public opinion
what the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time
straw poll
unscientific surveys used to gauge public opinion in early 1900s; not representative of population
sample
a subset of the whole population selected to be questioned for the purposes of prediction or gauging opinion
exit polls
polls conducted as voters leave selected polling places on Election Day
push polls
Polls taken for the purpose of providing information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate
loaded question
provides information from which to answer the question in a certain way
ambiguous question
non-specific question, vague language
double-negative question
use of two negatives causes confusion
response alternatives
choices provided to respondents in a survey when asked a question, generally associated with closed-ended items, although open-ended items may provide a limited number of such choices,make sure alternatives balance same number on one side as on other, make inclusive, play a large role in how well you are able to capture public opinion.
two party system
party competition int he US has been predominantly of the two party variety, there have been times when one of the major parties has disintegrated, shortly afterwards the two party division was re-established
Duverger's Law
legislature reason for two party system; we have single member district system with plurality of the vote winning; this differs from proportional representation systems of electing legislatures where system uses multimember districts and reward all serious parties with their proportionate share of seats; According to this law, single member pluralities condemn third parties to perpetual electoral defeat; fact that can't have multiple people come from one district forces it to be minimal parties
initiative
an election that allows citizens to propose legislation or state constitutional amendments by submitting them to the electorate for popular vote
referendum
an election whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation or state constitutional amendments to the voters for approval
electoral college
Representatives of each state who cast the final ballots that actually elect a president
reapportionment
reallocation of the number of seats int he House of Reps after each decennial census (b)
midterm election
election that takes place int he middle of presidential term, threat to incumbents of president's party (b)
ticket splitting
voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election b/c 1. trust neither party to govern 2. growth of issue- and candidate-centered politics has made party less important voting cue, shows psychological attachment model isn't necessarily correct
retrospective judgment
voter's evaluation of candidate based on past performance on a particular issue (b)
the hereditary vote
vote with your family; indicative of social circles theory, sociological model
economic rationality
can always make a decision when confronted with a range of alternatives, can rank all preferences in order, preference ranking is transitive, always choose highest preference on the list, consistency-will always make same choice, goal is to maximize utility - cost benefit; explains voting behavior as parties win elections with the most efficiency and voters select a candidate most preferable being the most efficient, vote along party lines; Sig: when it comes to voting ppl are self-interested in terms of how many utility it will give you even if it benefits others. Do not necessarily vote with parties or neighbors, what puts it all together is this rationality
campaign manager
travels with the candidate and coordinates the campaign, closest to the candidate making the day-to-day decisions, helps to determine the campaign's overall strategy and works to keep the campaign on message throughout the race (b)
finance chair
coordinates the financial efforts of the campaign, includes raising money, keeping records of funds received and spent, filing the required paperwork with the FEC (b)
director of communication
develops the overall media strategy for the campaign, heads the communications staff, stay apprised of all media coverage, supervise media consultants who craft campaign advertisements (b)
buckley v. valeo
struck down bits and pieces of FECA; key question: do these limits violate the first amendment? 1. Limit on contributions to candidates - allowed, limited do not violate first amendment because there are limits on speech and association; 2. limit on contributions to PACs - allowed, same rationale; 3. limits on amount 3rd parties can spend on behalf of a candidate (independent expenditure) - disallowed, unconstitutional, allow unlimited independent expenditures so long as they're totally independent; 4. Limit on personal expenditures by candidates - unconstitutional; Key Points - Money is speech and campaign contributions are separate from independent and personal expenditures
BCRA
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, regulates political advertising and funding, originally passed limiting the broadcast of issue advocacy ads w/in 30 days of primary and 60 days of general and set hard lim on campaign contributions from a number of sources including individuals, political parties, pacs and congressmen, restrictions on individual expenditures upheld, 30/60 day limits unconstitutional, candidate can spend own money, Citizens United v. FEC declared ban on electioneering communications made by corporations and unions unconstitutional; Significance: symbolic legislation, raise awareness about campaign finance problems, independent expenditure groups have to work independently from the campaigns,
Sig: one overturned and new soft money loophole
soft money
Political donations made in such a way as to avoid federal regulations or limits, as by donating to a party organization rather than to a particular candidate or campaign
PAC
Political committee which is legally allowed to solicit and accumulate funds for distribution to candidates and parties; generally formed by unions, corporations, and interest groups; donations to them and expenditures by them are limited by campaign finance law
super Pac
independent expenditure groups, can make unlimited expenditures in support or opposition of candidates so long as they act independently of the parties/campaigns; can accept unlimited donations
appeal ad
essential at beginning of campaigns to tell personal story and let public know why you are right for the job, develop and explain issue positions, extol personal virtues, create strong leadership image
attack ad
set rhetorical agenda for your opponent, cause defensive posture and limits amount of time a candidate can spend appealing and forced to response, make mediocre candidate look better, divert public attention from issues that may be a weakness of sponsor, foster candidate image of strength and decisiveness; can make voters more cynical or turn off of politics, but most claim are useful as voters more influenced and learn more as there are more facts in these, pay more attention
response ad
control damage from attack, should take focus away from attack, should attempt to put candidate back in offensive - one-up opponent, candidates always on defensive rarely win elections; typically employ a. refute strategy b. counter attack strategy c. humor/absurdity strategy; theorists say should use unless completely weak and unknown, not using this could prove fatal for campaign
partisan press
outlets for parties, the battle over reunification of the constitution took place in these kinds of newspapers, not object and espoused their viewpoints
penny press
politically independent, forerunner of modern newspaper, rely on mass circulation and advertising for profit, while less partisan, weren't necessarily becoming more respectable - many appts in administration were given to loyal reporters, politicians attempted to pay off reporters, wealthy industrialists sometimes purchased investigative cease-fire for tens of thousands of dollars
yellow journalism
prominent publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer expanded readerships by including pictures, comics and sensationalized news coverage
muckraking
journalists devoted to exposing misconduct by govt, business and individual politicians, prompted increase in journalistic professionalism, become objective, balanced and motivated to report the truth
game frame
the way news media covers campaigns because interests viewers to bring in an audience and also helps reporting to appear objective
bad news syndrome
tone of election coverage tends to be negative, incumbents usually receive more criticism; so much negative reporting as consequence of media's role of watchdog of govt and seems more newsworthy in general than good news as verbal slips and embarrassing incidents make for good news stories
lobbying
the activities of a group or organization that seek to persuade political leaders to support the group's position (b)
public interest group
an organization that seeks a collective good that will not selectively and materially benefit group members (b)
benefits of public opinion polling
intermediary to government-fuse link between representative and represented; cant always vote to get your say in govt, govt officials want to stay in office so they often attempt to conform to public opinion; help with campaign strategizing
shortcomings to public opinion polling
may be wrong for a variety of reasons; lack of information, non-attitude problem; hard to measure intensity; limited response options
downsides of game frame
less attention on substance, more attention on strategy, instead of exploring merits of a proposal coverage focuses on the underlying political motivations and game consequences, heightens partisan component of elections
Federal Elections Campaign Act (FECA)
mandated public disclosure of campaign contributions, created contribution and expenditure limit, created FEC to monitor campaign fundraising; OVERALL: lim amt of $ ppl could donate to candidates, lim amt of $ ppl could donate to PACs, lim amt 3rd parties could spend on behalf of candidate, lim personal expenditure by candidates, mandated detailed record keeping
prospective judgment
voter's evaluation of a candidate based on what he or she pledges to do about an issue if elected; completely linked to retrospective
compound question
ask two questions in one, manipulative and confusing, loaded question