Chapter 5: Political Participation American and Texas Government: Policy and Politics, 10/e By Neal Tannahill Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

Case Study: 2008 Election More people voted in 2008 than in any previous American presidential election. Primary vote up 47% in Missouri, up 69% in Pennsylvania November General Election turnout: 131 million, or 61.6% of the voting eligible population Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Forms of Participation Political participation is an activity that has the intent or effect of influencing government action. The most common form of political participation is voting. Other methods of participation include election campaigning, contacting public officials, joining and/or supporting interest groups, and engaging in unconventional political acts, such as protest demonstrations. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

Explaining Participation The most important factors influencing individual participation are: personal resources psychological engagement voter mobilization community involvement Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

Patterns of Participation Political science research shows that political participation rates vary based on: income age race/ethnicity gender Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Nonvoters Dopplet and Sheerer identify five groups of nonvoters: Doers- Choose not to vote Unpluggeds-out of touch with issues/parties Irritables-Angry Don’t Knows-no information to make decisions Alienateds-Turned off by the system Trends in Voter Turnout “Voting age population” (VAP), minus those not eligible to vote (convicted criminals, non-citizens, etc.) is the “voting eligible population” (VEP) Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

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Participation Rates in Comparative Perspective Why is U.S. voter turnout generally lower than in other democracies? American election process more cumbersome Weaker political parties Perception that candidate selection has little impact on policy Americans vote less, but are more politically active in other ways than citizens of other countries. Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

Increasing Voter Turnout The Government Accounting Office suggests three changes to increase voter turnout: adjustments of registration deadlines toll-free numbers to request absentee ballots increased use of mail-in and Internet balloting National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter law) increased voter registration, but not voter turnout. 2004 and 2008 election turnout suggests the U.S. is experiencing “voter revival.” Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

Participation Bias The characteristics of individuals who are more likely to participate politically than others are: older employed better educated Married own their homes attend church identify with a political party belong to a political organization identify with their ethnic group, particularly if they believe their group suffers discrimination Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

Conclusion: Political Participation and Public Policy Agenda Building – Individuals, individually and collectively, can affect the nation’s policy agenda Policy formulation and adoption – Carolyn McCarthy, candidate for congress, ran over gun control issue, won campaign based partly on specific policy votes Policy Implementation and Evaluation – Lawsuit by a construction company challenged federal contracting procedures, forced change in federal contract award practice Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.

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