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Voting and Voter Participation

Voting and Voter Participation. How many times have we extended the right to vote and to what groups?. 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

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Voting and Voter Participation

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  1. Voting and Voter Participation

  2. How many times have we extended the right to vote and to what groups? • 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 1965 -removed restrictions that kept blacks from voting. • 1971 - 26th amendment, 18 year olds could vote

  3. Registrationand Voting • 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.

  4. 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 • it is printed by the state- at public expense, • it lists the candidates names, • it is given out at the polls, • it is secret

  5. Elections Today • Today we are voting electronically (with voting machines) and there are a lot of problems with this new technology.

  6. Voting Today • All neighborhoods are divided into voting districts or precincts of about 500-1000 people. • This precinctnumber 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.

  7. Voter Turnout • 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.

  8. Why is Voter Turnout so Low? • 85 million Americans fail to vote in presidential elections - why? • People are lazy, they are apathetic, and voter registration appears to be the major block to voting.

  9. 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.

  10. 63.1% 60.8% 56.8% 55.3% 55.2% 55.1% 49% 1972 1968 1992 1996 2004 2008 1960 National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections 1960 - 2008

  11. 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.

  12. Who Votes? What kinds of things help us to predict who will/does vote? • Level of education helps predict whether people will vote, as education increases, so does the propensity to vote. • Race and ethnicity are also linked to voting in large part because they are correlated to education.

  13. 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.

  14. 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)

  15. 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 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) Most of the time these NON VOTERS are: What is a NON VOTER?

  16. 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.

  17. Voting Choices • Party ID- has a lot to do with one’s evaluation of candidates and often predicts a person’s stand on issues. • 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. • 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.

  18. Voting Choices • 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. • 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.

  19. 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.

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