Editing Political realignment (section)

===Voter realignments===
A central component of realignment is the change in behavior of voting groups. Realignment within the context of voting relates to the switching of voter preferences from one party to another. This is in contrast to [[dealignment]] where a voter group abandons a party due to voter apathy or to become independent. In the US and Australia, as the ideologies of the parties define many of the aspects of voters' lives and the decisions that they make, a realignment by a voter tends to have a longer-lasting effect.<ref>{{cite book|author1=George Reid Andrews|author2=Herrick Chapman|title=The Social Construction of Democracy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0uQ8DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA280|year=1997|publisher=NYU Press|page=280|isbn=9780814715062}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Rodney Smith|author2=Ariadne Vromen|author3=Ian Cook|title=Contemporary Politics in Australia: Theories, Practices and Issues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=szc-c7hVoOAC&pg=PA137|year=2012|publisher=Cambridge UP|page=137|isbn=9780521137539}}</ref>

In Britain, Canada, and other countries the phenomenon of political realignment is not as drastic. Due to the multi-party system, voters have a tendency to switch parties on a whim, perhaps only for one election, as there is far less loyalty towards one particular party.<ref>{{cite book|author=C. Paton|title=World, Class, Britain: Political Economy, Political Theory and British Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wdWHDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA41|year=2000|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|page=41|isbn=9780333981665}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=R. Kenneth Carty|author2=William Cross|author3=Lisa Young|title=Rebuilding Canadian Party Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XwtAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA20|year=2007|publisher=UBC Press|page=20|isbn=9780774859967}}</ref>