Lifted restrictions *religious qualifications, property, and taxes after 1800 *race disqualifications w/ 15th amendment in 1870 *gender disqualifications w/ 19th amendment in 1920 *grandfather clauses, white primaries, & literacy w/ federal civil rights legislation & court decisions (Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act 1965) *Washington DC residents w/ 23rd amendment in 1961 *poll taxes w/ 24th amendment in 1964 (Harper v VA state Board of Elections, 1966) *lowering the minimum age for voting in federal elections to 18 w/ 26th amendment in 1971

Issue/Policy Voting = **Increased direct participation *DIRECT PRIMARY = citizens nominate candidates *RECALL = special election initiated by petition to allow citizens to remove an official from office before a term expires (does not exist at the national level) *REFERENDUM = citizens vote directly on issues called propositions (proposed laws or state constitutional amendments / does not exist at the national level) *INITIATIVE = voters petition to propose issues to be decided by qualified voters (does not exist at the national level)

Types of Elections #3D *Primary Elections CLOSED: only registered voters OPEN: either party BLANKET: split tkts only in AK/WA/LA RUNOFF: no majority vote *General Elections *Special Elections to fill a vacancy in the Senate, ex. *local/state/federal laws decide when *Congressional/POTUS on 1st Tues after the 1st Monday of Nov *Congressional every even year (off-year OR midterms) *POTUS every four years (coattail) #3D

LOW VOTER TURNOUT HIGHER if the election is seen as important HIGHER in presidential elections expansion of electorate (26th) failure of political parties to mobilize voters no perceived differences b/t the candidates or parties mistrust of government apathy satisfaction with status quo lack of POLITICAL EFFICACY mobility of electorate registration process (Motor Voter Law, 1995) LOW VOTER TURNOUT

Who can vote in TEXAS? When? How? FAQs: Texas Secretary of State April 3, 2012 = Primary (3/5/2012) June 5, 2012 = Runoff Primary (5/7/2012) www.votexas.org 30 days from registration (postmarked!) NOVEMBER 6, 2012!!!!! (10/9/2012) Open Primary (but…held to party in runoff) You need to be 17yrs/10months to register and 18 yrs old to vote, of course : D NO FELONIES We have something called the ‘Texas Two Step’ and it involves the Democrats having both a caucus (1/3) and a primary (2/3) : /

Who Votes? EDUCATION – higher the level, more likely to vote (most imp) OCCUPATION / INCOME – depend on education level, white collar & higher income are more likely to vote than blue collar & lower income AGE – older people more likely to vote RACE – minorities are less likely to vote than whites GENDER – women are more likely to vote than men RELIGION – more active religion are more likely to vote MARITAL STATUS – married people are more likely to vote UNION MEMBERSHIP – encourage participation, vote regularly COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP – well integrated ppl are more likely to vote than those that moved recently PARTY IDENTIFICATION – strong sense of party are more likely GEOGRAPHY – states w/ interparty competition, not one-party only

Who runs? Simply enough: Self starters Or Those who have been recruited

Who can run? President –Natural born citizen, at least 35 and a resident of the country for 14 years. VP – same as POTUS except they cannot be from the same state. HR – Citizen for 7 years, 25 years old and a resident of the state that elects you. Senator – Citizen for 9 years, 30 years and a resident of the state that elects you.

Party vs. Candidate Movement away from party centered campaigns: Changes in the electoral system Increased importance of television in campaigns Internet Cost of campaigns

Presidential Elections Exploration Announcement Presidential Primaries / Caucuses (presidential preference primary) Nominating Conventions Campaigning & General Election Electoral College *popular vote vs electors = senators + house reps *DC = 3 electoral votes *first Monday after 2nd Wednesday in December *WINNER-TAKE-ALL *270 majority WINS *538 electors in US aka Electoral College *House picks POTUS from top 3 *Senate picks VPOTUS from top 2

Campaign Finance $$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$ *before 1970; $ from anyone *FECA in 1971 – Federal Election Campaign Act – restrict the amount of campaign funds that can be spent on advertising disclosure of campaign contributions & expenditures limit the amounts candidates and their families can donate to their own campaigns taxpayers can designate a donation on their tax returns to major political party candidates, 1976

More campaign $$$$$ 1974 = Watergate FEC (Federal Election Commission) enforce the act est public financing no foreign contributions limits individual $ restricts PACs and their $ changed in 1976 & 1979 BUCKLEY v VALEO (1976) Spending limits were unconstitutional Violation of 1st / freedom of expression Ban on self-financed campaigns was also unconstitutional

Campaign Finance $$ *1996 – soft money *donations to political parties that CAN ONLY be used for general purposes – originally for voter drives, conventions, and issue ads – unlimited *major issue in Congress *2002 – BCRA – Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act NO SOFT MONEY IN FEDERAL CAMPS “527” = unregulated interest group More $$ for individuals/groups

CITIZENS UNITED (2010) LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF $$$ BUSINESSES, UNIONS, AND OTHER GROUPS CAN SPEND ON THEIR OWN EFFORTS TO ELECT OR DEFEAT CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. ??FINANCIAL INFLUENCE OF BIG CORPORATIONS ON CAMPAIGNS WOULD BE ABLE TO OVERPOWER THE INFLUENCE OF CITIZENRY??