Name: _________________________
Date: ____
Chapter 6 Study Guide on “Voters and Voter Behavior”
Chapter 6/Section 1: The Right to Vote
1. Define suffrage.
2. What is another term that means suffrage?
3. Who could vote in 1789?
4. What is the electorate and who is included today?
5. Name two reasons why there are so many more people eligible to vote today than in 1789?
6. What restrictions did the Framers of the Constitution place on the States concerning suffrage?
7. When were the following Amendments passed AND how did each of them change voting rights?
a) 15th Amendment
c) 24th Amendment
th
b) 19 Amendment
d) 26th Amendment
Section 2: Voter Qualifications
1. What is voter registration AND why is it used?
2. Describe voter qualification requirements in terms of
a) citizenship
d) registration
b) residence
e) mental competency
c) age
f) criminal record
3. Does any state use a literacy test as a means to determine if you can vote?
4. What is the poll tax and do any states use it?
Section 3: Suffrage and Civil Rights
1. How did the 15th Amendment affect voting rights?
2. What is gerrymandering?
3. What is the importance of the Civil Rights Act of 1957?
4. What is the importance of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
5. What is the importance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
Section 4: Voter Behavior
1. What type of election years has the highest voter turnout?
2. What is ballot fatigue?
3. What is the largest group of “cannot-voters?”
4. Why do some “non-voters” deliberately choose not to vote?
5. What is time-zone fallout?
6. What is the chief reason that most “non-voters” do not vote?
7. How do each of these factors affect the likelihood of whether people do or do not vote?
a) level of income
d) age
b) occupation
e) gender
c) education
f) party identification
8. Describe the characteristics of people who are likely to vote Democrat or Republican based on:
a) income/occupation
d) religion
b) education
e) ethnicity
c) gender/age
f) geography