Chapter 10 Packet
Define the following Key Terms
- political efficacy –
- civic duty –
- voter registration –
- Motor Voter Act –
- Mandate Theory of Elections –
- policy voting –
- electoral college –
- retrospective voting –
Outline
I. How American Elections Work
A. The U.S. has three types of elections.
1.
2.
3.
II. Whether to Vote
1. In the early party of American history, only ____________________________ could vote.
2. Today anyone can vote except _____________ and _________________
3. There are no federal requirements stating that voters must be _____________.
A. Deciding to Vote
1. When your vote is 1 of 100,000,000, the chance of your cote impacting the outcome is:
2. Not only is there little impact, but voting is _________________. a. You spend:
3. According to Downs, a person decides to vote if:
4. If you see no difference in the parties, then you:
5. Another reason why people vote is because they have a high sense of _______.
B. Registering to Vote
1. Registration procedures ______________ from state to state.
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C. Who Votes? (Describe the correlation between the characteristic and the likely hood of voting. Answer should say “The more ______ you are, the more likely you are to vote”, or “___________ vote at a higher rate than___________.”i.e.)
1. Education
2. Age
3. Race
4. Gender
5. Marital Status
6. Union Membership
III. How Americans Vote
1. What do political scientists think about the Mandate Theory of Elections?
2. Three major elements seem to influence a voter’s decision of who to vote for:
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IV. The Last Battle
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A. It is the members of the _____________________ , not the people at large that select the President.
B. The Founders wanted the President to be selected by _______________________.
1. Since 1828, however:
C. A state’s electoral vote is calculated by:
D. Each state has a ____________________ system where the electors vote as a bloc.
E. What happens if no candidate gets a majority of the electoral vote?
V. Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior
A. Elections accomplish two tasks.
1.
2.

Complete the Chart below. Use the website below to find out what percentages voted for which party. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/elections/how_groups_voted/voted_12.html
Demographic Characteristic Democrat Republican
Men
Women
White
Black
Hispanic
18-29
30-44
45-64
65+
HS Grad
College Grad
Postgraduate
Democrats
Republicans
Liberals
Conservatives
Moderates

Youtube Videos – Follow the links below, watch the video and write 1-2 paragraphs about what was covered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9H3gvnN468 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyMryrQy3es https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9MOfBy390U