Suchergebnisse

Considers & reviews the problems within voting in the United States, pointedly of the presidential elections of 2000 & 2004, while tracing many of the problems, such as voter punch card difficulties as far back as their inception, in the 1970's. Couples these data with the Voting Rights Act, which it finds to have been a success as restriction of minorities in the south to voter registration & the polls to be negligible, with the caveat that such disenfranchisement could reoccur. While the situation for African-Americans seems acceptable, the same is not so true for Hispanics, not so much from racist action, but from Hispanic voter registration in relation to it demographic proportion within the whole population. Sees electronic voter technology as problematic ipso facto, not necessarily as being adverse to minority groups. The author asks the reader to consider the ramifications & meanings of having the right to vote in face of governmental acceptance of lower voting technology in light of economic pressures, along with inequalities of voting practices amongst differing areas of the country, ultimately pointing to a need for standardization of such practices. To sum up, this is not a problem that will go away until action is taken. Tables, Appendixes, References. J. Fullmer

Chronicles the history & achievements of the movement for voting rights in the US, which, since the 1950s, has been a keystone in the fight for political representation among racial minorities. Comparisons are made to movements for civil rights, women's suffrage, the abolition of slavery, & labor-organizing efforts, arguing that the voting rights movement is of no less importance in its goals or accomplishments. Legal dimensions of the movement are discussed, focusing on racial discrimination & the parity of individual election ballots. Ways that the current system of voting indirectly promotes racial discrimination are identified, & the creation of the single-member district system by the US Supreme Court in 1986 is commended. Implications for the use of such spatial distancing processes in attaining greater racial equality in voting are discussed, along with some limitations of the strategy. K. H. Stewart

Examines German voter orientations toward chancellor candidates, drawing on survey data gathered on elections since 1961 in a discussion of the nonpersonalization of candidates. Considered first is whether assessments of candidates determine individual votes, focusing on the impact of candidate orientations on the voting behavior of those lacking any long-term party identification. Conditions fostering candidate-centered voting on the part of weak identifiers as well as shifts in supply- & demand-side factors are addressed. Next, a short overview of voter preference development since 1969 is provided, &, following, an approach employed by Wolfgang Jagodzinski & Stefan Kuhnel (1990), the affect of candidate evaluations on electoral choice is assessed. Attention turns to various elements of candidate images & which ones determine a good leader, highlighting survey data from the 1998 elections between Helmut Kohl & Gerhard Schroder. It is concluded that candidate personalities & personal characteristics do not figure too heavily in German voter decisions, as they are mediated by situational factors, eg, strength & direction of partisan affiliations, presence or absence of contentious political issues, & voter evaluations of candidates not running for chancellor. The potential growth of personalization & its utility in describing trends in Germany are contemplated in closing. 4 Tables, 4 Figures, 1 Appendix. J. Zendejas

This chapter attempts to explain why extreme right-wing parties are popular in some European Union countries & not in others, an important question because of the growing differences in attitudes among EU member states. Data from several national & international surveys conducted in the 1990s (a total of 49,801 respondents) on right-wing voting behavior in 16 West European countries were analyzed in relation to national differences in social structure, public opinion, economic conditions, political conditions, characteristics of extreme right-wing parties, & relations between individual-level & contextual characteristics. The findings show that, across countries, people who were poorer, un- or under-employed, less educated, non-religious, younger, & male tended to vote for right-wing parties. Between-country differences were explained more by public opinion; in particular, in countries where more people had anti-immigrant attitudes & expressed dissatisfaction with democracy, there was greater support for extreme right-wing parties. Tables, Figures. J. Stanton

This chapter attempts to explain why extreme right-wing parties are popular in some European Union countries & not in others, an important question because of the growing differences in attitudes among EU member states. Data from several national & international surveys conducted in the 1990s (a total of 49,801 respondents) on right-wing voting behavior in 16 West European countries were analyzed in relation to national differences in social structure, public opinion, economic conditions, political conditions, characteristics of extreme right-wing parties, & relations between individual-level & contextual characteristics. The findings show that, across countries, people who were poorer, un- or under-employed, less educated, non-religious, younger, & male tended to vote for right-wing parties. Between-country differences were explained more by public opinion; in particular, in countries where more people had anti-immigrant attitudes & expressed dissatisfaction with democracy, there was greater support for extreme right-wing parties. Tables, Figures. J. Stanton

