POLITICAL PARTICIPATION CHAPTER 6

vocabulary Activist Conventional participation 15th amendment Grandfather clause Literacy test Motor-voter law 19th amendment Poll tax 24th amendment Registered voter 26th amendment Unconventional participation Voting Rights Act of 1965 White primary “grass roots” Cross-cutting cleavages

KEY IDEAS The American Electorate has expanded through extended voting rights for minorities, women, and youth Voter turnout is the US is relatively low, and the difficult process of voter registration probably accounts for it There are many levels and forms of participation in the American political system

AMERICAN ELECTORATE The constitution did not give Congress the right to alter state regulations regarding Congressional Elections Control over the voting process has moved from state to federal control (reps by district, in even # years) Universal Manhood Suffrage(1830) 15th-race (1870) Grandfather Clause(1915) White Primaries(1944) Black Voters Up Voting Rights Act of 1965(banned literacy tests) 24th – banned poll tax (1964) 19th-Gender (1920) Female Voters Up 26th-18 and older (1971) Youth turnout low

VOTER TURNOUT Voter turnout in America stays consistently between 50-60% WHY? Decline in interest in elections Less competitive parties Difficult absentee voting process Too many offices to vote for/too many elections OTHER VIEWS 1800’s fraud: “vote early and vote often” created artificially high turnouts Difficult registration process made it difficult of many to vote Apathy

VOTER TURNOUT CONT. In US, only 2/3 of eligible voters register In Europe, registration is automatic 1993 motor-voter law allows people to register at the RMV In 2002, Congress passed HAVA(databases) States with election day registration have higher turnouts Studies show that almost all the differences between US and foreign turnout can be explained by Party strength Automatic registration Compulsory voting laws

PARTICIPATION Inactive: 20% of population Voting Specialists: vote, but nothing else Campaigners: vote, involved with campaigns Communalists: non-partisan, active locally Parochials: don’t vote, but contact politicians on specific issues Activists: 10% of population-participate in all forms of government

WHO PARTICIPATES? Education: The more educated, the more likely to vote: why? Religious involvement: The more involved in religion, the more likely to vote: why? Race and Ethnicity: Whites have higher voting rates than Blacks and Latinos Age: the highest % of voters are 45 and above Gender: In general, men and women vote at about the same rate Two-Party competition: The more competitive an election, the higher the turnout (see 2004)

PARTICIPATION Although voting rates are down, other forms of participation are on the rise CONVENTIONAL: Persuasion, petitioning, $ contribution, running for office UNCONVENTIONAL: Protesting, civil disobedience, violence Americans elect more offices than those in most other countries. The difference in voter turnout should be considered less embarrassing and more a result of the system

SAMPLE QUESTIONS Which of the following is the best explanation for low voter turnout in the United States? a) more than half of all Americans are apathetic towards politics The voting process is difficult to understand, and ballots are complicated Most potential voters do not identify with a political party The burden of registering falls on individual voters It is difficult for many voters to get enough information about the candidates to vote with confidence

SAMPLE QUESTIONS The table to the right supports which of the following conclusions about voter turnout from 1996-2000? Voter turnout in the US, as a % of registered voters, was below 50% Mandatory voting, as required by law in Australia, has no impact on voter turnout Voters in the US are more likely to vote if they are registered The main reason for not voting in the US is apathy There is no more than a 5% difference between turnout as a whole than turnout among registered voters TWO WAYS OF CALCULATING VOTER TURNOUT 1996-2001 TURNOUT AS A % OF VOTING-AGE POPULATION TURNOUT AS A % OF REGISTERED VOTERS BELGIUM 83.2 AUSTRALIA 95.2 DENMARK 83.1 90.6 77.7 86 SWEDEN 76.8 NEW ZEALAND FINLAND 75.3 USA 63.4 GERMANY 74.6 JAPAN 62 47.2 CANADA 61.2 SWITZERLAND 34.9 43.2

SAMPLE QUESTIONS All of the following were used to keep blacks from voting except Segregation Literacy tests Poll taxes Grandfather clauses Intimidation and threats

SAMPLE QUESTIONS 4. Which of the following is most likely to vote? A 65 year old African American high school graduate A 35 year old white college educated woman A 70 year old white college professor A 40 year old hispanic with an associate’s degree An 18 year old African American just starting college

SAMPLE QUESTIONS Which of the following make it difficult to compare voter turnout rates in the 19th century with those today? In the 19th century they used printed ballots and today we use the Australian Ballot Fraud was more common back then Voters are now required to register IN the 19th century, political machines tried to control election outcomes I and II I, II, and III II and III II, III, and IV I,II, III, and IV

SAMPLE QUESTIONS Free Response: Over time, voting rights have been expanded to include groups previously excluded from the formal political process. For two of the groups below, explain how voting rights have been expanded and discuss the impact of these groups on the political process. Women African Americans Voters 18-21