How Voters Decide: Crash Course Government and Politics #38

CrashCourse8 minutes 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.

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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.

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Summary

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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.
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