Voting and Voter Behavior

Voting Part 1 Who has suffrage in the US? What are the requirements to vote? Who is prohibited from voting? What is voter registration?

Suffrage or Franchise =the right to vote By 1810 religious qualifications were eliminated, by 1840s property requirements 1870-15th Amendment- race 1920-19th Amendment- gender 1961- 23rd Amendment- DC residents 1965- Voting Rights Act 1964- 24th Amendment – no poll tax 1971- 26th Amendment – age 18+

Universal requirements set by the states Citizenship-(varies by state) Nothing in the Constitution says that an alien should not be able to vote Residency-(varies by state) requirement to live in the state need to be < than 31 days in a Presidential election Age Limit cannot be higher than 18

Registration- a procedure of voter id to prevent fraudulent voting A Progressive reform – early 1900s All states except N. Dakota require registration Most European democracies require public officials to compile a list of eligible voters. “Motor-Voter” Law since 1995

Persons denied the vote No state allows anyone living in a mental institution to vote. ¼ of the states denies voting to felons. A few states do not allow anyone who is dishonorably discharged from the military to vote.

Homework: After assessing your personal political orientation and analyzing the various platforms presented by the existing political parties, you’ve decided to start your OWN 3rd party! Devise a name for your party and a symbol that will attract voters. Create a PLATFORM with at least 5 “planks” from the following topics: Economy, debt, taxation, foreign affairs, Afghanistan, Iran, War on Drugs, War on Terror, immigration, homeland security, health, environment, energy, social issues such as abortion, marriage law, capital punishment. Write out each “plank” in 2-3 complete sentences which describe and explain your position.

Part 2 Who votes and why? Who doesn’t vote and why?

What about everybody else? Why people do not vote Close to 100 million did not vote in 2004 % of non-voters is generally increasing 56.7% of eligible voters voted for president 60.9% in 1968, 49% in 1996 Cannot voters – 20-21 million 10 million resident aliens 5-6 million ill, disabled 500,000 in mental institutions 2-3 million traveling unexpectedly 2 million in jail 100,000 who do not vote based on religious reasons What about everybody else?

80,000,000 votes What for? It won’t make any difference Everything’s fine. Why bother? 80,000,000 votes !@#$% the “system”. I refuse to participate! Uggghhh! The line’s too long and it’s raining… I don’t know. I don’t care.

idiot from the Greek word idiotes: those who did not vote or take part in civic life

Sociological factors determining whether or how people vote

Sociological factors determining whether or how people vote Income, occupation Lower income groups vote Democrat Education Higher percentages of college graduates vote Republican Gender Before 2004 women more likely to vote Democrat. Age Younger people tend to vote Democrat

Sociological factors of voting 5. Religion-Republican party recent gains Protestants=Republican Catholics & Jews= Democrat 6. Ethnic Background African Americans typically vote Democrat Mexican Americans & Puerto Ricans usually vote Democrat Cubans usually vote Republican 7. Family 9/10 married couples share partisan leanings 2/3 people vote like their parents

Voters Straight ticket Split-ticket Independent vote the same party in all races Split-ticket split presidential and Congressional and/or state and local Independent

Use this website: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm 1. Who is the current California Secretary of State? 2. Who is eligible to vote in California? 3. If you want to vote in the November election, when is the deadline for registration? 4. How do you register to vote? 5. When is the California primary?

Why don’t more people vote? Talk to your partner; prepare 1-2 reasons why people might choose not to vote.

The Economics of Voting Highlight author’s thesis and key points. Margin note your questions, connections and reactions to the author’s words. Prepare to discuss the bulleted questions.

Interactive Electoral Map http://www.electoral-vote.com http://electoralmap.net/index.php Interactive Electoral Map http://www.electoral-vote.com History of electoral votes by state

References McClenaghan, W. (2006). Magruder’s American Government. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. Hart, Diane. (2009). Government Alive! Power, Politics and You. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute. http://www.balancedpolitics.org/ideology.htm http://www.edgate.com/elections/inactive/the_parties/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_ideologies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States#Current_major_parties http://www.3pc.net/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_the_United_States

AGNEDA: Tues 11/1 & Wed 11/2 The Candidate conclusion Midterm Essay Review RAP #20: Compulsory Voting Voter Behavior HW: Prepare for Midterm Essay Party Platform Part 1 EC #2 DUE: Thurs 11/3 & Fri 11/4

Midterm Reflection Essay In Class: Thurs 11/3 & Fri 11/4 “Based on your viewing of “The Candidate” and excerpts from “Bobby,” along with your own understanding of the role of political parties, write an essay which addresses one component from each of the following options: Option A Compare and contrast the role of political parties in promoting candidates for the presidency from the late 1960s to today. Compare and contrast the campaign issues, party platforms, and personal character of each candidate from “The Candidate” and “Bobby”. AND Option B At the end of “The Candidate” the question is posed, “What do we do now?” Predict the influence on government McKay will have after he won the Senate race. Predict the impact on our country had Bobby Kennedy not been shot and won the Presidency. 24

RAP #20: Compulsory Voting Read the handout “The Economics of Voting.” Take margin notes about your response to the argument being presented by the author. Do you agree or disagree w/ the author’s perspective? Whether or not you agree that low voter turnout is a serious problem, it seems clear that our government would be more representative if more people voted. Furthermore, low turnout is especially common among young voters. Would you be more likely to vote if voting were no longer voluntary? Why/why not? What about if you would be fined or even jailed for not voting? Why/why not? Should all eligible voters vote?