Ideology
Voters also tend to have general ideological orientations and dispositions. While most voters lack a well-articulated and clearly thought out political ideology, they usually have some general ideological tendencies or predispositions. Some are strongly liberal across the board, others strongly conservative, and still others are political moderates, sometimes with a mix of liberal and conservative attitudes. Some may tend to be generally liberal in one area, such as social issues, but generally conservative in another, such as economic issues. These general ideological orientations influence voting (Miller and Shanks 1996, 288-294).
The effect of ideology on the presidential vote occurs for several reasons. Ideology affects positions on specific issues. For example, voters who are strong conservatives are likely to take conservative positions on new issues as they arise. As discussed above, positions on specific policy issues influence how voters cast their ballots in presidential elections, so this influence is one path by which ideology affects the vote. Also, voters may have a general ideological perception of a candidate, even if they are unsure about the candidate's position on specific policy issues, and this general perception may influence their vote. Finally, ideology also may influence party identification, which is another path of influence.
Ideology and party identification are more strongly aligned than they were just two or three decades ago (Abramowitz 2010; Levendusky 2009). There are relatively few conservative Democrats or liberal Republicans now. The two parties have become more ideologically distinct and cohesive, both among elected officials and in the electorate. The ideological homogeneity of the two parties is one reason why there are such high levels of hostility toward the other party and such a low willingness to vote for the candidate of the other party, conditions that have changed the character of American electoral politics.