1. Chapter 8 Political Participation Mr. Hatch
American Government
Chapter 8
Political Participation
Mr. Hatch

2. Objectives
What groups (race, age, education) vote, and for whom do they typically vote?
What are the 6 different types of participation? Who participates?
Reasons why Americans don’t vote
How do we vote compared to Europeans?
Voting Amendments (15, 19, 21 etc.) How has that impacted Political Participation?

3. VOTING! VIEW THAT AMERICANS DON’T VOTE DUE TO APATHY IS WRONG:
ONCE REGISTERED, AMERICANS DO VOTE
TURNOUT : 55% in Prez; 30%-40% in Midterms; Lower in state and local elections
FACTORS TO VOTING INCLUDE:
AGE
RACE
PARTY ORGANIZATION
BARRIERS TO REGISTRATION
POPULAR VIEWS OF SIGNIFICANCE OF ELECTION

4. Reasons for non-voting are complex:
Apathy is wrong because….
1. Misleading description of problem
2. Incorrect explanation
3. Proposes a remedy that won’t work
Remember….real problem is registration to vote! OR…..
VOTERS MAY BE HAPPY!?

5. Americans vs. Europeans
Comparatively, Amer. Vote less than other countries
But voting for more offices in more elections
Other nations penalize for nonvoting
We have 2x – 3x more elections than Europe
Americans engage in other forms of political participation:
Writing letters
Attending meetings
Attending a rally
Protesting
Joining civic associations

6. American vs. Europeans Voting registration
In U.S. must actively register, in Europe, automatic
Motor Voter law passed
in 1993 had taken effect
by 1995
--increased voter
turnout
The two party system not adversely affected although independents increased

7. Figure 6.1: Sources of Voter Registration Application, 1995-1996
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin COmpany. All rights reserved.
Source: Federal Election Commission, Executive Summary--Report to Congress, June 1997.

8. How do different forms of participation affect the government?

9. Most powerful determinant of participation:
Schooling and information: more educated = vote most
Age: largest voting turn-out = yr.olds
least = year olds
Race: African-Americans vote in about the same rates as whites when comparing socio-economics

10. Factors Affecting Voter Preference
Geography ; Rep. South; Dem. West
Strong Candidates
Time: Realigning or Critical elections = long term change in politics (1932; 1994)
Party Affiliations (strongest predictor); more split-ticket voting; more independents (young, college-educated with above avg. incomes)
Demographics: Sex; Race; Social Class; Religion
Issues : Retrospective (have things gotten better) vs. Prospective Voting (looking ahead at what will be done)

11. Factors Affecting Voter Turnout
Level of Education – most important!
Income – Rich vote more than poor regardless of race
Age – older people vote
Race – not much difference, minorities will vote more than whites among socio-economic lines

13. Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections, by Age, Schooling, and Race, 1964-1996
Source: Updated from Gary R. Orren, “The Linkage of Policy to Participation,” in Presidential Selection, ed. Alexander Heard and Michael Nelson (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1987). Data for 1996 are from Statistical Abstract of the United States 1998, 296, as supplied by Christopher Blunt.

14. Verba and Nye: Six Forms of Political Participation
(1) Completely Inactive (22%=1/5 of pop.)
Rarely votes
no organization involvement
Rarely, if ever, talks about politics and issue
•(2) Voting Specialists (21%)
--votes but does little else
--tends not to have much schooling or income
--substantially older than the average person

15. Verba and Nye: Six Forms of Political Participation
(3) Campaigners (15%)
Votes
Campaigns activists: works phones, walks precincts, etc
Better educated than average
Distinguishing features: interested in conflicts, passions and struggles of politics
Clearly identified with a party
Willingness to take strong positions on issues

16. Verba and Nye: Six Forms of Political Participation
(4) Communalists (20%)
Much like Campaigners for social background but different temperament: doesn’t like conflict, tension of partisan campaign.
Reserves energies for community activities of a nonpar-tisan nature--forming/joining non-political local organizations to deal with local problems and contacting local officials.

