Voter ID Lab and Federalism Arguments

Data Comparison Types in Voter ID Lab

• Cross-sectional comparison: Examines data from a single point in time.
• Interrupted time series comparison: Analyzes data over time, looking for changes after an event (like a policy change).
• Panel data/Difference-in-Differences: Examines data from multiple groups over time, comparing groups that did and did not experience a policy change. Best for causal inferences. Ideally, in state policy studies, one would use a panel data/difference-in-differences comparison.

Federalism Arguments

• Arguments for federalism: Distributes power, allows for diverse state needs, promotes experimentation with policies.
• Arguments against federalism: Can create inconsistencies and inequalities across states, hinders national policy implementation, can lead to bureaucratic overlap.
• Political Party Tendencies: Democrats generally favor stronger national government intervention, while Republicans often favor more state control.

Nationalization (Public Opinion & Politics)

• Public opinion: Increased national consensus on issues, a narrowing of views across states.
• Political parties/organizations: Strengthened national party organizations and coordination. Reduced emphasis on local or state-specific issues.

Federalism's Impact on Democracy

• Voting rights: Variations in voter registration laws and accessibility across states potentially influence voting rights.
• Policies: Differing state policies on issues like environmental regulations, healthcare, and education can lead to inequality in access to services and opportunities.
• Overall: Federalism can affect democracy through varied outcomes in policy areas and potential disparities in political participation.

Public Opinion

• Definition: Aggregated views and beliefs of the general public on political issues.

Ideology, Partisanship, and Attitudes

• Ideology: A coherent set of values and beliefs, often forming a framework for evaluating political issues.
• Partisanship: A strong attachment to a political party, often influencing attitudes toward issues and candidates.
• Political attitudes: People's thoughts and feelings about political objects (people, institutions, issues).
• Relationship: Ideology often shapes partisanship, resulting in particular political attitudes.

US Ideologies and Dimensions

• Main ideologies: Liberalism, conservatism, and other variations.
• Dimensions for describing US ideologies: Economic (regulation, intervention), social (values, equality).

Sources of Political Attitudes

• Socialization: Process of learning and internalizing political values and norms.
• Family influence: Tends to be moderately influential, often shaping basic political predispositions early.
• Political events: Historical moments shaped by political situations influencing attitudes on major issues.
• Political scientists: Agree that socialization is the most influential.

Socialization, Social Learning, and Politics

• Socialization: The process of acquiring political beliefs and values.
• Social learning: Learning through observation and interaction with others.
• Relationship to politics: Socialization and social learning heavily influence political attitudes, forming our political views from our environments.

Minimal Group Theory and Social Identity

• Minimal group theory: Individuals exhibit preference for in-groups rather than objectively assess each situation on its own, showing that group membership can influence attitudes and behaviors.
• Social Identity theory: Individuals define themselves by their social groups and identify with that group more over individuals.
• Relationship to politics: Group identities, perceptions, and biases stemming from in-group bias.

Political Polarization

• Definition: Intensification of political disagreement, increasingly negative views of opposing groups.
• Who is polarized? Public opinion and political elites.
• What are we polarized around? Political issues, values, and identities.

Ideological vs. Affective Polarization

• Ideological: Disagreement over policy positions and issues (facts/policies).
• Affective: Negative feelings and hostility towards opposing groups (emotional responses).

Polarization, Nationalization, and Voting

• Relationship between polarization and nationalization: As public opinion becomes more polarized, nationalization may increase as it becomes clear where specific groups stand nationally.
• Impact on split-ticket voting: Increased polarization often reduces split-ticket voting, forcing people to vote entirely for one political party.

Polarization and Democracy

• Affective polarization: Potentially challenging to democracy through increased division and lack of compromise.
• Ideological polarization: Potentially less challenging to democracy as it may not always lead to distrust and hostility toward opposition sides in policy debates.

Changes in Public Polarization Over Time

• General Trends: Polarization has increased significantly over time, particularly in recent decades.

Congressional Powers

• Specific powers of Congress: Legislative (lawmaking), executive (impeachment/approval), judicial (confirmation of judges).

Bicameral Congress

• Definition: Two-house legislature (House & Senate)

Congressional Decision-Making

• How it works: Complex process involving debates, compromises, and voting.
• Logrolling: Trading votes to secure support for specific projects or legislation. Exchanging votes on one bill to gain votes for another.

House vs. Senate Differences

• Structure, membership, powers: Different rules, procedures, and constitutional powers affect legislative process, debate and procedures.

Gerrymandering

• Definition: Drawing congressional districts to favor a particular political party, manipulating district shapes.

Gerrymandering and Democracy

• Relationship: Can undermine the democratic principle of equal representation.

Gerrymandering Strategies

• Strategies: Packing (concentrating opposition votes), cracking (splitting opposition votes).

Court's Role in Gerrymandering Cases

• Intervention: Courts intervene to address gerrymandering, enforcing equal representation standards.

Non-Gerrymandered Elections

• There are no specific elections that cannot be gerrymandered. The court's role in deciding whether redistricting qualifies as gerrymandering varies by state.

This quiz covers the types of data comparison used in the Voter ID Lab, highlighting methods like cross-sectional, interrupted time series, and panel data analyses. It also discusses the arguments for and against federalism, exploring how it impacts state policies and political party tendencies.