18
more responsive to campaign efforts than were African-Americans and weak partisans
when it comes to self-proclaimed political interest.
Results: Accuracy of Political Perception
The accuracy of political perceptions is actually a measure of political
knowledge, not of simple factual knowledge, but of policy relevant knowledge that
could inform voters’ policy-related judgments on Election Day. For voters to hold
public officials and political parties accountable for actions they take, this kind of
knowledge is essential. The results in Table 3 indicate that blacks who live in the
uncontested states are far less able to place candidates and parties correctly on a policy
continuum than non-blacks with these same characteristics. Similarly, low income
voters in safe states are at a serious disadvantage attempting to vote on policy
considerations than those with similar characteristics earning higher income.
Battleground status does play some role in improving the capacity for political
judgment among lower income citizens in the 2004 election. Specifically, the effect of
living in a battleground state is to improve the accuracy of judgments by 14 percent, and
by 11.2 percent in the pooled results.
[Table
3
about
Here]
Two contextual influences that enhance citizens’ capacity to correctly place
candidates and parties in 2004 are the state’s median income, which increases correct
judgment by about three percent for every $10,000 increase, and the presence of a U.S.
Senate contest, which elevates perceptual accuracy by a solid 5 percent. Finally, the
Convention