Elections & Voting Behavior Part 1

What do Elections do? They institutionalize political activity They provide regular access to political power, so that leaders can be replaced without power This is all possible because of Legitimacy- that is, a characterization of elections by political scientists meaning that they are almost universally accepted as fair and free method of selecting political leaders. Is legitimacy in U.S. elections high or low?

How American Elections Work? Three types of elections in the USA – 1) Primary Elections – 2) General Elections – 3) Elections on specific policy questions Two methods for getting items on a state ballot 1) Referendum- state legislative act, bond issue An election whereby voters are given the chance to approve or disapprove some legislative act or constitutional amendment 2) Initiative Petition- voters may put proposed changes in the state constitution to a vote if sufficient signatures are obtained on petitions Petition signed by a certain percentage of voters in the previous election

Whether to Vote: A citizens first come Over two centuries American electoral history has expanded suffrage – 15 th amendment- _________________________ – 19 th amendment-__________________________ – 26 th amendment-__________________________ NO Federal requirement requiring voters must be citizens. But states do not permit residents who are not citizens to vote

100 million people turned out to vote in 2000 You’re vote probably does not make much difference to the outcome, and your vote takes up a lot of you valuable time – Becoming informed – Making up your mind – Getting to the polls What’s one way to increase American voter turnout levels? ___________________________________

SO WHY DO PEOPLE VOTE (at least the 100 million in 2000) Anthony Downs says- rational people vote if they believe that policies of one party will bring more benefits than polices of the other party. Another reason is that people have a high sense of “Political Efficacy” – a belief that ordinary people can influence the government Even if they don’t have Political Efficacy, they might have a sense of “Civic Duty”- belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote.

Registering to vote Voter Registration Laws- system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advanced of election day. Only 1 state does not require voters to register – North Dakota A few permit election day registration- – Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Idaho, New Hampshire and Maine – These states ranked near the top of voter turnout in 2000 Motor Voter Act- permits states to register people when the apply for drivers licenses

A citizens choice to vote: who votes? The more a person is educated the more likely they are to vote. it is the most important factor when determining who will vote (Most important factor) The older a person is the more likely they are to vote Caucasians are more likely to vote but other races are higher with comparable education married couples are more likely to vote union members are more likely to vote then none union having multiple traits increases chances of voting

How Americans vote The Mandate theory: the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platform and politics Party Identification- People general vote on the party that is similar in their views ( this has declined in past 5 decades) This way of voting has changed and importance on the candidate has become a bigger priority Many voters are more independent Policy Voting- occurs when people base their choices in an electio n on their own issue preferences.

How Americans vote: The Candidate Candidates want a good visual image Candidates also place importance on integrity, reliability, competence, experience. – Not intelligence Personality plays a role as well

The Electoral College Usually elects president ( founders created the electoral college so that the president is chosen by the elite) selected by state parties, usually as a reward for faithful service to the party over the years. winner take all system gives more emphasis on bigger states

The Electoral College: How it works The state number of votes is how many representatives and how many senators it has Winner of popular vote usually gets the votes from that state Electors meet in December If no candidate gets the necessary amount of votes (270) then the house of reps. votes, in this vote each state gets one vote.

Electing a US President in Plain English Why we don’t Vote?