Chapter 8 Political Participation

Copyright © 2013 Cengage

Political Participation THEN In most states, well into the 19th century, only property-owning white males could vote Andrew Jackson changed that

Political Participation THEN 1842 law: House members elected by district – to be more representative of their constituents 15th Amendment (1870): seemed to give suffrage to African Americans 19th Amendment (1920): Women given suffrage 23rd Amendment (1961): Gave DC residents the right to vote in presidential elections 26th Amendment (1971): 18-year-olds given suffrage

Political Participation NOW In areas where many non-English speakers live, election authorities MUST supply ballots in their home language Chinese, Spanish, Serbian, Korean Many states also allow people to vote the same day that they register Between 1860 – 1900, the percentage of eligible voters participating in presidential elections ranged from 65 – 80% Now we have dipped to as low as 50%

In San Francisco, voting instructions are printed in English, Spanish, and Chinese Daniel Brody

A Closer Look At Nonvoting VAP vs. VEP Voting-Age Population: All US residents age 18 or older – in 2012 = 231 million = 53.6% voter turnout rate Voting-Eligible Population: Excludes US residents that are not legally permitted to cast a ballot – in 2012 = 213 million = 58.2% voter turnout rate Non-citizens - illegal immigrants or refugees Convicted felons – jailed or released

Should convicted felons be eligible to vote? In California? In US? For Discussion Should convicted felons be eligible to vote? In California? In US?

A Closer Look at Nonvoting The gap between VAP & VEP has grown recently Register voters v. Non-registered Voters Sources of low voter turnout a relatively low percentage of the voting-age population is registered to vote approximately one-half of all nonvoters are registered US ranks dead LAST in voter turnout at 47.7% Citizens who are registered are more likely to vote

Hypothesize: What could be a cause in the gap between VAP and VEP increasing in recent years? Source: Updated from Michael P. McDonald and Samuel L. Popkin, “The Myth of the Vanishing Voter,” American Political Science Review 95 (December 2001): table 1, 966. Reprinted with permission of Cambridge University Press; Michael P. McDonald, “2008 General Election Turnout Rates,” updated April 26, 2009, at http://elections.gmu.edu, accessed May 8, 2009. Copyright © 2013 Cengage

What 5 countries are on the TOP of BOTH lists? Source: Rafael Lopez Pintor, Maria Gratschew, and Kate Sullivan, “Voter Turnout Rates from a Comparative Perspective,” in Voter Turnout Since 1945: A Global Report (Stockholm, Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2002). Copyright © 2013 Cengage

A Closer Look at Nonvoting Registered nonvoters gave three major reasons why they did not vote: 1) Too busy or had scheduling conflicts Work, etc… = 25% 2) Family chores or obligations = 12% 3) Believed their vote would not make a difference = 12% Since school, work, and other scheduling conflicts is the # 1 reason to not vote, some have proposed making election day a national holiday or holding national elections on weekends – Thoughts??

Look at the voter turnout rates for: Ages 18 – 20 Ages 21 – 24 Source: Adapted from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, June 2008, Table 400. Look at the voter turnout rates for: Ages 18 – 20 Ages 21 – 24 Hypothesize as to WHY they are SO low? Brainstorm ideas to increase voter turnout among the YOUNGEST voters. Ideas???

A Closer Look at Nonvoting Those don’t want a national holiday for voting because Mail-in ballots No-fault absentee voting Non-registered voters MUST become registered voters – in order to increased voter turnout –How do we register them? In most European countries, registration is done for you by the government In the US, the onus to register is on the individual person – takes EFFORT

A Closer Look at Nonvoting In 1993, the Motor Voter Law was passed In all 50 states, you can register to vote when you apply for your driver’s license Impact on voter participation remains hard to interpret definitively By 2010, motor-voter law-related means of registration were the SINGLE most widely used – seen on next slide A get-out-the-vote (GOTV) drive can make only a small difference depending on the tactic used Door-to-door canvassing & phone calls demonstrated statistically significant results

Figure 8.1 Voting and Registration Brainstorm: What other convenient ways can we register people WHO DON’T have a driver’s license? Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, “Voting and Registration,” June 2008. Copyright © 2013 Cengage

A Closer Look at Nonvoting Voting is MOST POPULAR form of political participation Other ways are: 1) Joining civic associations 2) Supporting social movements 3) Writing to legislators 4) Fighting city hall 5) Attending a board meeting 6) Giving money to a candidate Maybe other reasons why people DON’T vote is because they are reasonably well satisfied with how the country is governed

The Rise of the American Electorate Aliens are allowed to vote if they have already started the naturalization process From State to Federal Control Literacy test – had to show they could read before registering to vote Poll tax – a fee in order to register to vote Grandfather clause – if ancestors voted before 1867 White primary After Reconstruction ended in 1876, black voting shrank under the attacks of white supremacists Department of Social History/Smithsonian Institution

Copyright © 2013 Cengage

The Rise of the American Electorate White primary – the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states’ primaries through means of intimidation, threatening, and harassment Grandfather clause unconstitutional in 1915 White primary fell in 1944 A dramatic change did not occur until 1965 with the passage of the Voting Rights Act Suspended literacy tests Appointed federal examiners who handled black voter registration in states and counties Black voter registration went from 5% - 70% between 1960 – 1970 (Freedom Summer)

