Final answer:
The authors of "The American Voter" posited that citizens had minimal knowledge about political party positions and policy issues but voted rationally using simple cues like ideology and party membership. Over time, studies have shown increased polarization in political beliefs among voters.
Step-by-step explanation:
In "The American Voter," the authors argued that citizens knew very little about the positions either political party stood for, or about the main policy issues at the time. Despite this limited knowledge, political studies, such as Anthony Downs' "An Economic Theory of Democracy" and the more recent "The American Voter Revisited", suggest that voters still behave rationally. They rely on simple cues like political ideology and party membership to make informed decisions and hold politicians accountable during an election year.
National political parties have evolved over time, and the nature of political information and citizen engagement has also changed. Polling agencies like Pew Research have documented that citizens' beliefs have become more polarized, using value statements to measure their values and political leanings. An understanding of these trends is important for examining how voters interact with the political process in a democracy.