Chapter 6 powerpoint

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Voters and Voter Behavior

U.S. Government

Chapter 6

Vocabulary Terms – Chapter 6

Suffrage

Franchise

Electorate

Transient

Registration

Purge

Poll books

Literacy

Poll Tax

Gerrymandering

Injunction

Preclearance

Off-year election

Political efficacy

Political Socialization

Gender gap

Party identification

Straight-ticket voting

Split-ticket voting

Independent

The Right to Vote

Suffrage

Franchise

Electorate

Chapter 6

Voters and Voter Behavior

History of Voting Rights

Expansion of the Electorate

 205 Million eligible voters

Benjamin Franklin often lampooned this situation.

He told of a man whose only property was a jackass and noted that the man would lose the right to vote if his jackass dies. “Now,” asked

Franklin, “in whom is the right of suffrage? In the man or the Jackass?”

Extending Suffrage

Religious Qualifications

Property Qualifications

Direct election of Senators

15 th Amendment – Civil War Amendments

1920 - Gender – 19 th Amendment

 1960’s - Enforcement of Voting Rights acts

1961 - 23 rd Amendment – District of Columbia added to Presidential electorate

1964 - 24 th Amendment – eliminated the poll tax

1971 - 26 th Amendment – 18 year olds

Voting Qualifications

State defined with minimum Federal reg.

Universal Requirements

 Citizenship

Must be a U.S. Citizen

 Residence

To prevent out of state residents from disrupting state politics (Kansas)

 Age

Cannot be prevented if 18 – may be allowed if younger – 17 year olds voting in primaries

Other Qualifications

Registration

All States except North Dakota

Literacy

Not a requirement

Grandfather Clause

Tax Payment

24 th Amendment – outlawed poll tax

Persons Denied right to Vote

Mental institutions – Convicts – Dishonorably discharged from military (not all States)

Fifteenth Amendment

Registration Laws

Jim Crow laws – continued to prevent blacks from voting

Gerrymandering

The practice of drawing electoral district lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular party or group.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

Outlaws discrimination in several areas, especially in job-related matters.

Forbids the use of any voter registration or literacy requirements in an unfair or discriminatory manner.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Made the 15 th Amendment a truly effective part of the Constitution.

This act applied to all elections held anywhere in this country – State and local, as well as federal.

Preclearance

(p. 162)

That no new election laws, and no changes in existing election laws, could go into effect in any of those States unless first approved – given preclearance – by the Department of Justice.

Examples:

 Location of polling places

 The boundaries of election districts

 Deadlines in the election process

 Changes from ward or district election to at-large elections

 Qualifications candidates must meet in order to run for office

Voter Behavior

Nonvoters

 Idiots – Greek word for non-voter

Why People Do Not Vote

 Cannot-Voters

Religious beliefs

Mental health care

Jail

Actual Non-Voters

In 2000 – 80 million who could have voted did not.

Factors Affecting Turnout

Satisfied, Apathy,

Inconvenient, registration requirements, long ballots, long lines, Bad weather

Time zone fallout

Lack of interest

Voters and Voting Behavior

How and Why do people vote the way they do? It is predictable?

Sociological Factors

Age

Race

Family

Income, Occupation

Education

Gender

Religion, Ethnic Background

Geography

Psychological Factors

Party Identification

Candidates and Issues

Other issues:

Straight ticket voting

Split ticket voting

Independents

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