17. Verba and Nye: Six Forms of Political Participation
(5) Parochial Participants (4%)
Don’t vote
Stays out of election campaigns and civic associations
Willing to contact public officials about specific, often personal, problems
•(6) Complete Activists (11%--1/9th of population)
Highly educated/high income
Participates in all forms of politics
Tends to be middle aged.

18. Historically, voting in hands of white males:
By Andrew Jackson’s administration ( ), voting rights broadened to include virtually all white adult males.
Some states still restricted on owning property
New Jersey 1844, North Carolina 1856
Black males, women and Chinese Americans all get the vote after white males.

19. Quick Quiz:
Name the Amendment, Act or legislation that provided voting rights and abolished restrictions on the following:
Black males
Women
Poll Taxes, Grandfather Clauses, Literacy Tests
District of Columbia residents can vote for President
18 year olds

20. Quick Quiz:
Name the Amendment, Act or legislation that provided voting rights and abolished restrictions on the following:
Black males: 15th Amend. (1870)
Women: 19th Amend. (1920)
Poll Taxes, Grandfather Clauses, Literacy Tests
Civil Rights Act of 1965
District of Columbia residents can vote for President: 23rd. Amend. (1961)
18 year olds: Voting Rights Act (1970)

21. Black Males right to vote: 15th Amendment (1870)
Supreme Court didn’t see it that way
15th Amend. didn’t nec. give black males right to vote, said if voting denied, could not be on grounds of race.
Burden of proving discrimination was on the backs of blacks…..this led to
•literacy tests
•poll taxes
•grandfather clauses to exclude blacks.

22. Voting Rights Act: 1965 Suspended use of literacy tests
Authorized appts. of fed. Examiners who could order reg. of blacks in states

23. 19th Amendment: 1920
Gave women the right to vote in federal elections.
No significant change in voting outcomes

24. Voting Rights Act: 1970
Gave 18 year olds the right to vote in both state and federal elections beginning in 1/1/71.
Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional the “state” part thus requiring 26th Amendment.
Added and ratified in 1971.

25. Election 1972 First election 18 year olds could vote
Nixon (R ) vs. McGovern (D)
Turn out lower than expected
• No party or candidate got a huge “boost”

26. District of Columbia votes: 23rd Amendment (1961)
District of Columbia was left out of Electoral College in Article II thus until 1961 never had their Presidential vote counted.

27. Voting now… National standards now govern voting
No literacy, property, nor residency requirement
Ballots printed multi-lingually
Federal voter registrars and poll workers sent in where 50% or less of voting-age pop. participated in last Presidential election.

28. Voter turn-out is still low
Two views
Decline is real and result in population decline in election interest.
Two major parties so close--no real differences
Decline is more apparent than real
Voting fraud- people voted “early and often”
Party machines
Parties no more democratic and voters easier to manipulate

29. Voting reforms: Australian Ballot (1890)
Government printed ballots, not parties
Uniform in size and shape
Secret and secure
What were allegations from election 2000??? - let’s pause to laugh at Florida for a bit…
1000 voted for all 10 candidates
3600 voted for all but Bush
700 voted for all but Gore
7000 voted for Bush AND Gore

30. Voter drop after 1890: Most scholars agree there was a drop:
Longer residency requirement
Aliens no longer vote until actual citizen
Harder for blacks to vote
Education qualification for voting instituted
Voters must register far in advance of election

31. Progressive reforms: Hurt honest voters Those with little education
People who recently move

32. Voter turnout: 1960-1980 Dropped about 10% for no apparent reason
Cannot be explained by previous examples
Nor can the 5% increase in 1988 (50%) or the 1992 increase either (55%).

33. Figure 6.2: Voter Participation in Presidential Elections, 1860-1996
Source: For : Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics for the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, 1071; : Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1992, 517.