ELECTIONS AND VOTING
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American Government: Ms. Kirk
VOTING BEHAVIOR
Conventional political participation (writing
letter s to officials, political contributions, voting)
 Unconventional political participation
(protests, boycotts, picketing—think Shays’
Rebellion and the Boston Tea Party)
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WHO CAN VOTE?
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Voter Qualifications: “Vary state to state”
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1789: Property Owning, White, Males
15th Amendment: African Americans
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“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on
account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
(1870)
19th Amendment: Women’s Suffrage
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“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on
account of sex.” (1920)
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WHO CAN VOTE?
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26th Amendment: 18 Year Olds “The right of citizens
of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older,
to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or any state on account of age.” (1971)
Today: Everyone in each state can vote with a few exceptions.
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WHO CAN VOTE?

Legal Disenfranchisement
(See 14th Amendment)
 Georgia: During probation, parole, incarceration
 13 States: entire life
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Age
 Citizenship (Naturalized or otherwise)
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TURNOUT
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So many people can vote- so why don’t they?
(50-60% Presidential election, 30-40% midterm
election, 30% or less special election)
Who doesn’t vote?
Less educated
Low income
Under 30
Minority groups (may be more income and
educational level than race)
Interest in politics
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WHY DON’T THEY VOTE?
2004 -20% of registered non-voters were “too
busy”
 Difficulty of registration (though it is becoming
easier to register)
 Absentee voting is not easy
 Number of elections
 Voter attitudes
 Weakened political parties
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HOW CAN WE INCREASE THE TURNOUT?
Easier registration and absentee voting (some
states allow people to register on election day)
 Another holiday! Election Day (but what if we
just use it to sleep in?)
 Strengthen parties- Get out the vote!
 Fewer elections (But regular elections hold the
government accountable)
 Mandatory voting
 Tax credit
 Weekend voting
 Week-long voting
 Internet voting
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ELECTIONS IN THE US:
THE BALLOT OR THE BULLET
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POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
John Locke
 Hobbes
 Social contract theory
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THIS IS WHY WE HAVE ELECTIONS- popular
election gives government legitimacy- political
power derived from the consent of the governed
Election winners claim a MANDATE from the
people (the ELECTORATE) to carry out their
platform
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TYPES OF ELECTIONS: PRIMARIES
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VOTERS DECIDE WHICH CANDIDATE
WITHIN A PARTY WILL REPRESENT THE
PARTY IN THE GENERAL ELECTION
Closed primary (only party’s registered voters are
eligible to vote)
 Open primary (party members, independents,
and sometimes members of the other party can
vote)
 Crossover voting- participation in the primary of
a party with which the voter is not affiliated
 Raiding- organized efforts of the other party to
influence the winner of the primary
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PRIMARIES CONTINUED

