SUFFRAGE, VOTING TURNOUT, AND PARTY SYSTEMS Topic #35

Suffrage and Voting Turnout Suffrage under the early Constitution: was determined entirely by state laws; which varied greatly from state to state. Moreover, voting turnout among eligible voters apparently was quite low. During the “Jacksonian revolution” (1825-1840): the right to vote was extended to almost all adult white males; and party organizations waged energetic election campaigns, which greatly increased voting turnout. 15th Amendment (1870): no abridgement of the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” “Jim Crow” system in the South (1890-1965): Many African-Americans were effectively disenfranchised.

Suffrage and Voting Turnout Australian ballot and voter registration systems (1880-1900): guaranteed secret ballot; reduce voter fraud; but also reduced (suppressed?) voting turnout (?). 19th Amendment (1920): no abridgement “on account of sex.” 24th Amendment (1964): no abridgement “by reason of failure to pay any poll or other tax.” Voting Rights Act (1965) 26th Amendment (1971): no abridgement “on account of age [18 or older].” The 19th and 26th amendments increased the size of the electorate but (initially) reduced voting turnout among eligible voters.

Voting Turnout “actual vote” recorded Presidential vote                            “potential vote”          voting age population voting age population vs. eligible voters vs. registered voters “Motor Voter” law (K&J, p. 401) vote fraud/suppression felon disqualification

Political Parties Negative popular vs. positive political science evalu-ations of political parties. Elite vs. mass view of political parties: lessons of Presidential selection nominating function Party competition: the democratic method is that institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in which individual acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the people’s vote. (Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy, 1942) The market model of democracy (Anthony Downs, An Economic Theory of Democracy, 1957) The jury model of democracy Party competition as a check on “special interests” and unrepresentative activists

Two-Party vs. Multiparty Systems Different types of party systems result from different types of electoral institutions (“Duverger’s Law”): Single-winner elections (SMDs and separate executives + plurality voting) => two-party systems. Typical in English-speaking countries. Multiple-winner elections (MMDs + proportional representation, and no separate executives) => multiparty systems Typical in most other countries

Two-Party vs. Multiparty Systems (cont.) Different party behavior as a consequence: Two-party systems: “catch-all” parties; relatively closely balanced elections; relative party convergence; and regular alternation in power. Multiparty systems: historically more differentiated parties; parties of greatly unequal size; party divergence; and (sometimes) a hardly changing centrist governing coalition.

Weaknesses of American Political Parties Decentralized constitutional structure: separation of powers federalism Absence of strict party discipline in Congress, due to separation of powers. Liberal and individualistic political culture: social pluralism "catch-all" parties Absence of “mass parties” with formal dues-paying membership. The direct primary (introduced around 1900) deprives parties of their fundamental nominating function. Historically unique but increasingly copied in other countries.