Voting bloc
Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:For Template:Globalise 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Religious Groups
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="m950">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="h532">Template:Cite web</ref>
Characteristics
Voting blocs can be defined by a host of other shared characteristics, including region, religion, age, gender, education level, race, and even musical taste.<ref name="j384">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="h484">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="p080">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="c428">Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
- Iglesia ni Cristo and Philippine elections
- Political alliance
- Political party
- Votebank
- Latino vote
- Ethnocultural politics in the United States
- Orthodox Jewish bloc voting