Most Voters Politically Uninformed, Experts Say

When voters send Rep. Robert E. Badham (R-Newport Beach) to Congress, do they know that they’re getting a congressman who travels at taxpayers’ expense more than any other House member but one? Or that he is a member of the influential Armed Services Committee? And when they vote for Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove), do they know that he is an unpredictable and often controversial figure--someone who would call Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) a “war wimp” and later grab for Downey’s tie on the House floor? Or that he was instrumental in getting a $2.5-million rehabilitation grant for Buena Clinton, a Garden Grove slum?

Pollsters’ Observations

Many political scientists and pollsters said that, except in the most general sense, voters throughout the nation do not know much about their representatives.

Orange County voters, they say, probably know only that they are electing congressmen who appear to symbolize conservatism, or fiscal restraint. And this is true only if voters can correctly identify candidates in an election--something 30% to 60% of voters cannot do, depending on the district, according to these political observers.

Yale University political scientist Christopher Arterton and others say it is unlikely that more than 5% to 15% of both congressmen’s constituents know about Badham’s globe-trotting or the Dornan-Downey tie-pulling incident, despite heavy coverage by newspapers, magazines and television networks.

No Guarantee on Votes

“So Bob Dornan pulls Tom Downey’s tie,” said Gary Lawrence, vice president of Santa Ana-based Decision Making Information, the firm that samples public opinion for President Reagan. “Does that mean Downey’s constituents are all wimps and Dornan’s are all a bunch of Rambos? Hardly.”

Even when a congressman knows how his constituents feel about a particular issue, there is no guarantee this information will show up in House votes.

Several surveys, for instance, show that county voters support abortion, even more so than the rest of the country, taken as a whole. Yet the five-member county delegation has voted repeatedly to limit abortions.

According to Lawrence and other pollsters, the public is generally unaware of votes on such issues, and public feelings about them are not intense enough to sway an election.

VOTING PARTICIPATION SCORES Percent of 439 recorded votes in 1985 as published by Congressional Quarterly.

REP. ROBERT K. DORNAN (R-GARDEN GROVE) 92% REP. WILLIAM DANNEMEYER (R-FULLERTON) 91% REP. ROBERT BADHAM (R-NEWPORT BEACH) 85% REP. DANIEL LUNGREN (R-LONG BEACH) 96% REP. RON PACKARD (R-CARLSBAD) 96%

* Badham’s wife hospitalized part of session. 1985 PRESIDENTIAL SUPPORT SCORES Percent of 80 recorded votes which were in agreement with president’s stance.

REP. ROBERT K. DORNAN (R-GARDEN GROVE) 80% REP. WILLIAM DANNEMEYER (R-FULLERTON) 78% REP. ROBERT BADHAM (R-NEWPORT BEACH) 61% REP. DANIEL LUNGREN (R-LONG BEACH) 80% REP. RON PACKARD (R-CARLSBAD) 75%

1984 ELECTION Percent of vote that president and congressmen received in 1984 election.

38th C.D. 39th C.D. 40th C.D. 42th C.D. 43th C.D. REAGAN 39% 77% 75% 72% 74% DORNAN 53% DANNEMEYER 76% BADHAM 64% LUNGREN 73% PACKARD 74%