Wikipedia

Voting bloc

Not to be confused with Block voting, alternatively spelled Bloc Voting.
For the formalization of the same concept in social choice theory, see solid coalition.

A voting bloc is a group of voters that are strongly motivated by a specific common concern or group of concerns to the point that such specific concerns tend to dominate their voting patterns, causing them to vote together in elections.[1] Frequently bloc's come from the same community or have the same interests. Voters in a bloc tend to vote in the same or similar ways. These Bloc's tend to band together to campaign for a common interest or major issue.[2] Blocs are used to allow a collection of voter to gain more leverage over elected officials by showing a significant portion of voters care about a major issue, allowing for a display of the ability of voters to maintain votes over specific issues from election to election.[3]

Religious Groups

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Beliefnet identifies 12 main religious blocs in American politics, such as the "Religious Right", whose concerns are dominated by religious and sociocultural issues; and American Jews, who are identified as a "strong Democratic group" with liberal views on economics and social issues.[4] The result is that each of these groups votes en bloc in elections. Bloc voting in the United States is particularly cohesive among Orthodox Jews.[5][6]

Characteristics

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Voting blocs can be defined by a host of other shared characteristics, including region, religion, age, gender, education level, race, and even musical taste.[7][8][9][10] Further factors may be defined based on weather the voters reside in an urban or rural area, a phenomenon known as the Urban-rural political divide.[11] Bloc's are also defined based on what generation they are from. Such generational Bloc's are typically categorized by how the majority of a generation cares about a major issue.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Definition of BLOC". 2 March 2024.
  2. ^ Cooperman, Alicia Dailey (2024-08). "Bloc Voting for Electoral Accountability". American Political Science Review. 118 (3): 1222–1239. doi:10.1017/S0003055423000989. ISSN 0003-0554. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Cooperman, Alicia Dailey (2024-08). "Bloc Voting for Electoral Accountability". American Political Science Review. 118 (3): 1222–1239. doi:10.1017/S0003055423000989. ISSN 0003-0554. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "The Twelve Tribes of American Politics".
  5. ^ Cuza, Bobby (2022-11-04). "Orthodox Jewish vote could prove critical in governor's race". Spectrum News NY1. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  6. ^ Heilman, Uriel (2016-04-12). "The Hasidic bloc vote, Bernie and Hillary's Empire State of mind and other NY campaign notes". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  7. ^ Boone, Catherine; Wahman, Michael; Kyburz, Stephan; Linke, Andrew (2022). "Regional cleavages in African politics: Persistent electoral blocs and territorial oppositions" (PDF). Political Geography. 99. Elsevier BV: 102741. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2022.102741. ISSN 0962-6298.
  8. ^ Frey, William H. (2022-03-09). "Exit polls show both familiar and new voting blocs sealed Biden's win". Brookings. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  9. ^ Finn, Emily (2024-05-19). "Three presidential candidates court key voter blocs". NewsNation. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  10. ^ Sherman, Carter (2024-03-13). "The voting bloc that could decide the US election: Swifties". the Guardian. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  11. ^ Green, Hannah Hartig, Andrew Daniller, Scott Keeter and Ted Van (2023-07-12). "2. Voting patterns in the 2022 elections". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2025-07-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Fry, Richard (2017-07-31). "Gen Zers, Millennials and Gen Xers outvoted Boomers and older generations in 2016 election". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2025-07-16.


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