Runoff primary- A second primary election btwn
the two candidates receiving the most votes in
the first primary
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GENERAL ELECTIONS
Voters decide which candidates will fill the
nation’s elective public offices
 General elections are between candidates of
opposing parties
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BALLOT MEASURES
Initiatives—allows citizens to propose
legislation or state constitutional amendments by
submitting them directly to the electorate for
popular vote (Georgia does not have this)
 Referendum- An election where the state
legislature submits proposed legislation to the
state’s voters for approval (effectively gives voters
veto power) (all states have this)
 Recall- an election in which voters can remove
an incumbent from office by popular vote
(Georgia does have this)
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Presidential candidates determined at party
conventions
 State party organizers determine which delegates
go to the conventions to determine who will run
in the general election
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WINNER TAKE ALL PRIMARY
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Republicans frequently use it- Democrats do not
Candidate who wins the most votes gets all
delegates to go to the primary
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PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
PRIMARY
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Delegates awarded in proportion to the number
of popular votes won
Makes it harder for one candidate to get a
majority of the delegates
Democrats use it frequently
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CAUCUS
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The electorate does not vote
Party members determine which delegates go to
the national convention
Today, most states use primaries rather than
caucuses
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PREDICTIONS FOR 2012 GEORGIA PRIMARY
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Tuesday 7 February 2012 (tentative date): All 75 of Georgia's
delegates to the Republican National Convention are allocated to
presidential contenders in today's Georgia Presidential Primary.
42 district delegates are to be allocated to presidential contenders
based on the primary results in each of the 14 congressional districts:
each congressional district is assigned 3(?) National Convention
delegates and the presidential contender receiving the greatest
number of votes in that district will receive all 3 of that district's
National Convention delegates.
30 at-large delegates (10 base at-large delegates plus 20 bonus
delegates) are to be allocated to the presidential contender receiving
the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide.
In addition, 3 party leaders, the National Committeeman, the
National Committeewoman, and the chairman of the Georgia's
Republican Party will, by virtue of their position, attend the
convention as delegates pledged to the presidential contender
receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary statewide.
Reference: Rules of the Georgia Republican Party. 7.4 A, 7.4 C.
Georgia Code § 21-2-193 requires the Executive Committee of both
state parties to submit a list of candidates to appear on the
presidential ballot.
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PRIMARY DATES
New Hampshire has the first primary
(conservative state)
 Iowa has the first caucuses
 Do they have more influence on election
outcomes? Media coverage, higher voter turnout
 Front loading- Tendency of states to choose an
early date on the primary calendar- dates get
earlier and earlier every year
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PARTY CONVENTIONS
Held in the summer of presidential election years
 Presidential nominees announced
 Not as important as they once were
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THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
Electors equal to number of representation in the
House and Senate
 435 House + 100 Senate + 3 District of Columbia
 538 electoral votes total
 Possible for candidate to win popular vote but
lose election (only 4 times in history)
 Has changed since Framers first designed it
 Originally, candidate with most votes was
President. Second most, Vice President
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12TH AMENDMENT

President and Vice President elected in separate
elections
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SHOULD WE CHANGE OR ABOLISH THE
ELECTORAL COLLEGE?
Through constitutional amendment (change to
popular vote)
 OR the group National Popular Vote is
attempting to convince states to give all of their
electoral votes to the candidate winning the
popular vote
 OR Congressional District Plan (like Nebraska
and Maine)
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CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
Census
 Apportionment
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435 members of Congress (1911)
1:647,000 people (2000 Census)
Redistricting (population shifts)
Lines drawn by state legislatures
Must be apportioned on basis of population
(Constitution)
District lines must be contiguous
Voting rights Act of 1965- purposeful gerrymandering
of a congressional district to dilute minority strength
is illegal
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VOTING DISTRICTS
 Malapportionment
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(refusal to redistrict)
Baker v. Carr (1962), urbanization
Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), “one man one vote”
 Gerrymandering
(manipulating district
lines by the majority party)
 Elbridge Gerry and the salamander
 Political or judicial question?
(Conservative Supreme Courts usually
say it is political)
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ILLINOIS 17TH DISTRICT 2006
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 The
unusual "earmuff" shape of the 4th
Congressional District of Illinois connects two
Hispanic neighborhoods while remaining
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narrowly tracing Interstate 294.
INCUMBENTS HAVE ADVANTAGES
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Staff support
Media and Travel (recognition)
The “Scare-off Effect”
Party protection through redistricting
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BUT SOMETIMES LOSE…
 Redistricting
(can sometimes punish
incumbents in out-of-power parties)
 Scandals
 Presidential coattails
 Midterm elections (Your party messed upnow get out!)
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WHY DO PEOPLE CHOOSE A
PARTICULAR CANDIDATE?
Issues and Ideology
 Candidate Appearance/Personality
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“style vs. substance”
Name Recognition
 Race and Ethnicity
 Income level
 Gender
 Partisanship
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Coattail Effect
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“lack of coattail”
Incumbency
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2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
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Republican Candidates
Herman Cain (Former Godfather Pizza CEO, Navy
mathematician, known for business sense rather than as a
politician)
Mitt Romney (former MA governor, CEO, Harvard Law grad)
Rick Perry (Governor of Texas, former Air Force Pilot)
Michele Bachmann (Member of the House from MN, business
owner)
Ron Paul (Member of House from TX, former Air Force Flight
surgeon)
Rick Santorum (former Senator, attorney)
Newt Gingrich (former House member from Georgia, former
Speaker of the House, political analyst)
Mike Huckabee (former Governor of Arkansas, author, and
minister)
Mitch Daniels (Governor of Indiana, businessman)
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STRAW POLL WINNERS
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