The Persuadable Voter Summary

I have not had much interest in politics until recently. Before last year, I did not care for anything related to politics; I thought that it was all boring and had little to no affect on me on a personal level. I am more interested in politics nowadays. I know better now that it does affect me and I should care about it. I had learned about the concepts of political socialization, party identification, political tolerance, political trust, political efficacy in government class and how they affect my political beliefs. My personal political belief has been shaped into what it is today and is still being shaped because of those six concepts.

A voter can be defined as an individual who votes, or has the right to vote, in elections. Voting behaviour is explained using the concepts of expressive voting and strategic voting. A rational voter would act more strategically, that is, the voter would vote to produce an election outcome which is as close as possible to his or her own policy preferences, rather than voting on the basis of party attachment, ideology, or social group membership (expressive voting). Strategic voting has become more important than voting on the basis of political cleavages (expressive voting), so voters have become more rational in their approach, however there is always an element of expressiveness in their behaviour. Political parties were initially formed to represent the interests of particular groups in society however, as these parties became more universal in the appeal of their policy programmes, voting behaviour shifted from expressive to strategic. This essay explores the reasons behind the declining importance of political cleavages, and the rise of strategic voting.

A notion exists that the “independent voter” is also an independent thinker, researcher, and analyst - a voter not swayed by media and partisan politics; however, I propose that while voters may be successfully categorized, neither independent nor partisan voters are better informed than the other, this must be attributed individually and not categorically. “Independent” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “not subject to authority or control; not depending on another…for one’s opinion; not belonging to or supported by a party” (Independent, 2002, p. 417). The problem with labelling a voter (or group of voters) with this term is that the label is most often a self-designation that sometimes has little to do with that word actually implies.

This article is part of my series on Considerations and Ideas for Improving Government and Civil Society, and constitutes its second article.

After research-filled, highly targeted, and negative campaigns, the results of the 2016 Presidential Election stunned the world. But were these results really all that surprising? America was prepared for a change in policy and election projections were incorrect due to the fact that there existed many “under cover Trumpers”, whom voted their conscience but were not willing to openly admit their political beliefs for fear of condemnation. The 2016 Presidential Election results open many areas for research into the legitimacy of the Electoral College, civic engagement, and campaign strategies as well as raises concerns over the fear American people possessed in defending their political values.

Swing voters could stay in the middle of this rating with a possible leaning for one side or the other. Swing voters can be described by four characteristics. According to Craig the “ First, swing voters are substantially less partisan than non-swing voters…Most swing voters are either less partisan or independent”(Craig ,54). On the characteristic of moderation according to Craig moderates are less sure about which candidate supports their interests (Craig, 54). On the topic of Information level Craig states that those who need information most… or swing voters, tend to pay less attention to politics and campaign new than those who have made a firm decision” (Craig, 55). On the case of demographics Craig purposes that women, the elderly, Catholics and Hispanics (Craig, 55). Craig breaks down swing voters into two groups one being those who have the bare minimum information about each party but are still undecided, and the other side is those who vote for the incumbent but might change their

People came out to vote, in spite of their disagreement with the morals and the ideas of the candidates. I volunteered on election day, and went canvassing in a low-income neighborhood as part of a Get Out the Vote Drive. I was frankly disgusted and disheartened to feel the atmosphere set by the election. Residing in the majority of houses I visited was an American citizen who did not have any positive anecdotes about the two main candidates. They were doubtful of both of their abilities to serve. When these people casted their votes, they were supporting the candidate’s respective party, rather than the candidate themselves. Many are unaware to the fact that these candidates are not their only options. In the recent election, there were about 10 presidential candidates on more than 20 state ballots. Perhaps the electorate would give one of these less known candidates a victory if they truly desire for their voices to be heard in other ways than by the two main political

Carmela D’Amico of Salon.com writes a piece entitled “Enough of the ‘US vs. Them’ binary; Why I’m writing in Bernie Sanders on Election Day” in reference to the presidential election of 2016. In her article D’Amico captures her audience of potential voters with her opinion of the candidates and the overall election itself. D’Amico states that she does not belong to a political party henceforth declaring herself an independent. While keeping a light-hearted tone, D’Amico is able to stress the importance of voting not for the satisfaction of one’s party, but to satisfy the needs of this country. D’Amico states this as her purpose for writing in Bernie Sanders on Election Day as choosing from “the lesser of two evils” only restricts the freedom that we as Americans were given.

Understanding a person’s background can explain how and why they decided to vote for a particular candidate. In the United States there are

The issue depends totally on whether the presidential voting framework is improved. That would take an interstate smaller between states with a larger part of constituent votes. That would set aside some time to go sufficiently through states – maybe 3-6 years once things got going – so it's somewhat of a long shot for the following 10 years. The presidential voting framework utilized as a part of the US is majority voting, sifted through the discretionary school. The experimental perception that this framework all around prompts two-gathering predominance is known as Duverger's law. It bodes well; the length of you can vote in favor of only one applicant, you would be advised to vote in favor of one of the two leaders.

The Single Transferable Vote system is a system that was invented by a mathematician whose processes are lengthy and confusing to the people who actually use it to implement change: voters. The currently used Single Member Plurality system is widely understood and the best system for Manitoban voters. While some may argue that the Single Transferrable Vote system is a superior method of electing members of government in Manitoba, due to the unfamiliarity with candidates, lack of voter involvement, and confusing nature of the system, the current Single Member Plurality system is more effective and reflective of the actual views of the electors.

Many political science researchers study the forces that drive the vote. One of the earliest, and most well known, books about election studies is The American Voter. Written in 1960, the book tries to explain a model that describes what drives Americans to vote the way they do. The model suggests that social factors determine ones party identification, which determines one's issue positions and evaluation of candidate's characteristics. These forces all work together to determine how one will vote. This model may or may not still hold true today, as political researchers are not in agreement as to what exactly drives the vote. One thing that does remain true, however, is that factors such as social groups, party identification, issues,

There are various factors that influence how a voter will cast their choice in the U.S. elections. Party identification is the most top factor in a person's voting choice. Some voters are members of either the two majors political parties; the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. These party affiliations are usually determined by a person's influences from family, peers, media and the assessment of the candidates and the issues. Independents who are not affiliated with either party does not have a particular loyalty to any party. They vote mainly on the issues (Schmidt, Shelley, Bardes, 2011, p.193).

Many factors can contribute to the political attitudes and behaviors of the American voter including family, gender, religion, race and ethnicity, and region. These factors affect how Americans participate, whom they vote for, and what political parties they support. Most recently younger voters have begun to choose the party that best matches their ideology and issue positions (Fiorina). Since the end of the Civil War Republicans and Democrats have ruled the American political arena, with third party candidates like the Green, Independent, and Libertarian parties having little no to success in elections. The two party political system encourages political polarization by forcing voters to “choose a side” when voting, instead of voting for the candidates that best represent their needs and ideals. When voters blindly vote for candidates that are affiliated

How much does your vote really count? As a voter, does your choice really matter? How much influence does the media have on your vote? How many choices does the media actually make when it comes to our nation's leadership? These are questions pondered by both political scientists and the average American citizen each year as the second Tuesday in November approaches. Though we know that the framers founded this nation on the principles of representing it's citizens, and on the ideals of a nation for the people and by the people; it is obvious that the people feel that their vote doesn't always count. In this paper I plan to expand on these questions and the justifications behind asking them, and I plan to follow up with a specific