1. Ch. 8: Political Participation

2. I. Closer look at nonvoting
Problem: First Explanation  Voter Apathy. . .So when do more vote?
Problem: Better Explanation Low number registered
How to cure the Problem
One idea that has been used: “get-out-the-vote drives”  These attempts fail because the main issue is registration.
Another plan is to get more people to register to vote:
Potential roadblocks
Apathy
In US, burden of registering to vote falls on the individual voter
Costs compared to Europe
time and energy
reregister if you move

3. Nonvoting Continued
Make it easier to register: motor-voter law, 1995 (Democrats in favor, Republicans against…why?)
but the effects are mixed, however, it did increase registration
a study in 2001 stated “that those who register when the process is costless are less likely to vote.”

4. The Rise of the American Electorate
From state to federal control
Initially, states decided who could vote for which offices Why the states?
This led to wide variation in federal elections:
Historic Qualifications
15th Amendment
Women’s Suffrage
Youth Vote
23rd Amendment- ratified 1961, gave District of Columbia residents the right to vote in presidential elections
Current Qualifications

5. From State to Federal Control: Historic Qualifications
Article 1: members of the H of R be chosen by the “people of the several states.”
Religion (eliminated by state legislatures)
Property (eliminated by state legislatures)
Race (eliminated by 15th Amendment)
Sex (eliminated by 19th Amendment)
Income (eliminated 24th Amendment [poll tax])
Literacy (Voting Rights Act of 1965)
Minimum age of 21 (eliminated by 26th Amendment)
Know these for the Ch. 8 test!!

6. From State to Federal Control: 15th Amendment
Following the interpretations of the 15th Amendment Southern states used evasive stratagems to keep blacks from voting.
Literacy test
Poll tax
Grandfather clause—allowing the poor, illiterate white person to vote--if he or his ancestors voted before 1867 he did not need to meet the requirements
White primaries
When all else failed, intimidation was used
Most of these stratagems ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court

7. From State to Federal Control: Women's voting rights
Noooo! Don’t let the women vote… they will ruin everything!
Several western states permitted women to vote by 1915
Nineteenth Amendment ratified 1920
No dramatic changes in outcomes

8. From State to Federal Control: Youth Vote
Voting Rights Act of 1970
Young people tend to have the lowest turnout when the 26th Amendment was ratified in 1971, turnout declined

9. From State to Federal Control: Current Qualifications
Citizenship
Residency
Age
Registration (except ND)

10. Voter turnout: Who votes? Who doesn't? Who cares?
Debate of declining percentages: two theories
Real decline as popular interest and party competition decreases
Apparent decline, induced in part by more honest ballot counts of today--ergo the saying: "Vote early, vote often!" The Jungle--U Sinclair
Parties once printed ballots
Ballots cast in public
Parties controlled counting
Australian ballot began to be adopted in 1910—Define

11. Voter turnout: Who votes? Who doesn't? Who cares?
Most scholars see some real decline in US due to several causes:
Registration more difficult
Long Ballot: excessive # of offices and issues
Type of election:
General election turnout > primary election turnout
Chief executive election turnout > legislative election turnout.
Presidential elections have the highest turnout.
National election turnout > state election turnout
Too many elections – “ballot fatigue”

12. Voter turnout: Who votes? Who doesn't? Who cares?
Characteristics of those most likely to vote
Level of Education-greatest predictor of voting (cuts across others)
Income-those with higher levels are more likely to vote
Age- Older people (except for the very old or infirm) are more likely to vote.
Race-whites vote more than blacks vote more than Hispanics why??
However, when the effects of income and education are eliminated, blacks and whites vote at the same rates.

13. Voter turnout: Who votes? Who doesn't? Who cares?
Does low turnout really matter??
If voters accurately represented a cross-section of the US (accurate sampling) then low turnout would be relatively unimportant
The problem is that some groups (which?) vote at a much higher rate than others and are overrepresented.  ”Class Bias”

14. Who participates in politics?
Forms of participation
Voting the most common
Six forms of participation
Inactives: 1/5 of the pop.
Voting specialists: vote, but do little else
Campaigners: vote and likely to get involved in campaign activities
Communalists: vote, reserve energy for community activities
Parochial participants: do not vote, stay out of election campaigns and civic associations but are willing to contact local officials about personal concerns
Complete activists: 1/9 of pop.

15. Who participates in politics?
The causes/factors affecting voter behavior
Geography
Solid South -traditionally Democratic, but increasingly Republican (1980)
Great Plains -Republican trend
Rocky Mountains -Republican trend
New England -traditionally Republican, but increasingly Dem. in recent years
Great Lakes region -Democratic trend, but several swing states e.g. Ohio
West- Democratic trend

16. Who participates in politics?
The meaning of participation rates
Americans vote less, but participate more
Other forms of activity becoming more common
Some forms more common here than in other countries
Americans elect more officials and have more elections
U.S. turnout rates heavily skewed to higher status persons

17. 2000 Presidential Election

18. 2004 Presidential Election

19. 2008