Words to know:
1. Citizen
2. Disenfranchise
3. Qualifications
4. Suffrage
5. Civil Rights
Voting and Voter Participation
How many times have we extended the right
to vote and to what groups?
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Voting is the type of political activity
most often engaged in by Americans.
The Electorate has expanded many
times in history:
1870 - 15th amendment - black men
right to vote
1920 - 19th amendment - women
1924 - Congress granted Native
Americans citizenship and vote
1964 - 24th amendment prohibited use
of poll tax
1965- Voting Rights Act of 1995 removed restrictions that kept blacks
from voting.
1971 - 26th amendment, 18 year olds
could vote
Registration and Voting
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Registration - tends to discourage voting. Most
other democracies have automatic voter
registration. (US MotorVoter law)
Average voter turnout in the U.S. is more than 30
points lower than other democracies.
Registration varies from state to state.
Every state except North Dakota requires
registration.
3 states permit election-day voter registration.
In most states, 30 days residency is needed, and
you must register 30 days prior to an election.
Elections in the 1800’s were
different
• Parties prepared ballots in 1800’s.
• They used different colors of paper that allowed
them to “monitor” how people voted.
• Reform led us to the “Australian ballot”-devised
in Australia in 1856.
• We moved to this type of ballot in the early 1900’s
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it is printed by the state- at public expense,
it lists the candidates names,
it is given out at the polls,
it is secret
Elections Today
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Today we are voting
electronically (with
voting machines) and
there are a lot of
problems with this new
technology.
Voting Today
• All neighborhoods are
divided into voting districts or
precincts of about 500-1000
people.
• This precinct number
allows you to find your
polling place- place where
you go to vote
• Poll watchers are assigned
to the polls, one from each
party to challenge anyone
they believe is not qualified
to vote.
Voter Turnout
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We hold more elections for more offices than other
countries do.
Our highest turnout is in presidential general
elections. We also turn out more for federal
elections than local ones.
1960, voter turnout peaked at 63% of people over
21.
Turnout should have gone up since 1960 because
of the Voting Rights Act.
Women have increased their voting turnout.
The electorate has grown richer and more
educated; it seems we would have an increase
because of that.
Why is Voter Turnout so Low?
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85 million Americans fail to vote in
presidential elections - why?
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People are lazy, they are apathetic, and
voter registration appears to be the major
block to voting.
•There has been a decline
of voter turnout since
1960 because of the 26th
amendment – even
though it lowered voting
age to 18 & it expanded
the electorate, it lowered
the overall turnout
number, because this
block of voters (18-24
year olds) doesn’t vote.
63.1%
60.8%
56.8%
55.2%
55.3%
55.1%
49%
1960
1968
1972
1992
1996
2004
National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections 1960 - 2008
2008
Why is Voter Turnout so Low?
• Others say, there is
not a candidate who
is appealing.
• Candidates
themselves are not
real choices. They
are not exciting, and
they avoid taking
stands on issues.
Who Votes?
What kinds of things help us
to predict who
will/does vote?
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Level of education
helps predict whether
people will vote, as
education increases, so
does the propensity to
vote.
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Race and ethnicity are
also linked to voting in
large part because they
are correlated to
education.
Who Votes?
• Income and age are
also important.
• Those with higher
income vote more.
• 18-24 year olds vote
the least
• People over 70 also
have low voter
turnout.
Who are the CAN NOT voters?
• Aliens (non-citizens) even though
nothing in Constitution disallows
them-states choose (approx 10
million people)
• Convicted felons lose the
privilege (approx 2 million people)
• Some religions disallow people
to vote.
• Some are physically ill and can
not get to the polls
• Mentally ill restrained in
institutions. (approx 5-6 million
physically/mentally ill people)
• Convicted felons:
- 14 states -- for lifers.
-29 states -- on probation.
-32 states -- while on parole.
What is a NON
VOTER?
• People that choose not
to vote
• Voter who thinks their
vote does not count
• People who are
satisfied with the
status quo
• Those who distrust
the government
• Those who are not
interested
• Those who are not
registered
Most of the time these
NON VOTERS are:
• Younger than 35,
unmarried, unskilled,
uneducated, and live in
rural areas, in the
South.
• Band wagon effect (they
choose not to vote
because everyone else
has already voted one
way)
• Bad weather, long lines,
inconvenient
• Non voters who vote
(vote top of ticket, leave
bottom blank - ballot
fatigue)
What Factors influence us to
vote?
• Psychological - how do you feel about
the issues? How do you feel about the
candidates - what are your
perceptions?
• Sociological - groups that you belong
to - age, occupation, religion,
geographical area in which you live,
sex, education, party identification.
• Party identification is the single most
significant and lasting predictor of
whether a person will vote, it is also
the most important factor that brings us
to the polls.
Voting Choices
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Party ID- has a lot to do with one’s evaluation of
candidates and often predicts a person’s stand on issues.
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2/3 of all independents are, in fact, partisan in their
voting behavior, meaning they have two choices - vote
democrat or republican. Independent democrats vote
democrat. Independent republicans vote republican.
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Voting on the Basis of Candidates - the 1980’s marked
the emergence of candidate-centered elections. Greater
weight is given to the candidate’s strengths and
weaknesses.
Voting Choices
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Most scholars agree, issues are NOT
as central to the decision process as
partisanship and candidate appeal.
Candidates are intentionally vague on
their positions. By not detailing their
plan, they can appeal to the middle.
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The state of the economy is often the
central issue in midterm elections. It is
common for the president’s party to
lose seats in Congress in the off-year
elections.
Voting Choices
• Voters tend to see the
responsibility of the economy
resting more with the
president than with Congress,
governors, or local officials.
• Less-educated people tend to
judge a candidate on the basis
of their own financial
standings.
• Upper-status voters are more
likely to watch the overall
performance of the economy.
Some cool voting websites
• http://www.votersunite.org/takeaction/federalpaperballot.asp
• http://www.rockthevote.com/voting_is_easy.php
• http://www.openvotingconsortium.org/
• http://www.electoral-vote.com/evp2006/Info/politicalwebsites.html
• http://www.factcheck.org/