(Voting population DOUBLED) After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, blacks and whites voted together in a small Alabama town Flip Schulke/CORBIS The campaign to win the vote for women nationwide succeeded with the adoption of the 19th Amendment in 1920 (Voting population DOUBLED) Library of Congress Copyright © 2013 Cengage

The Rise of the American Electorate Voter Turnout: Is the decline real? YES: There is a decline of popular interest in elections A weakening of the competitiveness of the two major parties NO: In the 1800’s and early 1900’s voting fraud was commonplace and there were few serious efforts to deter this behavior Voting percentages were inflated

Figure 8.2 Voter Participation in Presidential Elections, 1860–2008 Replace with jpeg, p. 181 What are the 4 lowest years of voter turnout? Hypothesize WHY the reasons for WHY those years had the LOWEST voter turnout?

The Rise of the American Electorate Until around the beginning of the 20th century, voting fraud was frequent, because it was easy It was easy for a person to vote more than once Party machines (Boss Tweed) made use of “floaters” or repeaters Slogan – “Vote early and often” – really happened Often the number of votes counted was larger than the number of votes cast The number of votes cast were more than the eligible voting population (VEP) Australian Ballot – government ballot of uniform size and shape that was cast in SECRET Ballots used to be printed by political parties and cast in public – intimidation if you voted for the “WRONG” person

The Rise of the American Electorate These changes no only reduced fraudulent voting but also reduced voting in general A reform to correct one problem, caused another – not the 1st time this has happened After the 2000 election voting problems in Florida the federal government made changes to the nation’s voting system A system for counting disputed ballots Federal $ to upgrade voting equipment, procedures, and training for election officials Stopped short of creating a uniform national voting system – Elections (state’s right)

For Discussion Should voter registration & voting be compulsory? In California? In US?

Who Participates in Politics? The poor, less educated, and minorities are the most common non-voters Universal turnout among them would strongly benefit Democratic candidates and liberal causes Work, family, church & other voluntary activities come first in terms of how Americans spend their $ and time In a study, Sidney Verba and Norman Nie found that 1/5 (22%) of the population is completely INACTIVE in political participation

Who Participates in Politics? 6 Kinds of US citizens 1) Inactives: rarely vote, contribute to political organizations, or discuss politics; have little education, low income, young, many blacks = 22% 2) Voting specialists: vote but do little else; not much education or income, older 3) Campaigners: vote, get involved in campaign activities, more educated, interested in politics, identify with a party, take strong positions, NOT afraid of conflict

Who Participates in Politics? 6 Kinds of US citizens continued… 4) Communalists: nonpartisan community activists with a local focus, DON’T want conflict 5) Parochial participants: don’t vote or participate in campaigns or political organizations, but do contact politicians about specific problems 6) Activists: Participate in all forms of politics; highly educated, high income, middle age = 11%

Young women volunteers work rebuilding an area in Katrina-damaged In 2010 supporters of President Obama urged people to vote, but turnout fell and the Democrats suffered major losses MIKE THEILER/EPA/Landov Young women volunteers work rebuilding an area in Katrina-damaged New Orleans Kayte Deioma/PhotoEdit

Figure 8.3 Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections What factor causes the highest voter turnout? WHY?

Participation: Causes & Meaning The more schooling one has the more likely they are to vote Voter turnout in US is low compared to other democracies around the world BUT In the US we elect far more public officials than the citizens of any other nation – federal, state, & local officials Latinos are the largest & fastest growing minority group in America – most underrepresented

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? M E M O R A N D U M To: Senator Henry Gilbert From: Peter Clark, legislative analyst Subject: Voting reform legislation In the 1990s, barely half of the electorate voted for president, and only a third or so cast ballots for congressional elections. In a few recent presidential primaries and statewide special elections, turnout has run 10 percent or below. Studies show that often citizens miss the opportunity to vote because of complications with work or child care. To address this problem, legislators from both parties support celebrating Veterans Day on Election Day, which would create a national holiday for voting. Eligible voters who do not go to the polls would be fined.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Arguments for: 1. This proposal honors veterans by recognizing their service with the fundamental requirement of representative democracy, rule by the people through voting. 2. A voting holiday ensures that people who cannot take off time from work or other responsibilities to vote have the opportunity to exercise their democratic right. 3. Imposing a fine for nonvoting sends a moral message that voting is a civic duty in a democracy. More citizens will feel morally obliged to vote if all citizens are legally obliged to do so.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Arguments against: 1. Just as veterans volunteer their service, so, too, should citizens volunteer to exercise their democratic responsibilities. 2. Voting is a right, but citizens have a civic duty to exercise that right, and the government should not, in effect, exercise that duty on their behalf. Moreover, people can vote by absentee ballot at their convenience. 3. Compulsory voting does not guarantee informed voting. It is both unwise and undemocratic to legally oblige people to vote.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Your decision: Vote for bill? ______ - WHY? Vote against bill? ____ - Why NOT?