Ideology and Structured Opinion Plus: Political Participation

And back again to the Economic vs. Social Divide

On economic issues:
Belief in the limited role of government in the economy
Little foreign aid Free trade Low taxes Little or no welfare programs Government doesn't seize property No minimum wage

Who does that sound like?

And the Flip side of the coin?

Belief in a strong role by the government in economic affairs
More foreign aid Some restrictions on free trade Progressive taxation Social safety net Government seizes property under certain circumstances Right to a minimum wage

And who does that sound like?

What about on Social Issues?

Belief in a limited role of government on social issues
Less or no regulation of abortion Allow for a more open interpretation of marriage Less restrictions on issues of pornography and sexuality Less intervention from the government concerning drugs/alcohol Allow for open immigration Less scrutiny of media content

And on the Other Side?

Belief in a strong government role in social issues
Stricter regulation of abortion Marriage defined as being between a man and a woman Greater restriction of pornography, drug/alcohol use Increased restrictions on immigration Greater examination of media content

Remember...
Our discussion of political culture:
Of the line between being socially orthodox or socially progressive.

Who has structured beliefs?*

Political Elites
Strongly structured along the lines of how much government should do in economic/social issues.

Educated/Politically Sophisticated Mass Publics

May lean one way or the other but often there are conflicts
Cleavages, for example

*Those who don't are Politically Inconsistent.

Learning about Public Opinion

Random sample Selection bias
Study compares public and private schools students Voluntary response (self-selection) Snowball sampling (extreme selection bias)

Question Wording
Stacked questions Non-attitudes and difficulty Social desirability

Sampling error

Political Participation
Who governs? What is the role of people in governance?
Voting Other political behavior

Voter Turnout
Italy: 90% Germany: 86% Canada: 76% UK: 76% United States: 54% Switzerland: 54% Poland: 51%

Why is US Turnout so Low?

Why is US Voter Turnout so Low?

Costs of Voting
Transportation Information Time Registration

Benefits of Voting
Good policy returns Civic duty Feelings of efficacy You might cast the decisive vote

Voter Turnout: Decline?

Controversy:
Are you using voting age population or voting eligible population?

VAP: includes non-citizens and convicted felons, etc., who cannot vote. VEP: focuses on who is actually voting and who can. When that correction is made the downward trend is muted.

Implications
If eligible voters and these extras change at the same rate, turnout will appear lower. A masking effect. But what if we don't see them change at the same rate? If the extras change at a rate faster than eligible voters, the turnout figure will be distorted downward even more.

Election Reforms
The Founders placed the control of elections in the states. The outcome was non-uniformity/discrimination:
Literary tests Poll taxes White primary Grandfather clause

Voting Rights Act (1965) outlawed such electoral discrimination.

Reforms
Enter the Australian Ballot
Replaced party-printed ballots The replacement was a standardized ballot with random order printing The result?
The rise of split ticket voting.

Early and Absentee Voting?

Motor Voter

Who Votes?
Trends:
Age: The older you are, the more likely you are to vote. Schooling: The higher your level of education, the more likely it is that you will vote. Race: Whites are more likely to vote than minority groups. Gender: some interesting patterns when combined with race.