ABSTRACT
Actual and perceived governmental processes, quite apart from actual and perceived substantive policy outputs, are of pressing concern. Processes shape the ability of government to respond to important societal challenges, they color people’s evaluations of government, they influence the reform agenda surrounding governmental processes, they increase the likelihood of certain policies failing or securing passage, they encourage people to enter or to avoid the political process, and they even mold the extent to which people comply with collective outputs—an essential feature of developed polities. Given the importance of preferences for and perceptions of political processes, it is essential that we identify their sources and markers. Fortunately, the 2006 Congressional Elections Study (CES) organized by the University of Indiana contains an unusually useful battery of “process” items and these items will serve as the centerpiece for the data analysis contained in this chapter.
