VOTING BEHAVIOR

What do you think about this t-shirt? Do you agree with the message?

Voter turnout in the United States  55.3 percent of the voting-age population voted in  Only 28% of the voting-age population voted for President Bush.

Who actually votes?  People with higher levels of education vote more than people with lower levels of education.  Women are somewhat more likely to vote than men.  People with higher income levels are more likely to vote than people with lower income levels.  People who identify strongly with a Political Party vote more than people who do not identify themselves with a Political Party.

Young Voters  The 26 th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18, in It was the faster amendment to pass in American History.  Since then, the age group of year olds has had the lowest turnout rate of any other age group (35%)  In 2004, fewer than 3 out of year olds claimed to have voted.  Young Americans are the least likely to even register to vote.

US turnout compared to other Countries  Voter turnout is lower in the US than any other industrialized democracy (except Switzerland). Turnout in National Elections ( ) Australia94.5% Spain85.7% Germany85% France74.8% Canada70% US55.6%

In general, why don’t people vote? Don’t have time, too busy to vote Not informed about politics Don’t care Do not know how to register to vote Forget to register/change address in time See voting as a choice, not a duty or responsibility Don’t feel like standing in (sometimes really long) lines. Think the candidates do not care about them or their opinions. Feel like their vote “won’t matter”

Why is voting important?  How can we call ourselves a “Representative Democracy” if only half of our citizens vote? Are we really representative?  Candidates do not target young voters because they think there is no reason to. Why waste time on an age group that won’t vote anyway?

What can be done to increase voter turnout (in all age groups)?  Election Day as a Holiday  Changing Election Day  24 hour voting  Voting through the Internet  How do we get more people to vote?  Others?

Activity  Pick one of the suggestions for increasing voter turnout and create an advertisement telling people about your idea.  Sell us as a group  Who would “endorse’ your idea?  Why is it the best?

Compulsory Voting  Requiring that adult citizens participate in elections or face a small fine.  Because of the secrecy of voting, it does not really require people to vote, just to turn in a ballot. (It could be blank) Compulsory voting laws get all age groups out to vote in very high numbers.

Some Countries with Compulsory Voting Laws (As of 2007)  Australia  Greece  Belgium  Luxembourg  Since 1999, all 4 of these Countries have over 89% voter turnout in ALL eligible age groups.

Compulsory Voting Fees  In Australia, the typical fine for not voting is 20 Australian dollars.  Judges typically accept reasonable excuses, and few people actually get fined for not voting.

 What do you think about Compulsory voting?