Chapter 8
Political
Participation
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
Would it be a good thing if nearly 100% of
voting-aged people participated in elections?
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
Basic question: How should we calculate
voter participation?
VOTING VOCABULARY

Voting-age population (VAP) – citizens
who are eligible to vote after reaching the
minimum age requirement.

Voting-eligible population (VEP) – VAP
minus felons and mentally incompetent persons.
(Not legally eligible to vote.)

Registered voters – people who are
registered to vote.
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
• If we use VAP, only 56.9% of “the people”
participated in 2008 election.
• If we use VEP, 62.2% of “the people”
participated in 2008 election.
• If we use registered voters, 89.6%
participated in 2008 election.
(National Atlas of the USA, U.S. Dept. of Interior)
• Which is the best way to measure political
participation?
Source: United States Election Project, Department of Public and International Affairs, George
Mason University
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
Participation in mid-term congressional
elections is much lower.
VEP
VAP
2008
62.2%
2010
41.6%
37.8%
2012
58.7%
53.6%
(Presidential)
(Mid-term)
(Presidential)
56.9%
Source: United States Election Project, Department of Public and International Affairs, George
Mason University
Figure 8.2 Voter Participation in
Presidential Elections, 1860-2008
Note: Several southern states did not participate in the 1864 and 1868 elections.
Sources: For 1860–1928: Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial
Times to 1970, part 2, 1071; 1932–1944: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1992, 517; 1948–
2000: Michael P. McDonald and Samuel L. Popkin, “The Myth of the Vanishing Voter,” American Political
Science Review 95 (December 2001): table 1, 966; 2004 and 2008 elections, American National
Election Studies (ANES).
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
Figure 8.3 Voter Turnout in
Presidential Elections
Source:
Adapted from
U.S. Bureau
of the Census,
Current
Population
Reports, June
2008, Table
400.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
Black/White Turnout, 2012 Election
For the first
time, voter
turnout among
blacks
exceeded that
of whites.
Figure 8.3 Voter Turnout in
Presidential Elections
Source:
Adapted from
U.S. Bureau
of the Census,
Current
Population
Reports, June
2008, Table
400.
Which party would benefit the most
from expanding the electorate?
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
Would it be a good thing if nearly 100% of
voting-aged people participated in elections?
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
1. Is this good enough?
2. Why don’t more people vote?
3. What can/should we do about it?
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
When asked, registered voters who did not
vote gave three reasons for not voting:
(1) Too busy (About 1/4).
(2) Family chores or obligations (12 percent).
(3) They believed their vote would not matter
(12 percent).
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
A Closer Look at Nonvoting

Voter apathy is not the problem. A
majority of registered voters vote on
Election Day.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
Most observers conclude that the
cumbersome voter registration process
is the main problem with getting Americans
to the polls.
I’ll need to see two
photo IDs and your
birth certificate, please.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
Six causes of low voter turnout:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Registration process
Frequency of elections
Party differences (or lack thereof)
Difficulty of absentee voting
Large number of offices to elect
Weekday voting
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CAUSES OF NONVOTING: REGISTRATION




Registration began around 1900 to fight illegal voting
big city political machines. (Progressive reform.)
Registration reduced illegal voting but burdened
honest citizens.
In other nations, government is responsible for
maintaining voter registration. In the U.S., individual
is responsible.
Scholars estimate that voter turnout would increase
by 10% with European-style registration.
CAUSES OF NONVOTING:
REGISTRATION

Registration requirements
have become more difficult:
• longer residency requirements
• registration has to occur far in
advance of elections
• Discrimination

“Motor Voter” registration
(1993) has had only a small
impact.
Figure 8.1 Method of Registration
Source: U.S.
Bureau of the
Census, Current
Population Survey,
“Voting and
Registration,” June
2008, Figure 6.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
A Closer Look at Nonvoting
CAUSES OF NONVOTING: FREQUENCY



The U.S. holds elections more often than other
nations. American voters go to the polls 2-3 times as
often as European voters.
National offices chosen in even-numbered years;
most state and local offices chosen in odd-numbered
years.
Primary elections used to choose nominees.
CAUSES OF NONVOTING:
PARTY DIFFERENCES



European democracies have multi-party systems.
Parties have formed along class, ethnic, religious and
social divisions. Euro-voters can usually find a ballot
choice that conforms to their own views.
The two-party system requires each party to seek
broad support from “the middle” by adopting similar
stands on issues. This reduces voter choice, and thus
motivation to vote.
In most elections, party differences are not
pronounced. Voters conclude that election outcome
will not substantially affect their future.
CAUSES OF NONVOTING:
DIFFICULTY OF ABSENTEE VOTING




Voters can only cast ballots in their own
precincts.
If a voter is going to be out of town (business
trip, college) he must arrange to vote by
absentee ballot.
Most states have strict absentee voting rules.
This requires an additional effort and often a
personal visit to the registrar.
CAUSES OF NONVOTING:
OTHER REASONS


Number of offices to elect – Americans are
asked to vote for many officials at multiple
levels. Don’t know what the offices are, who’s
running for what, etc.
Weekday, non-holiday voting – Many
European democracies have elections on
weekends or create a holiday. In the U.S.,
federal law sets national Election Day on the
Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Impact of the 2000 Election



States run elections. Practices are
inconsistent across states.
Serious problems with Florida’s electoral
process focused attention on the need for
reform.
Close results and complaints of voter
confusion led to recounts and court
challenges.
Impact of the 2000 Election



