Voting Behavior
Introduction
This study will be concerned wit
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This study will be concerned with the reasons that people vote the way they do. This is a significant topic because it helps to explain the processes of voting behavior. This type of information is important not only for political analysts, but for the general public as well. There is little question that politics play an important role in the maintenance of society. In a democratic society, voting is the key to determining the style and manner in which the government will be run. It is for this reason that research into voting decisions is so vital. Various theories have been advanced to explain voter choices. There is some evidence to support the view that opinion polls, campaign funding, and media presence all play a role in influencing voters. However, there is more evidence to support the view that set opinions and party affiliations are the primary determining factors. The purpose of this research is to examine the thesis that people vote the way they do because of their pre-established political opinions. It is hypothesized that people make voting decisions on the basis of the extent to which a particular candidate or issue agrees or disagrees with these pre-set views. It is further hypothesized that party affiliation provides a fairly accurate guideline to these views. Previous research has been conducted which helps provide a theoretical framework for the present study. This research has indicated that there are
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s make the incumbents more visible to the voter and thus increase the opportunities for their election.
All of these arguments taken together provide a complete and concise picture of how and why voting decisions are made. However, there are hints within the literature that party affiliation plays an especially prominent role. It is not the party affiliation itself which guides voting behavior. Rather, it is the personal opinions of the voter which informs the decision-making processes. In turn, party affiliation provides a basic guideline to those personal opinions.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis or research question for this study is that people vote the way they do because of their set political opinions. In addition, it is hypothesized that these set political opinions are reflected by party affiliation. Party affiliation is defined as "the familiar longterm psychological attachment of an individual to a political party" (Brown & Woods, 1991, p. 459). It is argued that people make their voting decisions on the basis of the extent to which incumbents or competitors agree or disagree with their pre-established views.
In the review of literature, it was shown that there is a great deal of support for this hypothesis.
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Some common words found in the essay are:
McAllister Studlar, Brown Woods, , Rabinowitz Macdonald, Campbell Sumners, Literature Previous, party affiliation, Science Review, Journal Politics, References Bowler, voting behavior, voting decisions, people vote, JE Sumners, brown woods, opinion polls, brown woods 1991, mcallister studlar, woods 1991, chosen party, candidate issue, rabinowitz macdonald 1989, mcallister studlar 1991, evidence support view, set political opinions,
Approximate Word count = 1978
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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