Preview

The Responsible Electorate

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
304 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Responsible Electorate
5th AP History

January 13, 2003

The Responsible Electorate

V.O. Key, Jr.

Election returns identify which candidate gets the most votes from the electorate, but in essence, that's all it really tells us. Why does one candidate get more votes than another? We cannot assume it's because of his past record or promises for the future. It's interesting to examine what make the electorate vote as it does.

Instruments such as the Gallup Poll have helped experts determine voting behaviors of a large number of people. Preliminary findings many years ago lead researchers to believe that people voted according to where they were socio-economically. However, there were exceptions to the rule, often dependent upon how optimistic or pessimistic a person
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Major Issues In Philip Rucker's Two Democratic Candidates
    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Major Issues In Philip Rucker's Two Democratic Candidates

    When candidates compete in a campaign they have to stand out and set themselves apart from the others. The candidates would talk about important topics that they would like to change and raise awareness towards the major issues. Depending on their viewpoints on the issues helps them develop a fan base which helps them receive votes. Voter’s elects the person who they feel is more compatible for the position of being president. Voter looks for someone who is going to change things for the better and make the nation better.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Consider the extent to which short-term factors are now far more important than long-term factors in shaping voting behaviour
    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Consider the extent to which short-term factors are now far more important than long-term factors in shaping voting behaviour

    Consider the extent to which short-term factors are now far more important than long-term factors in shaping voting behaviour…

    • 1089 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Opinion Poll and Pew Research Center
    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Opinion Poll and Pew Research Center

    Gallup poll results are prevalent in the media especially leading up to elections as are reports on surveys done by universities and research groups like the Pew Research Center.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter 10 Political Socialization
    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Chapter 10 Political Socialization

    4) The impact of social groups on political value can be defined by the fact that these groups characterized by social class, education, religion, race and ethnicity, and gender, represent pressure groups involving a large number of people who can be manipulated, not by their individual political beliefs, but by the political beliefs of the majority in their different groups. Also, the political attitudes of Americans tend to differ by income, education, religion, race and ethnicity, and gender because people with similar backgrounds tend to develop similar political…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Sociological Analysis of the Presidential Election of 2012 from a Structural Functionalist Perspective and a Conflict Perspective.
    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Sociological Analysis of the Presidential Election of 2012 from a Structural Functionalist Perspective and a Conflict Perspective.

    It is a known fact that democracy and demography are like Siamese twins that cannot be separated. These demographics include gender, race, age, disability, wealth, employment status, and locations. Politicians have used, and still using, these elements to know which group is the best to appease. On gender issue, the two prominent political parties, Democratic and the Republican Parties, know that “females voters make up 52% of the US electorate” (Bloomberg News). These women tend to vote for any political party that caters to their needs. Also, race is part of political consideration. The African-Americans, Asian-Americans, the Hispanics and White are different voting blocs which the politicians must woo. According to the online Hispanic News, “the recent release of National Census data confirms that “50 million Latinos are part of the American electorate”. Not only the Hispanics are increasing in population, the African American grew by 1.6% in 2010 while the Asian-American are recently declared, by CNN, as the “fastest growing minority in the US”. Another demographic to be considered is age. Steven Thomma and William Douglas of McClatchy Newspaper said, “Statistics show that older white and rich voters are more reliable electorates than the young voters; they tend to vote Republican Party”. The question now is how all…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Aggregate Effects Of Congressional Elections
    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Aggregate Effects Of Congressional Elections

    The vote decision is strongly influenced by the voters’ knowledge and evaluations of the particular set of candidates running in the district or state. National issues such as the state of the economy or the performance of the president may influence some voters some of the time but for many voters the congressional choice is determined by evaluations of candidates as individuals, often with little reference to national policies or…

    • 1063 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Pros And Cons Of Election Day Surveys
    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Pros And Cons Of Election Day Surveys

