PowerPoint #3 Voting Government Unit 2

Essential Question: You will be eligible to vote in the next presidential election. What do you think will influence your vote the most? Explain

History of Voting Rights The Constitution gave the states the right to set suffrage requirements but it has been increasingly controlled by the federal government through ratification of Constitutional Amendments and other federal legislation

Who Could Vote? 1789-1800 – When the Constitution was ratified only white, male, property owners could vote. Restrictions also included religious tests, tax payment, and others.

Whites and Blacks 1800-1850 – Religious, property, and tax requirements gradually eliminated by the states – by 1850 almost all white males could vote. 1870 – 15th Amendment ratified protecting the right to vote from being denied on the basis of race or color. Barriers to this were put in place for those who wanted to deny Blacks the right to vote: threats of violence and job loss literacy tests poll taxes grandfather clauses

Voting Rights for Women 1920 – 19th Amendment was ratified prohibiting the denial of the right to vote on the basis of sex. By 1920, approximately half the states had already given the right to vote in state and local elections to women. Wyoming was the 1st in 1869.

Voting Rights “Loop Holes” Closed 1960’s – Voting Right’s Act of 1965 helped to ensure voting rights for African Americans 23rd Amendment ratified in 1961 gives electoral votes to District of Columbia 24th Amendment ratified in 1964 eliminated the poll tax (or any other taxes) as a condition for voting. President Johnson with Martin Luther King Jr.

Age Requirement Lowered 1971 – 26th Amendment ratified extending the right to vote to 18 year olds (previously it was 21 years) Why did they lower the voting age? Over 600,000 young men (18 and up) had been drafted to fight in Vietnam Many felt they should be able to vote if they were being asked to die for their country.

Voting Requirements Citizenship – you must be a citizen to vote; natural born or naturalized. Some states have a waiting period – must be a citizen for a period of time before allowed to vote. Residence – you must be a legal resident of the state in which you vote – usually a waiting period applies approximanty 30 days. New citizens swearing in

Other Voting Requirements Age – as per the 26th amendment, no state can set the minimum age to vote higher than 18. Registration – all states (except North Dakota) requires registration to identify legal voters and gather information about party id, age, address, etc. People who are denied the right to vote: dishonorably discharged from military some convicted felons non-citizens Insane

Demographics of Voters

Income and Education Income/Occupation Higher income tend to vote Republican Lower income tend to vote Democrat Education: Higher educated tend to vote Republican Lower educated tend to vote Democrat

http://www. truthjustice http://www.truthjustice.net/politics/non-whites-of-every-stripe-vote-democrat/

Gender and Age Gender Higher percentage of women vote Democrat Higher percentage of men vote Republican Age: Younger tend to vote Democrat Older tend to vote Republican

Religious Background Religious Christians tend to vote Republican White Catholics 60% vote – Republican (2016) Hispanic Catholics, 67% voted - Democrat (2016)

Ethnic Background Minority groups tend to vote Democrat Whites tend to vote Republican

Geography & Family/Peer Groups South used to be strong Democrat Now the South is more Republican Urban areas tend to be Democrat Rural areas tend to be Republican Family/Peer Groups 2/3 of voters follow their parents political party 9/10 of married couples vote alike people tend to vote along with their friends

Influences on Voters Party Identification – most important predictor of voting regardless of issues/candidates Straight ticket voting (voting with party affiliation) Long-term factor (rarely changes)

Influences on Voters Candidates/Issues – short term factors that can cause people to “cross-over” vote or split-ticket vote. Cross- Pressured Voters – caught between conflicting issues in their life (religion, social economic status, peers)

What the Heck??!!!!! Many democrats are wondering how they could have lost the 2016 presidential election to someone with such high unfavorably ratings Watch the following video and complete the answers on the worksheet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJU_weYIh_4

Voter Behavior Turnout is highest in Presidential election years Decreases in off-year elections and local races. People who vote tend to: believe that voting is important Believe that their vote counts have a relatively strong party affiliation are “settled” into their community higher social economic status higher education higher income have better jobs are over 35 are married

What Percent of Eligible Voters Voted in 2016? 40% did not vote – 92,671,976

Non-Voters An increasing problem that can threaten the basis of our democracy. Many choose not to vote because… don’t trust the government think their vote “doesn’t count” don’t like the candidates are turned off by negative campaigning have a lack of interest or knowledge have an illness/physical limitation religious beliefs weather conditions difficulty in registration Apathy

Essential Question: You will be eligible to vote in the next presidential election. What do you think will influence your vote the most? Explain