Party Identification

Based on the exit polls for 2008, it's safe to state that demographics play a huge roll in party identification, voter turn-out, and which candidate people vote for. It does, in fact, determine voting behavior.

The reading from Hetherington and Keefe details a list of demographics and who certain groups of people are likely to vote for. The text states that "men were seven percentage points more Republican than women, and that women were nine points more Democratic than men," which the text backs up with voter turn-out for both the 2000 and 2004 elections. The text also states that "those who attend church at least once a week have become stalwarts of the Republican party; those who attend church less often or not at all are now disproportionally Democratic." The book then says that "nearly 60% of weekly churchgoers who were white identified themselves as Republicans." The readings also state that more educated people tended to vote Republican.

The exit polls:
In terms of gender, the exit polls showed that 58% of males and 42% of females voted Republican while the exact opposite was true of the Democrats. As for church goers, those who said they went to church "occasionally" or "never" voted Democrat (68%) while those who said they go regularly voted Republican. On the Republican exit poll, the issue of abortion came up. Of those who voted, 70% believed that abortion should be illegal -- a staunchly Republican view. On the Democratic poll, the issue of education came up. 58% had no college degree, while 42% were college graduates.

Conclusion:
The results from the 2008 exit polls solidly proves the text book's claims that demographics determine voting behavior, for the most part. Most women DID vote Democratic, most regular church-goers DID vote Republican, and those with a staunch view on abortion voted Republican as well.