Hi guys was thinking about starting a thread where we post any example answers we've written for any of the questions so that we can help each other and bounce of everyones ideas.
How is everyone feeling for this exam? Any predictions on what some of the questions may be? Specifically Political Parties and Voting Behaviour?
You can divide the voting behaviour topic questions into three categories: 1. Know reason and consequences of split ticketing. 2. Know long term and short term influences on voting behaviour. 3. Know causes for low turnout at US elections.
Once you can place the questions in the exams in one of these categories you can easily answer it. Some possible point sentences for each category could be:
1. -Split ticketing is caused by a rise in voter dealignment. - Candidate-centred campaigns contribute to why voters split their ticket. - Cognitive madisonianism is a key contributor to split ticketing. - The rise in issue voting is a contributing factor to split ticketing.
2. >long term factors: -race -income/region -religion >short term factors: -issues and events make voting behaviours unpredictable -candidate-centred campaigns issue voting
3. >causes of low turnout: -High abstention can be explained by apathy especially amongst younger voters - Wider asymmetric issues with voting cause low turnouts - Democratic overload in the US causes low turnouts.
>arguments that there isn't low turnout: -Differential turnout amongst specific demographics suggests there is not low turnouts at elections. - VAP vs VEP skewers the turnout figures to look lower than they actually are.