalization movement.
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Ballot Initiatives 2015
https://ballotpedia.org/2015_ballot_measures
Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First ChoiceLO 10.3: Identify the factors that influence whether people vote or not.• Deciding Whether to Vote• Registering to Vote• Who Votes?
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice
• Suffrage• The legal right to vote, in the United States
gradually extended to virtually all citizens over the age of 18.
LO 10.3
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 10.3
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Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice
• Deciding Whether to Vote• Anthony Downs – People who see policy
differences between the parties are more likely to vote.
• Political Efficacy – Belief that one’s vote does matter and can actually make a difference.
• Civic Duty – Belief that a citizen should vote to support democratic government.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.3
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Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice
• Registering to Vote• Voter Registration – A system adopted by
the states that requires voters to register prior to voting.
• Motor Voter Act – A 1993 act that requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for their driver’s license.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.3
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Voter Registration
• Montco Election Board
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Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice
• Who Votes?• Education – People with a higher than
average education vote more than people with less education.
• Age – Older people vote more than younger people.
• Race – Racial minorities are usually underrepresented among voters relative to their share of the citizenry.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.3
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Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice
• Who Votes?• Gender – Women participate in elections
slightly more than men do.• Marital status – Married people vote more
than unmarried people.• Government employment – Workers for
the government vote more than people who have jobs in the in private sector.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.3
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 10.3
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Whether to Vote: A Citizen’s First Choice
• Who Votes?• Possessing several of these traits (being
elderly, well educated, and married) adds significantly to one’s likelihood of voting.
• Conversely, being young, poorly educated, and single is likely to add up to a very low probability of voting.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.3
How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ DecisionsLO 10.4: Assess the impact of party identification, candidate evaluations, and policy opinions on voting behavior.• Party Identification• Candidate Evaluations: How
Americans See the Candidates• Policy Voting
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions
• Mandate Theory of Elections• The idea that the winning candidate has a
mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics.
• Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do.
LO 10.4
To Learning Objectives
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How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions
• Party Identification• People still generally vote for a party that they
agree with.• Parties’ hold on voters declined in the 1960s and
1970s with rise of candidate-centered politics.• Many floating voters make an individual voting
decision and are up for grabs each election.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.4
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How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions
• Candidate Evaluations: How Americans See the Candidates• 3 most important dimensions of candidate image
are integrity, reliability, and competence.• Image plays a role in voting when a candidate is
perceived to be incompetent or dishonest.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.4
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How Americans Vote: Explaining Citizens’ Decisions
• Policy Voting• Electoral choices that are made on the
basis of the voters’ policy preferences and where the candidates stand on policy issues.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.4
The Last Battle: The Electoral CollegeLO 10.5: Evaluate the fairness of the Electoral College system for choosing the president.• Electoral College• A unique American institution, created by
the Constitution, providing for the selection of the president by electors.
• Less populated states are overrepresented.
• Winner-take-all concentrates campaigns on close states.
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Last Battle: The Electoral College
• How Electoral College Works• Electoral votes for each state equals its
members in Congress.• 48 states use winner-take-all system (not
Maine and Nebraska).• State electors vote in December following the
November election. • January – Congress counts votes.• House of Representatives picks president if
no majority vote.
LO 10.5
To Learning Objectives
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 10.5
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 10.5
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The Last Battle: The Electoral College
• Important Electoral College• The less populated states are
overrepresented because states get 2 electors for the senators regardless of population.
• Winner-take-all means candidates will focus on winning the states where the polls show that there appears to be a close contest.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.5
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• 270 to Win
Understanding Elections and Voting BehaviorLO 10.6: Assess the extent to which elections make government officials pay attention to what voters want.
• Democracy and Elections• Elections and the Scope of
Government
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior
• Democracy and Elections• The greater the policy differences between
candidates, the more likely voters will be able to steer government policy by their choices.
• Retrospective voting – Voters cast a vote based on what a candidate has done for them lately.
LO 10.6
To Learning Objectives
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Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior
• Elections and the Scope of Government• Elections accomplish two tasks• Select policymakers• Help shape public policy
• Voters feel they are sending a message to government to accomplish something.
To Learning Objectives
LO 10.6
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• Threats of election defeat constrain policymakers
• Increases support for government• Legitimatize the power of the state• “people see the government as their
servant instead of their master”
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The End