Drill 10/8 When is it appropriate to have your right to vote taken away? – Is it ever appropriate? – Should there be any restrictions at all?

Voting in America

Objective: SWBAT Identify who has the right to vote and how the right to vote has evolved over time

Voting Two terms – same meaning – Suffrage – Franchise Having the right to vote Electorate – The population that has the ability to vote Today: Citizen, 18+, Registered, Non- Felon Potentially 200 million voters

The Right to Vote Evolves 1787 – Constitution ratified, old British voting rights intact – White property owning males 1820’s – Andrew Jackson begins expanding suffrage 1850’s – Nearly all adult white males

The Right to Vote Evolves 1870 – 15 th Amendment ratified – Extended the Right to vote to black, adult men 1920 – 19 th Amendment – Gave women the right to vote

The Right to Vote Evolves 1961 – 23 rd Amendment – DC votes in Presidential race 1964 – 24 th Amendment – Eliminates any poll tax as a voting condition 1965 – Voting Rights Act – Made illegal any discriminatory practices in voting Literacy tests, etc.

The Right to Vote Evolves 1971 – 26 th Amendment – All adults over the Age of 18 have the right to vote

CW: Investigating Voter Apathy With so many potential voters about 2/3 do NOT vote. This is called Voter Apathy Read the following cartoons and analyze them by answering the questions on a separate sheet of paper.

Drill 10/9 Define the following terms – Suffrage – Franchise – Disenfranchise – Electorate

Objective: SWBAT Investigate and analyze state qualifications for voting in elections

Setting Qualifications Congress leaves voting qualifications up to the states So long as five conditions are met

Five Conditions Article 1, Section 2, Clause 1 (+17 amendment) No state can deprive someone the right to vote based on race No state can deprive someone the right to vote based on sex No state can institute any kind of “poll tax” as a qualification for voting No state can deprive anyone over the age of 18 the right to vote due to age

State Qualifications All states require – Citizenship Only legal citizens have the right to vote That includes NATURALIZED immigrants – They have taken the oath and are considered legal citizens – There is NOTHING in the Constitution about immigrant voting

State Qualifications Residence – Most states have laws that require a person to be a resident for a period of time before voting rights are given This was done to prevent voter fraud (voting in different districts Usually 1 year in a state, days in a district Age – Federal law states 18+ Some states allow 17 year-olds to vote in elections that would fall around their 18 th birthday

CW – State Qualifications With a partner, complete the Guided Reading assignment for CH 6.2.

Drill 10/10 What are the five constitutional conditions for voting qualification in America?

1.2c1 No discrimination based on – Race – Sex No “poll taxes” No age discrimination over the age of 18

Hypotheses about voters Most likely to vote and why? Age – – – Region – Northeast, South, Midwest, West Education – 8 years or less – High School – College

Drill 10/20 Why don’t some people vote?

Objective: SWBAT Analyze Voter behavior in America through a study of statistics

The Non-Voter Political Efficacy – Influence in the political system The non-voter usually feels that their vote does not matter They feel that they have been squeezed out of the political system

The Non-Voter Voter Apathy For the General Presidential Election the US averages about 50% – “Off Year Elections” – sometimes as low as 37% – “Off Year Elections” Elections where representatives and senators are elected, but not the President

Non-Voters Who are the non-voters? – Under 35 – Unskilled (low-education) – Southern The South has more non-voters than other regions – Rural How might the Two party system effect voter turnout?

CW – 10/10 Voter Behavior Read Ch6.5 and complete the assignment relating to the study of voter behavior Use the reading from the section “The Sociological Factors” to complete the chart – For example: pg 146 it reads “voters with lower incomes tend to be democrats” – The answer for number 1 on the chart would be “Lower incomes”

Drill 10/21 What does it mean to have high political efficacy? Low political efficacy?

Objective: SWBAT Analyze voter data and how voter rolls relate to the election of candidates.

Voter Behavior Demography – The statistical study of a population Demographic – A statistical section of a population

Voter Behavior Using your classwork from yesterday identify which party the following people might vote for based on the following data Sex Age Income Religion

White Male – 25 – $40,000 – Catholic Hispanic Woman – 60 – $95,000 – Protestant

Black Male – 40 – $95,000 – Protestant Black Male – 21 – $25,000 – Protestant

Voter Behavior Other factors influencing party affiliation – Geography Urban centers vote Democratic Rural areas vote Republican Major Democratic Centers – Northeast, West Coast Major republican Centers – South, Mid West – Family If you grow up in a liberal house, you tend to be more liberal

Classwork: Analyzing Data