UNIT III – Effective Citizenship and Participation Voting in the U.S. UNIT III – Effective Citizenship and Participation

What qualifications must be met to be able to vote? At least 18 years of age Resident of the state Citizen of the U.S. Be registered Can do this when you renew your license Do not have to register under a specific party Usually have to do at least 30 days in advance

Where do you vote? At your polling place in your precinct They are based on where voters live

You then cast your ballot… There are many different types of ballots that can be used Write-in ballots Punch ballots Mechanized ballots Electronic ballots Absentee ballot (out of town, sick, military, etc.) Ballots are always secret unless special help is needed Straight ticket—all votes for same party Split ticket—votes for different parties

After you cast your ballot… When voters leave their polling place they may be asked by a member of the media to take a survey This survey is an exit poll It allows the media to gather info to report to the people before voting is over

Electoral College Chooses the president after the general population has voted Each state has a set of electors based on representation (NC has 15) Presidential candidates need at least 270 electoral votes to win A candidate that has lost the popular vote can still win the electoral vote (1876, 1888, and 2000) If a tie occurs, the House will break it (1800 and 1824)

Voting Amendments

Changing How We Vote 17th Amendment (1913) 12th Amendment (1804) Senators are now elected by the people, not state legislatures Ends 1st and 2nd place as President and VP. Now someone must run for VP. Today candidates run together on a ticket 24th Amendment (1964) No poll taxes can be charged for voting

Ending Disenfranchisement (disenfranchisement is the restriction of the right to vote) 15th Amendment (1870) 19th Amendment (1920) Cannot deny the right to vote based on race SIDE NOTE: States found other methods of restricting votes (literacy test, grandfather clause, etc.) this was ended with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Granted women’s suffrage (right to vote)

Ending Disenfranchisement (disenfranchisement is the restriction of the right to vote) 23rd Amendment (1961) 26th Amendment (1971) Granted Washington, D.C. votes in the Electoral College Made age 18 the voting age