Political scienceLesson 2 of 4 in the course Political Participation and Public Opinion

Demographic, Attitudinal, and Institutional Influences on U.S. Voting

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson examines how age and income are connected to voter turnout. These patterns help explain why people with the formal right to vote may still face different chances of participating.

Age is one of the individual characteristics most consistently associated with voting. Younger adults are generally less likely to vote than middle-aged adults. Turnout tends to rise as people move into middle age, then shows a softer decline among the oldest age groups. This is called a curvilinear relationship: the pattern rises and later bends downward rather than moving steadily in one direction.

All flashcards

Curvilinear age-turnout relationship
Turnout generally rises from young adulthood through middle age, then declines somewhat among the oldest groups.
Political efficacy
The belief that political participation can make a difference or that government responds to people’s actions.
Civic duty
The belief that voting is a responsibility of citizenship.
Automatic voter registration
A system in which government processes register eligible citizens without requiring them to initiate registration.
Voter fatigue
The idea that frequent elections or many electoral decisions may reduce willingness to participate.

Quiz questions

  1. What effect have studies found automatic voter registration can have?Answer: It can increase the number of registered voters.
  2. How has U.S. turnout by gender generally compared since 1964?Answer: Women have voted at higher rates than men.
  3. What is the difference between voter turnout and vote preference?Answer: Turnout measures whether people vote; preference concerns whom they support.
  4. What does the term voter fatigue describe?Answer: The possibility that frequent elections or many choices may discourage participation.
  5. What is gerrymandering?Answer: Drawing district boundaries to advantage a political party.

Based on Introduction to Political Science by Mark Carl Rom, Masaki Hidaka, Rachel Bzostek Walker (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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