Voter Turnout
Learning Objective 4:
Analyze changes in voting
patterns and behavior over
time among demographic
groups including religion,
gender, race, age, and
education.
Historical Qualifications
 Religion (eliminated by state leg.)
 Property (eliminated by state leg.)
 Race (eliminated by 15th amend.)
 Sex (eliminated by 19th amend.)
 Income (eliminated by 24th amend; poll tax)
 Literacy (eliminated by Voting Rights Act ’65)
 Min. age of 21 (eliminated by 26th amend.)
Current Qualifications
 Citizenship
 Residency (21 days before election in OR.)
 Age (18; 26th Amend)
 Registration (in all states, except N. Dakota)
Turnout in the U.S.
 U.S. -- 50% in presidential, 30-40% in midterm
congressional elec., lower in state/local (decline since
’60)
 Industrialized countries (W. Europe)-- as high as 90%
 Why?
 Some countries impose penalties (e.g, fines, stamped
papers)
 Multi-party system allows for more clear choices
 Automatic/same day registration
 Voting as national holiday or on weekends
General elections
 National
Learning Objective 4:
 60.1% in ’04
 36.8% in ’06 mid-terms
 61.7% in ’08 general
 37.8% in ’10 mid-terms
 58.7% in ’12 general
 Oregon
 64.3% in ‘12 (#14 in
Country)
 48.7% in ‘10 mid-terms
 85.6% in ’08 gneral
 Analyze changes in voting
patterns and behavior
over time among
demographic groups
including religion, gender,
race, age, and education.
Barriers to Voting
 Registration: National Voter Registration Act 1993:
“Motor Voter Bill” designed to increase turnout
 Ballot Fatigue (excessive number of measures/offices
to vote on)
 Excessive number of elections
 Type of election
 General Election > Primary Election (where
you vote for nominee of party)
 Presidential > Legislative
 National > State
Barriers Continued
 Absentee ballots (if living abroad)
 Young people have lowest turnout
 Political Reasons
 Political efficacy
 Dissatisfaction
 Lack of strong 2-party competition
 Weakness of parties in mobilizing voters
Who Votes?
 Level of education: greatest predictor of voting, those
with higher income vote more regardless of race, sex,
or income status
 Income: higher income level votes more often
 Age: older voters more likely to vote
 Race: whites more likely to vote, blacks more likely
than hispanics
 Sex: historically women voted at lower rate than men,
comparable today.
Does Turnout Matter
 If voters represented a true
cross section of the U.S. (e.g.,
race, gender, income), than
low turnout would matter
 Older whites with high levels
of income are overrepresented (problem of class
bias)
 Studies show that nonvoters
are not that politically
different from voters and
would not vote in a
significantly different way
Learning Objective 4:
 Analyze changes in
voting patterns and
behavior over time
among demographic
groups including
religion, gender, race,
age, and education.
Other Forms of Participation
 Petitions
 Demonstrations/Marches
 Local Party Mtgs.
 Campaign Contributions
 Writing letters/e-mail
 Trying to persuade others