1. Political Participation

2. First of all, who can vote?
1 – US citizens
2 – resident of the state you’re voting in
3 – you must be over 18
4 – you must register!!!
There are no literacy tests, poll taxes, but you can’t be in a mental institution or prison. Funny how that works…

3. Rise of the American electorate
Electorate means the “potential voting population” – now over 205 million!!
Early 1800s almost all white males could vote
15th Amendment extended voting rights to all males, regardless of color, over 21
19th Amendment allowed women to vote
24th Amendment and Voting Rights Act of 1965 eliminated poll taxes
26th Amendment allowed everyone over 18 to vote (Vietnam war!!!)

4. Low voter turnout - 2 theories
Theory one - real decline
This may be due to voter registration difficulties
The Florida vote in 2000 controversy
Just a continuation of the drop since the early 1960s

5. The other theory An apparent decline in voting:
Political parties once printed the ballots
Ballots were cast in public
Parties controlled the counting
Voter eligibility was easily bypassed
Political machines controlled everything
The Australian ballot was adopted in 1910 (it’s a standard ballot for everyone printed by the government)

6. Voting
We used to think people didn’t vote out of “apathy” or just a plain lack of desire
In reality it’s more accurate to say people don’t vote because the US has low voter registration rates
This is partly because you actually have to make an effort to register, unlike Europe

7. More voting…
Funny thing is, we may not vote as much as Europeans, but we participate much more such as joining civic associations, supporting social movements, writing congressmen, and fighting city hall
Another funny thing about us voting, our low turnout rate may actually indicate that we are reasonably satisfied with the governmental system, and if everyone voted it might be a sign of discontent????

8. Even more about voting Not everyone votes – can you believe it??
“Idiotes” – a Greek word for people who don’t vote
Non-voting voters – those who ONLY vote for the president OR only those names on the top of the ballot
100 Million just don’t vote at all, ever…
Why???

9. Thanks for asking – here’s why
10 million are resident aliens
5-6 million are ill or physically unable to vote
2-3 million traveling suddenly
500,000 mentally ill
1 million in prison
100,000 don’t vote for religious reasons
That still leaves 80 million people, what’s their story??

10. Twa-da #4 – “time zone fallout” #3 – it’s too complicated
#2 – they’re vote doesn’t matter
#1 reason
Lack of Interest !!!!!!!
In other words, they just don’t care (but they’ll be the first to complain if something doesn’t go their way!!)
- In the 2008 election, people did care (on both sides) so election turn out was much higher. It will be fun to see how the 2012 election turns out!

11. So who participates in government and why???
Education plays a big role!!
Church goers vote more
Men and women vote at the same rate
Whites typically more than African-Americans
Older people more than younger
Non-voters tend to be poor, minorities and uneducated but an increasing number of college students and white collar workers don’t vote

12. Any solutions??
Remember, Americans may not vote as much but they are involved in other activities
Studies show no connection between distrust of politicians and not voting
Registration barriers continue to be lowered to boost voter turnout
Absentee Ballots,
Possible future- , Text message voting
There are over 500,000 elected positions in America
Bottom line – efficacy and interest really determine who will and won’t vote – SO VOTE ( But do your homework first, don’t end up as a non-voting voter!)