Political
Participation:
Voting and Non-voting
Participation in the United
States
Political Participation

Do Americans participate in government?
 What
are the trends?
 What explains levels of participation in the U.S.?

How do participation levels of Americans
compare with citizens of other nations?
 What

can explain the differences?
What do those who participate look like?
 Demographic

factors and turnout
Should Americans participate? Does
participation matter?
Political Participation

Two Types of Political Participation:
 Conventional







Participation
Voting
Letter writing
Contact with Representatives
Working on Campaigns
Campaign Contributions
Joining Groups (social capital)
Running for Office
 Unconventional

Participation
Boycotts, Sit-ins, Marches, Demonstrations, Violence
Expanding Suffrage
Constitutional Amendments:
 15 (1870) = Race
 19 (1920) = Sex
 23 (1961) = Residents of DC can vote for
President but not Congress
 24 (1964) = Poll tax
 26 (1971) = 18 years old, changes from 21
Voting Trends
Initially, suffrage changes resulted in
increased participation
 Recently, voter turnout steadily on the
decline = the vanishing electorate
 High of around 60% in Presidential
elections -- 50% in midterm -- even lower
in local elections

Various Explanations for Limited
Participation
Why Americans Still Don’t Vote
 Voter Registration

 Not
automatic
 Requires foresight
 Residency requirements

Mobile Electorate
Voting Percentage of Registered Voters
rivals the voter turnout in other countries
 Motor-Voter Legislation

Various Explanations for Limited
Participation

There are too many elections in the United
States
 High
information costs
Election Day (Tuesday, work day)
 Voter apathy
 People believe they gain few personal
benefits to themselves from voting

Various Explanations for Limited
Participation
Political parties are weaker
 Opportunity costs
 Generational Change

 Civic

duty has declined
Irrational to vote
 Very
little chance of affecting the outcome of
an election

Weather
Demographic Factors and Voter
Turnout Graph
2000 Election Exit Polls
 http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/epoll
s/US/P000.html

Increasing Voter Turnout

How could we increase voter turnout?

Should we increase voter turnout?
Three Puzzles About American
Turnout

Why is turnout in national elections lower
than most other democracies?

Institutional factors

Why has turnout in the U.S. declined since
1960?
 What caused turnout to go up slightly in
1992? And go back down in 1996?


Education levels have been rising
Registration has become much easier