Political Beliefs and Behaviors II Chapter 7 Participation and Voting

Chapter 7 Democracy: government run by the people… – So, does this not require some type of participation? Video clip: Citizen involvement – While watching do the following List and categorize participatory behaviors you saw in the clip

The Effectiveness of Unconventional Participation – Unconventional participation has been successful Vietnam-era activism Civil rights activism – Direct action: involves assembling crowds to confront businesses and local governments to demand a hearing Chapter 7

COMPARISON TO OTHER COUNTRIES? Same as others in regards to unconventional, but different on conventional…

Chapter 7 Americans just as likely as other countries to participate in conventional ways… just not voting (we will discuss this later)

Chapter 7 Supportive Participation Action that expresses allegiance to government and country Examples? Influencing Participation Seek to modify or reverse policies to serve interests – Secure particular benefits – Broad policy objectives Examples?

Chapter 7 To vote or not to vote or can I vote… that is the big question in America. Procedural Democracy give 3 rules decisions – Who is allowed to vote? Has changed over time – How much does vote count? One person, one vote – How many needed to win? majority has been consistent

Who is allowed to vote? – Constitution left up to States  by 1850s, taxpaying and property holding req. removed 15 th amendment- 1870African Americans 19 th amendment 1920Women Congressional Law- 1924Native Americans 23 rd amendment- 1961DC voters 24 th amendment-1964End of Poll tax Voting Rights Act-1965Anti- Jim Crow laws 26 th amendment year olds Chapter 7

Comparison to other nations… how do you think we are doing? g+and+Non-voting g+and+Non-voting HW: essays Chapter 7

Voting on Policies: came from Progressive political reforms of the early 1900s – Argued for more citizen control over candidates and elected officials (shouldn’t we have this?) – The direct primary: a preliminary election, run by the state governments, in which the voters choose the party’s candidates for the general election – The recall: the process for removing an elected official from office – The referendum: allowed a direct vote by the people on either a proposed law or an amendment to a state constitution. – The initiative: a procedure by which voters can propose an issue to be decided by the legislature or by the people in a referendum; requires gathering a specified number of signatures and submitting a petition to a designated agency Chapter 7

Ohio for example allows initiatives and referendums. But no recall…. Only about 20 states have recall, but is rarely used (2003: the governator) Do these measures improve policy? Or do they give the illusion of power? On one note, propositions (referendums) do increase voter turnout at midterm elections (which are usually very low turnout) Chapter 7

Voting for Candidates – Serves democratic government in two ways Allows citizens to choose candidates who best serve their interests Allows the people to reelect the ones they guessed right about and kick out those they guessed wrong about – Only two officeholders chosen nationally; most electing done on local level – Number of countries holding regular, free and fair elections has been rising around the world Chapter 7

Word is, US citizens do not participate as much today in politics as they did 50 years ago but…patterns of participation actually shows little variation over time in the percentage of citizens who worked for candidates or attended party meetings – Interest in election campaigns and persuading people how to vote have actually tended to increase. – But voter turnout has declined over time. Chapter 7

The reasons for low U.S. voter turnout versus other countries include: – Differences in voting laws and administrative machinery – The burden of registration is typically on the government, not the individual, as in the U.S. – Studies also show US has more elections!!! Chapter 7

The standard socioeconomic model: a relationship between socioeconomic status and conventional political involvement; people with higher status and more education are more likely to participate than those with lower status – Unconventional behavior is also related to socioeconomic status, though protestors tend to be younger – Education is the strongest factor in explaining most types of political participation

Chapter 7 Race and Gender have been related to participation in the past, but as times have changed, so have these relationships.

Voting is a low inititiative form of participation satisfying all 3 motives of political participation – Allegiance, obtaining benefits and influencing policy Education is increasing, so why is voter turnout decreasing??? Chapter 7

Low Voter Turnout in America – The Decline in Voting Over Time 26 th Amendment expanded the electorate by lowering the voting age to 18 – But young people are the least likely to vote – Probably accounts for 1-2% of the decline in voter turnout since 1952 Decreasing faith in the effectiveness of voting Chapter 7

What are some other reasons for low voter turnout? What attempts have been made over time to increase voter turnout? What attempts could be made? Should we maybe decrease voter turnout? +decrease+voter+turnout +decrease+voter+turnout Chapter 7

ds+to+increase+voter+turnout HW: Prepare debate topic “A $100 fine should be imposed on eligible voters who do not vote in congressional or presidential elections”. Chapter 7

What is the relationship of political participation to freedom, equality and order? – Freedom? Should participate (or not)-compulsory voting laws against that Allows all forms of participation Favors those with resources to advance self interests – Equality? All influence should be equal Elections serve ideal of equality best Favors those with less resources to group together for self interests – Order? Some forms promote order, others disorder Gov’t should channel participation towards conventional to create order Chapter 7

What is the relationship of political participation to the view and models of democracy? – View (procedural  institutional mechanism): Participation, especially elections, connects public opinion and citizens to the government Socialize Gives people access to government Increases government power and authority  legit

Chapter 7 – Majoritarian model favors conventional, institutionalized behavior. WHY??? – Pluralism model favors many points of access and accommodations of various forms of conventional participation in addition to voting. WHY??? We will come back to voting when we talk about elections in Unit III.