POLSCI 318 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Voice Vote, Voting Methods In Deliberative Assemblies, Electronic Voting
4 May 2018
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Congress and the President
9.28.16 Lecture Notes – Polarization, Party Leaders, Committees
Polarization refers to growing ideological distance between mean members of each party
Polarization can also be measured via summary vote measures
o Roll call occurs when each Senator or House member physically says yay or nay
▪ Roll call usually takes place in the Senate because the House is too big
o Recorded vote – usually in the House
▪ Recorded using electronic voting machines using congressional ID cards
o Only two types of votes that we have records on about individual congressional members
Other vote types
o Voice vote – when the presiding officer states the question, and all members say yay and
nay and the officer determines what the majority is
o Division vote – when the results of the voice vote are uncertain, but someone has to
demand a division vote
▪ Members stand up and are counted
▪ No individual-level voting information
o Unanimous consent vote – taken on non-controversial legislation
▪ Occurs when no one present objects to the motion
o Attributes of these three vote types
▪ Constituents cannot hold their representatives accountable
▪ Information is lost for political science
How is polarization calculated?
o Summary measure of votes
o Ex: 10 R and 10 D
o Vote 1: 5 R and 2 D
o Vote 2: all except the most conservative member of the R
o Vote 3: 5 R and 1 D
o Vote 4: 5 D
o Vote 5: 5 R
Increasing distance between the parties in terms of how many Democrats are voting with
Republicans and vice versa
Strong polarization occurs beginning in 1990s
Polarization often misinterpreted as a measure of ideological extremeness
Possible to measure which party is crossing party line more/less often
Without knowing content of public policy, it’s hard to know how ideologically extreme the parties
are – which is why the previous definition is a misinterpretation
Distance between the parties, first dimension
First dimension – votes that can be mapped onto the liberal-conservative dimension
Second dimension – civil rights votes
House majority is a coveted position
o Enables party to work their legislative will
o End up controlling leadership posts (Speaker, whips, anything other deputy positions),
responsible for assigning chairmanships for committees and subcommittees
o Party will is best expressed through the Speaker (only when there is a singular party will)
o Speaker’s agenda
▪ Constitutionally mandated
▪ 1947 President Succession Act
o Development of the Speaker of the House
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Polarization refers to growing ideological distance between mean members of each party. 9. 28. 16 lecture notes polarization, party leaders, committees: attributes of these three vote types, constituents cannot hold their representatives accountable. Increasing distance between the parties in terms of how many democrats are voting with. Polarization often misinterpreted as a measure of ideological extremeness. Possible to measure which party is crossing party line more/less often. Without knowing content of public policy, it"s hard to know how ideologically extreme the parties are which is why the previous definition is a misinterpretation. First dimension votes that can be mapped onto the liberal-conservative dimension. Speaker) people who did not vote along party lines. Punishments that speakers can wield: make sure that amendments and bills are taken away from the person who is responsible with drafting them and given to someone who is voting in line.
