Chapter 10 – Elections & Voting – Flashcards
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What is referendum?
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State-level method of direct legislation; gives voters a chance to approve/disapprove a proposed legislation
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What is an initiative petition?
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Voters can put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote
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What was the main concern of the election of 1800?
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State legislatures (choosing members of electoral college)
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What was the significance of the election of 1800?
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It was the first peaceful transfer of power
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What candidates ran in the election of 1800?
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Adams (federalist) & Jefferson (Dem/Rep)
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Who ran in the election of 1896?
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McKinley (Republican) & Jennings Bryan (Democrat)
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Whatwas the main issue of the 1896 election?
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Gold standards & tariffs
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What was the significance of the 1896 election?
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It had one of the highest voter turnouts ever (80%)
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Who ran in the 2004 election?
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George W (Republican) & John Kerry (Democrat)
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What was one of the main concerns of the 2004 election?
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War on Terror
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What was one of the most frequent reasons for people voting for Bush in 2004?
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His leadership in the War on Terror; he started and must finish
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What is legitimacy?
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Characterization of elections to show they are universally accepted as a "fair and free method"
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Who invented the punch card system?
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Joseph Harris
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What was Bush's lead over Gore in the initial count in 2000?
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0.1%
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What were two problems of recounting in the 2000 election?
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It was difficult to find clear intentions of voters There was not enough time to recount by the electoral colelge voting
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Everyone over 18 can vote except for...?
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Noncitizens & convicted criminals
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What is the main reason for America's low voter turnout rate?
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Requirement of voter registration
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Which state requires no voter registration?
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North Dakota (low population)
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What is the belief that ordinary people can influence the government?
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Political efficacy
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What is the belief that a citizen should always vote in order to keep a democratic government?
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Civic duty
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Name 6 demographics that contribute to voter turnout.
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1. Education (higher education = higher rates) 2. Age (older = more likely to vote) 3. Race (blacks & Hispanics are underrepresented) 4. Gender (women = higher rates) 5. Marital Status (married = more likely to vote) 6. Government Employment (job with gov't = higher rates)
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Why did only 55% of people vote in 2004?
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They couldn't take time off of work
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Why do states have voter registration laws?
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To prevent corruption
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When was the Motor Voter Act passed and what did it allow?
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1993; it allowed people to register to vote at the same time they applied for their driver's license
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What are the 4 reasons as to why American's voter turnout rate is so low?
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1. Requirement of voter registration 2. Citizens are asked to vote far more often 3. Americans must vote for a much wider range of political offices. 4. Choices offered to Americans are not as centrist as other countries
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What is the mandate theory of elections?
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The idea that the winning candidate must carry out his parties/platforms for the people, since they voted for him
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What are the 3 reasons that political scientists say contribue to how a person votes?
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1. Party identification 2. Voter evaluation of the candidates 3. Policy voting
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Wattenburg, Miller & Malanchuk show that the three most important dimensions of a candidate are...?
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1. Integrity 2. Reliability 3. Competence
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Why do incumbent presidents typically score higher on competence?
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They have more experience with international crises
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What is policy voting?
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Voting for a candidate based off a person's own issue preferences
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What is the main obstacle to policy voting?
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Candidates often cloud their positions in rhetoric
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Benjamin Page coined "the art of ambiguity" to label presidents as candidates who...
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Are skilled at appearing to say much while actually saying little
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In 1968, Nixon & Humphrey were deliberately ambiguous about what issue?
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How to end the Vietnam War
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The members of electoral college actually cast the votes for president & VP, NOT...
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The people at large
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Each state gets as many electoral votes as it has...?
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Senators & representatives
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Which 2 states do not have a winner take all system?
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Maine & Nebraska
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Electors of the college meet in December, after the election, and...?
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Mail their votes to the VP and their votes are counted
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If no candidate receives an electoral college majority, what happens?
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The election is thrown to the House
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Name 2 reasons why the electoral college is important to the presidential election.
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1. It introduces bias, since less populated states are overrepresented 2. The winner-take-all method means that candidates will focuse on winning states where there is a close contest
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The greater the policy differences between candidates, the more likely...?
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Voters will be able to steer government policies
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What question is asked in the theory of retrospective voting?
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"What have you done for me lately?"
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During elections, people unhappy with the economy tend to blame whom?
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The incumbent
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2 months after the Motor Voter Act was passed, 360000 people signed up in how many states?
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27
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By 1999, how much of the population had registered to vote through the Motor Voter Act?
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1/3
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A 2001 study showed that people who signed up through Motor Voter had...?
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Lower turnout rates
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By the Andrew Jackson administration, the voting population was essentially what?
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All white males
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Which states initially had property restrictions on eligible voters?
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NJ & NC
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In early elections, how did states pick members of the House?
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At large (state-wide) or districts (1 rep for each district)
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How were presidential electors originally chosen?
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By state legislatures, not by the people at large
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In 1842, federal law required that all members of the House were...?
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Elected by districts
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Today, all federal elections are held when?
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On the Tuesday following the first Monday in November
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What does the 15th amendment state?
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No citizen can be denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (slavery)
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How did the Supreme Court interpret the 15th amendment?
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If someone was denied that right, it couldn't be explicitly on the grounds of race
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Through what other methods were blacks denied the right to vote?
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1. Literacy tests 2. Poll taxes 3. Grandfather clause (a person could vote even if he didn't meet the legal requirements if he or his ancestors voted before 1867) 4. Threatened at polls
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In 1944, Congress got rid of what?
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White primaries
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The Grandfather Clause was declared unconstitutional in what year?
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1915
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What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?
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1. Ended literacy tests 2. Criminal penalties for interfering with franchise
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After the Voting Rights Act, the number of blacks registered to vote went from ...% to ...% in 10 years
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5% to 70%
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What was the first state that allowed women to vote?
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Wyoming
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What did the 19th amendment accomplish?
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1. Allowed women to vote 2. Doubled size of eligible voters 3. Did not change outcomes of elections too dramatically (women voted in similar manner to husbands and fathers)
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What did the Voting Rights Act of 1970 accomplish?
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1. Allowed 18 year olds to vote in federal elections 2. ^Stated the same for state elections, but the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional
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The 1972 election was the first in which...?
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All people between ages 18-21 could vote
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What were results of the Voting Rights Act of 1970?
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1. Lower voter turnout in youth 2. Voters didn't flock to one particular party 3. Since '72 their turnout has dropped
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Most state requires ... days in that state before a person can vote
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>30
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Poll watchers may be sent to areas where less than ...% participate in voting
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<50%
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Which amendment was ratified to allow citizens of DC to vote in presidential elections?
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23rd
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Through the years 1860-1900, about ...% of the population went to the polls
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70%
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Fraud was commonplace until the beginning of which century?
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20th
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What was accepted/adopted in order to reduce voter fraud?
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The Australian ballot; it was a ballot of uniform size and shape that was cast in secret
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What were some reasons for voter decline after the 1890s?
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1. Registration was burdensome 2. Longer residency requirements 3. Aliens who had not become citizens yet couldn't vote 4. Educational qualifications 5. Reduced fraud = reduced voting
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What did the 2000 presidential election accomplish?
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1. Each state now had a system for counting disputed ballots 2. Provided federal funds for upgraded voting equipment/procedures