November 7, 2000 Election Day: By 8:00 pm, all
major television networks declared Al Gore the
winner of Florida’s 25 electoral votes.
When more results come in, networks begin
changing their projections.
Al Gore concedes the election. Then, at 3:00 a.m.
November 8, he calls George W. Bush and
retracts his concession.
Impact of the 2000 Election
• November 8: Official Florida vote count shows
Bush with a 1,210 vote lead out of 6 million votes
cast.
• Vote tallies in some counties show an unusually
large number of votes for third-party candidates.
• November 9: Gore campaign officially requests a
manual recount in four Florida counties.
• November 10: Automatic recount completed
showing Bush with a 327 vote lead state-wide.
Impact of the 2000 Election
• November 13: Federal district court rejects
Bush request to halt manual recounts.
• November 26: Florida state officials certify
Bush as the winner by 537 votes.
• November 27: Gore challenges certified
results in Florida state court.
• December 1: U.S. Supreme Court hears appeal
from Bush on manual recount.
Impact of the 2000 Election
• December 9: U.S. Supreme Court orders halt
to manual recount that has been ongoing
since November 11.
• December 11: Supreme Court hears
arguments in Bush v Gore.
• December 12: Supreme Court rules 5-4 that
the Florida recount must stop.
• December 13: Al Gore concedes the election.
The infamous Florida “butterfly ballot”
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Several Florida districts recounted votes
by hand.
In December 2000, in the case of Bush v. Gore, the U.S.
Supreme Court declared George W. Bush to be the
winner of the 2000 election.
Impact of the 2000 Election



George W. Bush was “confirmed” as the
new president by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The debacle led to a national discussion on
voting procedures and technology.
Congress passed the Help America Vote
Act in 2002 to provide funding to states to
update election equipment and procedural
standards.
History of the American Electorate
History of the American Electorate
• In the early 1800s, only white,
male, property-owners could
vote.
• By 1840, all states had dropped
the property requirement.
(universal male suffrage)
• Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
expanded suffrage to black
males.
• States quickly moved to block
voting rights for blacks.
History of the American Electorate
• Jim Crow laws quickly eroded black voting
rights.
• Literacy tests, poll taxes and grandfather
clauses used to disenfranchise black men.
History of the American Electorate
• Women’s suffrage movement began
before Civil War.
• Nineteenth Amendment extended right to
vote to women in 1920.
• Size of electorate doubled, but women
slow to begin voting.
History of the American Electorate
• 24th Amendment (1964)
outlawed poll taxes.
• Voting Rights Act (1965)
outlawed literacy tests and
gave federal government
more control over state
electoral practices.
• Net effect: Expansion of the
electorate as more blacks
than ever are eligible to
vote.
History of the American Electorate
• 1960s – period of increased
political activism on college
campuses.
• Vietnam War was catalyst.
• 26th Amendment (1971)
lowered voting age from 21
to 18.
• Low voter turnout among
18-20 year-olds from the
beginning.
Source: Adapted from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, June 2008, Table 400.
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
1964 & 1965
•24th Amendment
(no poll tax)
• Voting Rights Act
(no literacy tests)
1870
1920
Amendment
(black men)
Amendment
(women)
15th
2004 & 2008
Intense GOTV
drives by both
parties.
19th
1971
1896
Progressive
Movement
(voter registration)
26th Amendment
(18-20 year olds)
Forms of Political Participation



(Verba & Nie)
Inactives (22%): Rarely vote, contribute to
political organizations, or discuss politics (little
education, low income, young, many blacks.)
Voting specialists: Vote but do little else; not
much education or income, older.
Campaigners: Vote and get involved in
campaign activities; Very interested in politics;
identify with a party. More educated.
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Forms of Participation
(Verba & Nie)


Communalists: Nonpartisan community activists
with a local focus.
Parochial participants: Don’t vote or participate
in campaigns or political organizations, but contact
politicians about specific problems.
(parochial: narrowly restricted in scope or outlook.)

Activists (11%): Participate in all forms of
politics (highly educated, high income, middle
aged.)
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Who Participates?
Education/Income





Education: the single most important indicator
of political activity.
The more education a person has, the more
likely he/she is to vote.
College educated or higher income people more
than twice as likely to vote than high school
educated or lower income.
Possible reason: the well-educated better
understand complex societal issues.
Or, they better understand the importance of
civic responsibility.
Who Participates?
Religion




“Religion increases political participation” is too
sweeping a statement. “Certain types of religious
expression” can sometimes increase political participation.
Regular churchgoers are more likely to vote than those who
do not attend.
Regardless of religious tradition, those whose form of
religious expression involves high levels of both public and
private service are more likely to join voluntary
associations.
Religion is a significant factor in determining who votes but
no more than education or income.
Who Participates?
Race/Ethnicity



Whites have higher voting rates than blacks or
Latinos when only race is considered.
When studies control for income and education,
blacks and Hispanics vote at a higher rate than
whites.
Turnout rates (% of VEP who voted)
2004
2008
2012
• White:
• Black:
• Hispanic:
67.2
60.0
47.2
66.1
64.7
49.9
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
66.1
65.2
50.0
Who Participates?
Age




Voting levels for 18-24 year olds is lowest for any
age category.
Highest levels are for people over 45.
Many young voters were attracted to the
younger, charismatic Barack Obama, but....
....in 2008 young voters were an estimated 18%
of the electorate compared to 17% in 2004.
Who Participates?
Age
Who Participates?




Gender
Since 1980, voter turnout among women has
been higher than that among men.
2012 election: Women 53% of actual voters,
men 47%
This is a new trend following decades of
lower participation.
Safest generalization: Women and men vote at
about the same rates.
Ticket-splitting
Definition: Voting for candidates from different parties on the
same ballot.
Antonym: Voting a “straight ticket.”
Source: American National Election
Studies