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| activities citizens undertake to influence government behavior. |
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| the principle that the authority to make decisions on behalf of society belongs to the people. |
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| the notion that people still vote despite the fact that the individual costs of voting often outweigh the individual benefits. |
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| a process by which citizens enroll themselves with the government to gain permission to vote in an election. |
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| a general understanding of how the political system works, and who runs the government. |
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| Help America Vote Act of 2002 |
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Definition
a federal law meant to reduce barriers to participation in elections.
• The Help America Vote Act of 2002 was intended to spur states to adopt electronic voting machines. |
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| a program in many states that allows voters to mail in their ballots rather than appearing in person at a polling place. |
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| Voting Rights Act of 1965 |
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| a federal law that made it a priority of the national government to enforce provisions of the 14th and 15th Amendments, leading to major improvements in voting rights for blacks, other minorities, and the poor. |
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| the proportion of potential voters who vote in a given election. |
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| efforts by organizations to facilitate or encourage voting. |
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| Socioeconomic status (SES) |
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a measure of the way that individuals are regarded within a society by virtue of their wealth, income, education, and profession.
o The higher a person’s SES, the more likely he or she is to be engaged in politics. |
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| Why does political participation determine the way democratic political systems function? |
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| Political participation communicates aspects of public opinion to the government or help people form their own opinions and hone their communication skills to pressure government. |
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| What does the popular legitimacy of a government depend on? |
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| On the tolerance of dissent and criticism, and on the participation of a large proportion of the population in choosing their leaders. |
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| Why is voting a collective-action problem? |
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• As the costs of voting rise, fewer people will turn out to vote because the costs increasingly outweigh the likely benefits.
- A potential voter could let others vote and free ride off their efforts. |
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| What coordination problems do citizens face? |
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| People who share views should coordinate their efforts and communicate a focused message, which targets those communications to the members of Congress who are poised to do something about the issue in their favor → interest groups often solve coordination problems. |
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| How does the gathering of information play a role on a person's decision to participate politically? |
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| If people consider being informed a prerequisite for participation, then the costs of gathering information will dampen participation among those who experience high costs in becoming informed, specifically poorer and less-educated citizens. |
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| How has voting by mail affected the voter turnout? |
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| Voting by mail has increased turnout and encouraged people to become regular voters. It has also lowered the costs of voting, but only on those who are registered to vote. |
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| What did the 26th Amendment mandate? |
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Definition
| That people 18 years of age and older had the right to vote in federal, state, and local elections. |
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| Education and wealth levels in the US have increased, but political participation has been declining. Why? |
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Definition
| It is a result of the decline of labor unions around, if they decline in numbers and importance, so does the mobilizations of the working-class voters. |
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| Why are young people less likely to participate politically in comparison to the elderly? |
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Young people are less likely to be mobilized by organizations and institutions since they are less likely to be employed or belong to associations that might mobilize them to vote and participate in politics.
o Being mobilized reduces information costs because mobilizing group is typically telling you how to vote or what to do in participatory act |
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