    On page 4 grocery shopping for schools, senior citizens and the environment. The reality is you do grocery shop. It might not come through in a poll but a politician would have to pick and choose during a budget while trying not to alienate any base group that might vote for them. Polls provide simplicity, some on important issues and some on throwaway or obvious issues. The only thing that influences a politican's vote besides a wide survey are the people passionate enough to write letters to their Congressman or to show up for a Town Hall, also a skewed…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Bad Weather Lowers Voter Turnout
    • 2336 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Bad Weather Lowers Voter Turnout

    To understand, consider the classic “calculus of voting” model, R = PB - C + D, first proposed by Downs (1957) and later adapted by Riker and Ordeshook (1968), where R is the reward gained from voting in a given election, P is the probability of a vote influencing the outcome of the election, B is the differential benefit of one candidate winning over the other, C is the cost of voting (e.g., time and effort spent), and D is the psychological benefit of voting derived from things like feelings of civic duty or altruism. Most scholarship on voting has assumed—either explicitly or implicitly—that inclement weather impacts elections only through increasing C, the actual costs associated with voting (e.g., through causing poor driving conditions), and therefore that inclement weather might only impact election outcomes through its effect on voter turnout. In contrast, we argue that inclement weather also impacts voting behavior through its effect on D, the psychology of the voter, and through the individual’s perception of the values of P and B. Therefore, we contend that precipitation might impact not only voter turnout, but also voters’ choices at the…

    • 2336 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Exit Poll Analysis
    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page

    Exit Poll Analysis

    After a national election the New York Time conducts exit polls to study personal characteristics of voters and determine how the characteristics play a role in the election. This particular poll evaluates voter demographics, socioeconomic status, political party, race and ethnicity, age, gender, education, and religious ideologies, to determine how each facet breaks down into each candidate. Exit polls become crucial to recognize voting patterns of groups and predicting election results.…

    • 238 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civic Duty In American Politics
    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Civic Duty In American Politics

    Many countries in the world have a political system in which officials are elected, and for most of these countries’ citizens, their civic duty stops at voting. Yet, many Americans go above and beyond for a cause that is important to them, setting us apart from other nations. Millions of Americans express their concern and passion by actions as small as writing a letter to their Congressman or as big as running for office themselves. This continuing determination, this idea that we can always improve upon yesterday’s shortcomings, is a key aspect of progression.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    To what extent does social class influence voting behaviour
    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages

    To what extent does social class influence voting behaviour

    It is often said that social class is the key determinant in voting behaviour. When the next Government elections come up is it true that the middle and upper classes will vote for the Conservative Party and the working class vote for the Labour Party? Or is voter behaviour more complex than that? This essay explores how the impact of social class on voting behaviour has changed over the years.…

    • 1222 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Social Class Affect Voting Behaviour
    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Social Class Affect Voting Behaviour

    I agree with this statement up to a certain extent, as there are many very influential factors which may impact upon someone’s voting behaviour. Social class is not the deciding factor in many cases nowadays; people are more likely to decide according to other key issues for example policies.…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Swing Vote
    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Swing Vote

    A swing vote is a particular vote which may affect any candidate in an election. Such votes are usually sought after in elections, since they have such a large role in the outcome.” Swing Vote” is the actual name of the movie we chose to write about since it pertains to much of what we have discussed in class, such as how citizens have the right to vote. This movie also has the media itself come alive in mostly every chapter. How it also affects the Electoral College and the battle between conservatives and liberals, and of course presidential election nominees.…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Application of Amos in Sem
    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Application of Amos in Sem

    3) In the field of social science — AMOS could be employed to describe how the socio-economic status of respondents affect/influence their voting behaviour in a general election.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ethenic Relation
    • 3432 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Ethenic Relation

    1013 randomly selected registered voters aged 21+ were interviewed via telephone for the survey Respondents were selected via random stratified sampling method along the lines of state of residence, ethnicity, gender and age…

    • 3432 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics