Why People Vote Research Paper

People vote to express their opinions in hopes that their voices will be heard. Voting is not just a political act that will determine who will be elected to office or what policies will be enacted; it is something that occurs on a small scale every day. People vote on where they will go to dinner and what movie they will see, however, whether it’s political or personal, the question remains why do people vote the way they do. What motivates someone to vote for one option over the other? Political culture and socialization, as well as public opinion, play a large role in how people choose to vote. The textbook defines political culture as “people’s predominant beliefs, attitudes, values, ideals, sentiments and evaluations about the political system of its country, and the role of the self in that system” (Ethridge and Handelman pg. 57). Political culture is a reflection of people’s attitudes toward long-term issues; these attitudes are broad, longstanding and difficult to change. Political culture is shaped by political socialization, in which political values are passed down from one generation to the next.
Having knowledge of these two topics in conjunction with current events and situations has also helped me to understand why some policies are so controversial or why there are such polarized opinions regarding the actions of politicians. Looking at political culture and public opinion from the point of view of a politician explains why they interact with different people the way they do. In the recent election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, both candidates focused on different states and approaches to appeal to the voters and places that their respective parties usually do not get votes from. For example, Hillary Clinton tried to appeal to millennial voters and Bernie Sanders