How Voters Decide: Crash Course Government and Politics #38
CrashCourse・1 minute read
Voters are influenced by party loyalty, candidate characteristics, and election issues, with party loyalty being a significant predictor of voting behavior. Factors like candidate charisma and issue alignment also impact election outcomes when the electorate is well-informed.
Insights
- Party loyalty, candidate characteristics, and election issues are the primary factors influencing voters' decisions, with psychological attachment, personal ideology, and past experiences playing significant roles in party loyalty.
- Besides party affiliation, candidate characteristics encompassing race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography, and personality traits, along with election issues spanning retrospective or prospective concerns, significantly impact voter choices, indicating a multifaceted decision-making process beyond mere party allegiance.
Get key ideas from YouTube videos. It’s free
Recent questions
What influences voters' decisions?
Three main factors: party loyalty, candidate characteristics, and election issues.
How does party loyalty affect voting behavior?
Party loyalty is a strong predictor of voting behavior.
What role do candidate characteristics play in elections?
Candidate characteristics impact voter decisions.
How do election issues influence voter choices?
Election issues, whether retrospective or prospective, impact voter decisions.
What factors influence election outcomes?
Party loyalty, candidate charisma, and issue alignment impact election results.
Related videos
Summary
00:00
Factors Influencing Voter Decisions: Party, Issues, Candidates
- Voters' decisions are influenced by three main factors: party loyalty, issues involved in an election, and characteristics of the candidates running for office.
- Party loyalty is a significant predictor of voting behavior, with around 90% of voters identifying with a political party, such as democrat or republican.
- Factors contributing to party loyalty include psychological attachment, personal ideology alignment, and past experiences with political leaders.
- Candidate characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, geography, social background, and personality traits, also play a crucial role in voter decisions.
- Issues involved in an election, whether retrospective (based on past performance) or prospective (based on future performance), are another factor influencing voter choices.
- Political issues can be spatial (with a range of options) or valence (where all voters prefer a higher value), impacting how voters make decisions.
- While party loyalty is a strong predictor of election outcomes, factors like candidate charisma and issue alignment can also influence results, especially when the electorate is well-informed.
