Chapter 4 Voting and Elections

Learning Objectives 4.1 Explain the process of registering and voting in Texas 4.2 Assess how the expansion of franchise has impacted Texas politics 4.3 Evaluate how different factors affect voter turnout 4.4 Describe how candidates campaign in Texas 4.5 Analyze factors that influence election outcomes in Texas

Voting in Texas Registration National Voter Registration Act Must register 30 days before an election Requirements US Citizen Resident of the county where the individual intends to vote 18 years of age National Voter Registration Act Motor Voter Law Register to vote when applying for driver’s license

Voting in Texas Types of Elections General Election Primary Elections Nominees from different parties square off Most media attention Primary Elections Each party selects its nominees Open Primary: any registered voter can vote Closed Primary: only voters registered with a party may vote for party candidates Runoff Election No candidate receives a majority, to two vote getters run again Special Election Fill vacancies created by death, resignation or removal

Voting in Texas Early Voting Mobile Voting Election Day Two weeks before Election Day Mobile Voting Polling places move to different locations Election Day Straight Ticket Voting voting for all candidates of a specific party Split Ticket Voting Choosing candidates from different parties for different offices Neighborhood Precincts Vote Centers

Suffrage Struggles and Their Consequences Literacy Tests Began in 1890 Poll Tax Tax to register to vote White Primary Only whites could participate in the primary election Hispanics “ambiguous racial identity” Counted for school integration but not political inclusion

Suffrage Struggles and Their Consequences Voting Rights Act 1965 Prohibited discrimination against racial minorities Language minorities status ambiguous African Americans Texas Reconstruction Constitution extended full voting rights Women Primary vote won: 1918 General Election vote won: 1920 Asian Americans Right to vote won: 1943

Voter Turnout in Texas Why Texans Don’t Vote Social Pressure Rational Voter Political Efficacy Social Pressure Civic duty Shame Political Socialization Process of acquiring political values and behaviors Influences voting behavior

Voter Turnout in Texas How Can Voter Turnout Be Increased? Voter ID For Convenience Sake Why Tuesday? Voter Targeting We’re all in this together I’m Asking for Your Vote Thanks for voting Your Ballot is Safe with Me Materials in Spanish Voter ID

How to Campaign Texas Style Building Campaign Infrastructure Image, Limelight, and the Media Negative Campaigning Courting the Base Microtargeting Surfing National Trends

How to Campaign Texas Style Funding Elections Money is the “mother’s milk” of politics PACs and Super PACS Organizations that collect donations from donors and use funds for candidates Super PACS cannot give to candidates directly Rules and Limits Federal Election Campaign Act Texas Ethics Commission Few restrictions on Texas political giving

Who Wins and Why Money and Election Outcomes Who Contributes Who Donors Give to Does Money Buy Influence Parties and Straight Ticket Voting Helps parties gain and maintain power Incumbents and Voter Turnout Incumbents likely to win general election with greater voter turnout Challengers better chance of winning low-turnout primaries and runoffs

Who Wins and Why The Electoral System Will Texas Turn Blue At-large All citizens in a county can vote Will Texas Turn Blue Texas is a majority-minority state Hispanics could tilt the state Democratic “blue”

Texas Takeaways A Texas citizen must be registered to vote thirty days before an election. Texas voters need a photo identification or provide a sworn statement of citizenship and non-photo proof of residency like a birth certificate, a utility bill, or a paystub or bank statement. In an open primary, any qualified registered voter can vote in the primary for any party. In a closed primary, only voters registered with a party may vote in that party’s primary. The poll tax, the white primary, and voter intimidation by certain people or groups are ways that Texas has disenfranchised minority voters.

Texas Takeaways In 1965 Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which prohibited discrimination against racial minorities. Approximately 85 percent of African Americans support the Democratic Party. There are some who don’t vote because voting is time-consuming and difficult. There are others who don’t vote because they don’t see a benefit. Voter turnout can be increased if the structure of voting is changed (having convenience voting), or with greater efforts to reach out to and educate voters.

Texas Takeaways Negative advertising often demobilizes the electorate by decreasing political efficacy and reducing support for the candidate who is the target of the negativity Federal regulations on campaigns were originally designed to limit the lopsided influence of wealthy individuals and interest groups in federal elections. The top group were oil- and gas-related donors. The second group were lawyers and lobbyists. Straight ticket voting generally helps parties gain and maintain power.