1. Chapter 8: Political Participation

2. Nonvoting Only 2/3 of the voting age population is registered to vote
Possible solution: get non registered voters, register
Reasons why people don’t vote:
Its complicated
It’s costly

3. Cont… After the motor-voter law was enacted in 1995
( law that allows citizens to register to vote while applying for their driving license) 630,000 new voters sign up to vote.
By 1999, 1/3 of the voting registrations came from motor vehicle offices
In , 40% of all voter applications came from motor vehicle offices
Low rates of voting registration indicate that people are well satisfied with how the county is governed

4. The Rise of American Electorate
America was the first country were a mass of people were eligible to vote.
Before the constitution, voting was limited to land owners and taxpayers. In 1929, during the Jackson administration, it broaden to all white male.
Women and Blacks couldn't vote until the 20th century.

5. Stratagems that kept blacks from voting
Literary test
Poll tax
Grandfather clause
White primary

6. Cont…
At first, the states decided who voted and for what positions, then the federal government took power
In1842, federal law required that members of the House be elected by districts.

7. Significant changes Suffrage to women, blacks and 18 year olds
Senator elections were made mandatory by district
The Voting Rights Act was is enacted in 1965

8. Voting Turnout
Who can’t vote:
Prisoners
Aliens
Felons

9. Cont… Voting was highly popular in the 20th century
Because political parties, and not the government printed the ballots, voting fraud was common; some people voted more than once, and party machines made use of repeaters.
In 1890, the Australian ballot was adopted;
Gov’t printed ballot were votes were cast in secret and not in public

10. Who participates in Politics
Voting is the most common form of political participation in the US
Most Americans exaggerate their political activity
Americans don’t make politics part of their daily life
Two types of political extremes:
Inactive
activist

12. Cont... Four types of limited participation: Voting specialist
Campaigners
Communalist
Parochial participants

13. The causes of participation: who votes
Political participation is higher among college-educated people than those who are not as educated
People over 45 years old tend to vote more than those under 35
Education is not the primary reason why people tend not to vote, but their level of political knowledge
Religious people are also among those more likely to vote due to their high morals and strong political opinions in majors issues such as abortion

16. Cont… Black and Whites tend to vote differently
Blacks vote less due to the fact that their less educated and are among the low class
Demonstrations are almost as important as elections in shaping public policy
Non voters tend to be Blacks, Hispanics, uneducated, and the low class

20. The meaning of participation rates
Although Americans are going to the polls less, they are campaigning, contacting government officials, and working on community issues more.
While in European nations citizens vote once every seven years, Americans in the US have the opportunity to vote nearly 15 times every two to four.
Eg.: We vote for senators, representatives, sheriffs, mayors, treasures, etc.