As a member of the general public, I definitely prefer the idea of policy voting over the mandate theory of elections. Policy voting works with the interests of the people and overall towards the greater good of society. When electoral decisions are made on the basis of voter policy preferences, this is referred to as policy voting. This type of voting is often favored by the general public. The mandate theory of elections is the idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out the policies promised throughout campaigning. While the mandate theory is good in the fact that it forces candidates to fulfill their promises and prevents them from making empty ones, it neglects the fact that the interests of the American people often change. Policy voting always has the interest of the people in mind. Americans change the way they feel about policies and the way things are done almost every day. Policy voting pays attention to the ever changing needs of the country while the mandate theory works in favor of politicians and doesn’t consider the needs of the public. The politician is able to carry out whatever policies they promised, whether the public still agrees with said policies or not. Because of it’s attention to the needs and desires of the public, I support the idea of policy voting.
I also agree with Erin, and prefer policy voting over the mandate theory of elections. The mandate theory of elections focuses on the idea that the candidates have a mandate from the people for them to carry out their platforms, whereas; policy voting focuses on the voters’ policy preferences. If the voters change their interest the candidates still fulfill their mandates and now may not match up to the voters’ interests. Policy voting, on the other hand; can only truly happen when four things happen: voters have a clear sense of their own positions, voters know where the candidates stand on the policies, they see the differences between the candidates on the issues, and they actually cast a vote for the candidate that matches their position. Therefore, policy voting takes into account the voters’ interests and that they can change. With that, I agree that policy voting is more important.
As a member of the general public, I definitely prefer the idea of policy voting over the mandate theory of elections. Policy voting works with the interests of the people and overall towards the greater good of society. When electoral decisions are made on the basis of voter policy preferences, this is referred to as policy voting. This type of voting is often favored by the general public. The mandate theory of elections is the idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out the policies promised throughout campaigning. While the mandate theory is good in the fact that it forces candidates to fulfill their promises and prevents them from making empty ones, it neglects the fact that the interests of the American people often change. Policy voting always has the interest of the people in mind. Americans change the way they feel about policies and the way things are done almost every day. Policy voting pays attention to the ever changing needs of the country while the mandate theory works in favor of politicians and doesn’t consider the needs of the public. The politician is able to carry out whatever policies they promised, whether the public still agrees with said policies or not. Because of it’s attention to the needs and desires of the public, I support the idea of policy voting.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Erin, and prefer policy voting over the mandate theory of elections. The mandate theory of elections focuses on the idea that the candidates have a mandate from the people for them to carry out their platforms, whereas; policy voting focuses on the voters’ policy preferences. If the voters change their interest the candidates still fulfill their mandates and now may not match up to the voters’ interests. Policy voting, on the other hand; can only truly happen when four things happen: voters have a clear sense of their own positions, voters know where the candidates stand on the policies, they see the differences between the candidates on the issues, and they actually cast a vote for the candidate that matches their position. Therefore, policy voting takes into account the voters’ interests and that they can change. With that, I agree that policy voting is more important.
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