1. AP Government Political Participation

2. Dentist Joke
A Burmese man goes to India to have his toothache treated. The Indian dentist wonders why he came all the way to India. “Don’t you have a dentist in Myanmar (Burma)? “Oh, yes we do,” says his patient. “But in Myanmar, we are not allowed to open our mouths.”

3. Conventional: Participation through Voting

4. Making the decision
How Americans vote

5. Suffrage (The legal right to vote
15 Amendment- All races can vote 19 Amendment- All women can vote 24 Amendemt- Non-tax payers can vote 26 Amendment year-olds can vote

6. Election Day is: the first Tuesday after the first Monday, in November
Illinois State Qualifications to register to vote: 18, citizen, resident for 30 days, & not be registered in any other state In Illinois, you may register to vote on election day or before People incarcerated in the state of Illinois are not eligible to vote Polls are open: 6am-7pm Do you see any potential problems yet?

7. Voter Registration
Some states require that you register as a voter a month before election day. Is that hindering people from voting?

8. Motor Voter Act
You register to vote when you get your drivers license. This makes it easier to register aka more people vote

9. Why don’t poor people vote?

10. 33 states have voter ID Laws

11. Voter ID laws by state

12. Do you think voters should have to show ID to vote?

13. Is this hindering certain group from voting?

14. % of Eligible voters who voted in presidential elections
2008: 62.2% 2012: 59% 2016: 60.2% Number of eligible voters who did not vote in 2016: 94 million

15. Characteristics of Voters
How likely are you to vote (not which Party, but just to vote at all!)
More Educated
Most important factor, but connected to other traits
Higher Income
Union Membership
Politically Affiliated
Civic Involvement
Older
More likely until mobility becomes a problem
Married
Traits are cumulative- possessing several adds up

16. Voter Turnout

17. Patterns of Participation
What trends about voting rates do you see in this chart?

18. Patterns of Participation
Average voter turnout in presidential years since have plateaued at around 60% of the electorate except for three different times:
1920s adding of women to the electorate
1940s distraction of WWII
1970s adding of 18 year olds

20. Age

21. Income

23. Race

25. What would it take to turn BLUE states RED? 270 to win

26. Low Voter Turnout Standard socioeconomic model
relationship between socioeconomic status and conventional political involvement: people with higher economic status and more education are more likely to participate than those with lower status
Review: what do the following factors have to do with voter turnout?
Age
Race
Gender
Marital Status

27. Decline of Voting Rates Over Time
If the standard socioeconomic model is true, why have voting rates stayed low while levels of education in the US have increased?
Lack of a gain to belief that gov’t is no longer responsive to citizens
Candidates are too packaged
Campaigns are too long
Change in attitude toward political parties
Negative ads = negative view of gov’t leaders

28. Figure 13.2- Why People Don’t Vote
Back

29. Americans compared to Europeans
Less likely to vote
More elected officials
More complex registration process
Political parties are weaker
Has less daily involvement in government

30. US Voter Turnout Compared to Other Countries
Two factors make voting in the US more of a challenge
Differences in voting laws
2 step process for voting

32. Voters lining up outside a Baghdad polling station during the 2005 Iraqi election. Voter turnout was considered high despite widespread concerns of violence.

35. Ways to Improve Voter Turnout
Make registration and absentee voting easier?
Make Election Day a holiday?

36. 2016 Voting Maps

37. Why do people vote for one candidate over another?

38. Because they agree with the public policy beliefs?

39. Maybe people vote for a candidate for a different reason…

40. …Party identification

41. Appearance Public speaking Personality Integrity and trust
Personal Image
Appearance Public speaking Personality Integrity and trust

43. Policy Voting

44. Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior
Candidates who vow to continue popular policies are more likely to win elections. Retrospective voting: voters cast a vote based on what a candidate has done for them lately. Those who feel worse-likely to vote against incumbents. Bad economies make politicians nervous.

45. Mandate Theory of Elections
The winning candidate has permission from the people to carry out his or her platform, if a majority of the people vote for him or her. Make laws based on ideas expressed in the campaign

46. Initiatives for Influencing Politics
Low level initiatives for influencing politics
Voting how an we move this to high level?
Wearing a candidate’s shirt or displaying a bumper sticker
Watching debates or conventions on TV
Sign a petition
High level initiatives for influencing politics
Running for office
Work on a candidate’s campaign
Calling and writing letters to Congress or other elected officials
Attend gov’t meetings or hearings

47. Redistricting & Gerrymandering

48. This is called REDISTRICTING. US CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
When the Census is held every 10 years, every Legislative District in the United States is redrawn to reflect population changes.
This is called REDISTRICTING.
US CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

49. The PARTY in control of each state legislature controls redistricting.
If they use this power to give themselves an electoral advantage, this is called GERRYMANDERING.

50. Illinois and Chicago Congressional Districts
GERRYMANDERING leads to oddly-shaped campaign districts, as ruling parties divide opposition voters to make them less powerful.
Illinois and Chicago Congressional Districts

51. Gerrymandering Gerrymandering Article
Back

56. Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District

57. Gerrymandering or Ink blot?
inkblot-quiz

58. The Last Battle: The Electoral College
Electoral college actually elects the president—founders wanted him chosen by the elite of the country States (political parties) choose the electors Winner-Take-All system gives bigger emphasis to more populated states

59. Electoral College Preview
This is not really until next unit, but let’s introduce it to put everything into context
Electoral College Preview

60. How the Electoral College works
Each state has as many votes as it does Representatives and Senators.
Winner of popular vote typically gets all the Electoral College votes for that state
Electors meet in December, votes are reported by the vice president in January
If no candidate gets a majority (270 votes), the House of Representatives votes for president, with each state casting one vote.

61. A Tale of Three Elections

62. http://www. realclearpolitics
What is the Alternative Vote? Problems with the Alternate Vote