Voting Behaviour and the Media Key Terms Flashcards
(13 cards)
What is a floating/swing voter?
someone who changes the party they vote for between elections. Vote is unpredictable, can change
What is a core voter?
vote who indefinitely supports one main party
What is class dealignment?
people deter away from who they vote for as a result of their class. Stop associating with a particular social class as strongly, therefore cannot use class to predict how they vote
What is partisan dealignment?
people are becoming less and less rigid with aligning with a political party.
What is Governing competency?
how smart the government is percieved to be, and wether the electorate would want to elect them again
What is Disillusion and apathy?
people becoming disconnected to politics, no longer caring
What is a manifesto?
list of things a party promises to do if they win
What is a mandate?
authority the government believes it had to govern and implement manifesto as a result of winning a GE
What is a Valence issue?
voters make their decision based on the party or candidate that they think is most likely to run the country effectively, especially in relation to the economy. Many believe this is the most important issue. Leadership is a key valence issue – Miliband was punished in 2015 for being seen as weak, and Corbyn was a highly divisive leader and damaged by accusations of anti-Semitism.
What is a Rational Choice?
when voters scrutinise the manifesto and policies of a party, and decide which party will govern most effectively for them as individuals. This reduces the voting decision to one based on logic, rather than emotion.
What is Issue voting?
suggests that voters will vote on one issue that means a lot to them. This is particularly the case in the USA, for example over abortion rights. However it has a role to play in British elections as well. Brexit is an obvious example, but the environment, terrorism and the government’s response and military action (e.g. the 1983 election after the Falklands War) are also issues that have dominated elections.
What are ‘wasted votes’?
votes with no influence on the outcome of the election ie usually to Lib Dem or Greens
What is a ‘Public opinion poll’?
Poll carried out by research organisations using a sample of typical voters. They are mainly used to establish voting intentions, but can also be used to gauge leaders’ popularity and the importance of
specific issues in voters’ minds.
