Suchergebnisse

The focus is the basic consensus & dissensus that is evident in the US electorate every 4 yrs & the lack of direct translation of PO into public policy in a democracy. Using 1964 as an example, a study of a nat'l sample of voters (Survey Res Center) indicates that there is a surprising degree of agreement on many issues, even when the electorate is faced with 2 clear alternatives & an 'ostensibly ideological campaign.' The study indicates the relative uncohesive nature of the Johnson 'mandate' (Guttman scale analysis) & delineates the salience of certain issues such as Medicare (factor analysis). It was discovered that civil rights issues fell into the realm of the least divisive issues in 1964 in spite of the nature of campaign output, & that L. B. Johnson & B. Goldwater voters displayed similar levels of issue intensity. Most of the evidence presented points to the continued failure of US voters to put their cognitive map in order re a liberal-conservative continuum. AA.

Analysis of Illinois at-large legislative election of 1964 shows that party allegiance exhausts most of the total variance but that endorsement accounts for much of the within-party variance.

The most widely-held and well-supported theories of electoral choice today relate such choice to group membership, socializing, so to speak, the vote decision. In this process the personality of the individual voter has tended to be overlooked or its influence minimized. In focussing in this discussion upon the relationship of authoritarianism to electoral choice, therefore, we hope not only to contribute to our knowledge of a particular personality pattern in a political context but also, more generally, to restore the individual, as contrasted to the group, to an important place in a theory of the electoral process.In an electoral situation, as in any other situation, personality factors play a double role: (1) they affect the perceptions of the individual, screening out some stimuli, distorting others, and admitting others intact; and (2) they shape the responses of a person, selecting among the various possible responses those which are most serviceable to basic personality needs. Every personality develops certain attitudes to assist in this process of selecting among the possible responses. For example, interest in the election, sense of duty, sense of political efficacy, or sense of social integration with the community might form the nucleus of the attitudes bearing on the decision whether or not to vote. Identification with a political party, position on current political issues, candidate preference, anticipation of economic or political advantage, prestige considerations, or identification with a partisan social group might affect the vote itself.

The Electoral Law Amendment Act, 1958, which reduces the voting age of white South Africans, will create a series of contradictions due to the discrepancy between legal majority at 21 yrs & pol'al majority at 18 yrs, which will have to be artificially reconciled with one another. There is some justification for the supposition that the gov intends to mold the electoral system so as to remain in power for all time, thereby converting the country from a parliamentary democracy to a one-party totalitarian state. The inclusion of 18-yr-olds will probably add 270,000 voters to the Nationalist Party &, because young people have the choice of registering either at their parents' address or at the address at which they are staying while studying or training, it will increase the risk of gerrymandering. In a country like South Africa, where the vote is denied to the bulk of the people on grounds of color, the principle is open to the gravest criticism & can only aggravate racial discontents & tensions. IPSA.