Participation, Voting,
Campaigns, Elections (oh my)
Chapters 8 and 9
Political Participation
• Political Participation
- Involvement in activities intended to
influence public policy and leadership,
such as voting, joining political groups,
writing to elected officials, demonstrating
for political causes and giving money to
political candidates
Political Participation
• Voter Turnout
- “The proportion of persons of voting age
who actually vote in a given election”
- Average voter turnout for a Presidential
election since 1960 = 55%
- Midterm election voter turnout has seldom
topped 40% since the 1970s
- In many places local election turnout is
barely 20%.
Why people don’t vote
• Registration
- “The practice of placing citizens’ names on an
official list of voters before they are eligible to
exercise their right to vote. “
- Originated as a practice to stop people from
voting multiple times, but now puts a hardship on
honest people.
- In the United States, it is the responsibility of the
person to register. In many European countries,
registration is automatic. Political Scientists
estimate voter turnout would increase by 10%
with automatic registration.
Why people don’t vote
• Election frequency
– America has more elections and has them
more often than any other country. This
multitude of elections makes it less likely
voters will participate in all of them.
– Further, many European countries hold
elections on Sundays or national holidays.
Since the USA mostly holds elections on
Tuesdays, it is more difficult for people
who work to participate.
Why people don’t vote
• Party Differences
– With only two major political parties, it is less
likely a voter will find one to truly identify with.
– Since the party has to get 50% of the vote, both
parties will often take moderate stances on
issues, meaning it sounds like they both stand for
the same times.
– In elections where there are clear divides
between the parties (such as the 2008
Presidential election) voter turnout tends to be
higher.
Political Participation
• Some people almost always vote due to
a sense of civic duty
• Civic Duty
- The belief of an individual that civic and
political participation is a responsibility of
citizenship.
Political Participation
• Some voters, however, rarely vote due to
apathy or alienation
• Apathy
- A feeling of personal disinterest in politics or
unconcern with politics
- “I don’t care either way”
• Alienation
- A feeling of personal powerlessness that includes
the notion that government does not care about
the opinions of people like oneself -- “My vote
doesn’t matter anyways”
Voting
• Age
– Older voters are more likely to vote
– Older voters often live in the same place
one election to the next and thus don’t
need to re-register
– Older voters often have children or own
homes, and feel they have more to lose by
not voting
– However, participation by young
Americans is rising (especially in 2004 and
2008)
Voting
• Education and Income
– People with a college degree or those in a
high income bracket are twice as likely to
vote as someone who did not finish high
school or that is in a lower income
bracket.
– Americans in lower income brackets are
more harshly affected by the registration
system.
– There is no political party that exclusively
targets lower income voters.
Other means to participate
• Campaign and lobby activities
– Americans are more likely than European
countries to take part in campaigning due
to the large numbers of local offices
– Americans are also more likely to write
their representatives and ask for change
– Americans are also more likely to donate
to influential lobby groups.
Other means to participate
• Virtual Participation
– Virtual participation far outweighs
conventional participation
– Large numbers of Americans use the
internet to promote their favorite
candidate
– President Obama was the most successful
in raising funds in 2008, largely due to the
sum of all the small donations he received
online.
Other means to participate
• Community Activities
– Millions of Americans are members of
community organizations (parent teacher
groups, neighborhood groups, business
clubs, church groups etc) which often
influence local politics
– The number is declining though, along
with the social capital of America
Other means to participate
• Social Capital
- The sum of the face-to-face interactions
among citizens in a society.
ELECTIONS!
• Primary Election
– Election in which voters choose the
candidate that will represent their
political party in the general election.
Elections
• Open Primary
– Election in which a voter can participate
in either party’s primary regardless of
party registration.
– Missouri usually uses an Open Primary
• Closed Primary
– Election in which only registered members
of a party can participate in the primary.
• Caucus
– A small meeting at which registered
political party members select delegates
to attend the national party convention
and nominate a Presidential candidate.
– Since Missouri is an “open” state, you do
not have to be registered.
• Front Loading
– The practice of moving presidential
primary elections to the early part of the
campaign, to maximize the impact of
these primaries on the nomination.
• To combat front-loading both parties
are taking a stand against states that
hold their primaries early.
• For 2012 the Republicans threatened
to cut the amount of delegates a state
get to have attend the national
convention in half if a primary is held
before March 6th
• Because of this backlash, Missouri will
be using the caucus system to select
delegates to the National Convention.
The Missouri Caucus
• Mar 17th 10am
– Each county will have a caucus and select
delegates to attend the district caucus
• April 21st
– Each district will hold a caucus to determine who
gets to attend the State Convention
• June 1-3
– The State Convention will caucus to determine
who gets to attend the National Convention.
How people vote
• Issue Voting
– Voting style in which the voter judges
candidates based on the voter’s and the
candidates’ opinions on specific issues and
preferences for certain policies.
How people vote
• Prospective Voting
– Voting style in which voters judge a
candidate based on their assessment of
what the candidate WILL DO if elected.
• Retrospective Voting
– Voting style in which voters judge
candidates based on PAST performance.
Voting
• Australian Ballot
– An official government-produced ballot
for elections that lists all offices and all
the candidates and parties that have
qualified to be on the ballot.
Voting
• Office-Block Ballot
- A form of general election ballot in which
candidates for elective office are grouped
together under the title of each office.
(used in Missouri)
• Party-Column Ballot
- A form of general election ballot in which
all of a party’s candidates for elective
office are arranged in one column under
the party’s label and symbol
CAMPAIGNS!!!
• Focus Groups
– In-depth interview with a small number of
people representing important voter
consistencies.
Campaigns
• Battleground States
– Competitive states in which no canddate
has an overwhelming advantage
• Red States
– State in which a Republican is likely to
win
• Blue States
– State in which a Democrat is likely to win.
Here comes the money!
• Hard Money
– Funds to be used by candidates or parties
for the express purpose of running an
election campaign.
• Soft Money
– Funds to be used for political purposes
other than running a campaign
More Money
• Political Action Committee (PAC)
– Group that collects money from
individuals and makes donations to
political parties and candidates.
– Typically the election donation arm of an
interest group.