Der Autor untersucht auf der Grundlage von Aggregatdaten Zusammenhänge zwischen Sozialstruktur und Wahlverhalten und die zeitlichen Veränderungen in Dänemark seit 1920. Es wird ausgeführt, daß die hier vorgelegte Aggregatdatenanalyse wissenschaftlich unsicher ist, weil trotz der Verwendung von Korrelationen statt der Verwendung von Regressionskoeffizienten die Gefahr des ökologischen Fehlschlusses (Gruppenfehlschluß) nicht völlig ausgeschlossen werden kann. Seit dem Beginn dieses Jahrhunderts besteht in Dänemark die soziale Hauptspannungslinie zwischen der Arbeiterklasse und der übrigen Gesellschaft. Ein Index der Polarisation zwischen den Klassen zeigt jedoch seit 1920 sinkende Werte, so daß ein friedlicher Wandel hin zur Kooperation zwischen der von der Arbeiterklasse unterstützten Sozialdemokratie und dem bürgerlichen Lager vermutet werden kann. Zu einer solchen Annäherung kam es ausweislich des Polarisationskoeffizienten über lange Zeit hinweg immer nur dann, wenn die Regierung von den Sozialdemokraten gestellt wurde. Unter einer bürgerlichen Regierung war eine solche Veränderung nach 1982 erstmals zu beobachten. Weitere Untersuchungsergebnisse zeigen, daß die drei "Klassen" Bauern, Landarbeiter und städtische Selbständige sich in einem Auflösungsprozeß befinden. Die abnehmende Polarisierung zwischen den Klassen in Dänemark ist sowohl zurückzuführen auf die schwindende Unterstützung der Sozialdemokratie durch die Arbeiterschaft als auch auf eine steigende Sympathie für die Sozialdemokratie in den Reihen der Angestellten des öffentlichen Sektors. Es wird angenommen, daß dies Auswirkungen des sehr großen öffentlichen Sektors in Dänemark sind, der eine Spannungslinie schafft zwischen denen, die von ihm direkt profitieren und jenen, bei denen dies nicht der Fall ist. (ICF)

Die Autorin berichtet über ihre Untersuchung zur Geschichte der Parlamentarier und ihres Abstimmungsverhaltens im britischen Unterhaus. Einleitend wird dargestellt, wie sich die Forschungen zum britischen House of Commons historisch entwickelt haben. Am Anfang standen Forschungen zu den Auswirkungen der Wahlrechtsreform, ihnen folgten die Wahlforschung im engeren Sinne, Untersuchungen über die soziale Zusammensetzung der Parlamentsabgeordneten und die Erforschung der Parteien. Modernere Untersuchungen widmen sich der Zusammensetzung der Wählerschaft und dem Abstimmungsverhalten der Parlamentsangehörigen. Zu den letzteren gehört das im weiteren vorgestellte Forschungsprojekt. Spezielles Interesse gilt den Fragestellungen, wie sich in einer Parlamentsperiode das Abstimmungsverhalten entwickelt, wie Faktionen innerhalb der Parteien entstehen, wann und unter welchen Bedingungen Abgeordnete fraktionskonform abstimmen und wann sie sich gegen die Mehrheit ihrer Fraktion entscheiden. Man erhofft sich wichtige Aufschlüsse von einer multivariaten Analyse des Abstimmungsverhaltens, indem persönliche Daten der Abgeordneten, ihr Wahlkreis, Strukturdaten und andere Informationen hinzugezogen werden. Ergebnisse der Analysen zeigen ein sehr großes Spektrum an unterschiedlichen Mustern des Wahlverhaltens der Parlamentarier. Nicht nur die Häufigkeit der Teilnahme variiert individuell sehr stark, sondern auch der Anteil "dissidenter" Stimmabgabe. Beispiele zeigen, daß moderne, rechnergestützte Darstellungsmethoden wie computerkartographische Zeichnungen für die Interpretation der Ergebnisse hilfreich sind. (ICF)

Debate surrounding the alleged decline of the influence of social class on voting behavior across the late-19th & 20th centuries is reviewed, & new evidence is presented to argue that class position continues to affect voting choices. Using individual-level data from the 1972-1994 General Social Surveys, class voting in the US is analyzed across three key sociodemographic factors: race, religious affiliation, & gender. The influence of other factors such as ideology, values, public opinion, birth cohort, material satisfaction, & party affiliation is also considered. Results indicate that such non-class-based attitudes & identities may override class divisions in voting; however, they do not do so consistently, & the influence of class sometimes coexists with these factors. 3 Tables, 2 Figures, 43 References. K. Hyatt Stewart