Monday, November 7 Today: Voters and Voter Behavior – Issue – Property Ownership and Voting – Lecture Notes on History of Voting Rights Thursday  *Quiz on 27 Amendments* Friday  Current Events

Voters and Voter Behavior Chapter 6

The Constitution and the Right To Vote Section 1

History of Voting Rights Suffrage = Franchise = the right to vote Today’s Electorate (potential voting age population) is approx. 231,000,000.

Tuesday, November 9 Today: – Lecture Notes: History of Voting and Voter Qualifications – Issue of the Day: Should Voting Be Mandatory? Wednesday: Veteran Speaker TEST on Voter and Voter Behavior: Next Wednesday No Amendment Test/ No Current Events

5 Stages of Voting History 1. Individual states begin to end restrictions based on religious affiliation, property ownership, and tax payments. -By 1850, all white adult males can vote , 15 th Amendment: right to vote cannot be denied based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

, 19 th Amendment: RTV cannot be denied based on sex. *Wyoming since A. Voting Rights Act of 1965: provided enforcement to 15 th Amendment. Dept. of Justice oversees voting changes. B. 1961, 23 rd Amendment: includes voters in D.C. in presidential electorate C. 1964, 24 th Amendment: eliminates poll tax

, 26 th Amendment: 18 years or older can vote

Power to Set Voting Qualifications States have the right to set voter qualifications With the only restrictions being: 15 th, 19 th, 23 rd, 24 th, 26 th Amendments* *Voting Rights Act (preclearance) *Hill v. Stone  suffrage cannot be denied based on taxable property owned. (violates 14 th amendment)

Voter Qualifications Among States Section 2

State Qualifications for Voting 1.Citizenship – Aliens generally denied right to vote (a few states allow non-citizens to vote in local elections) – Nothing in Constitution states that aliens cannot vote

State Qualifications for Voting Residence – 2 Reasons states adopt residence requirements: 1. stop political machines from bribing outsiders to affect local elections 2. every voter should have time to become familiar with candidates and issues in an election Voting Rights Act Amendments  no more than 30 days for presidential elections *Most states require around 30 days for all elections

State Qualifications for Voting Most states prohibit transients from voting: – Traveling salespeople, member of armed services, college students – (some states allow college students)

State Qualifications for voting Age – 26 th Amendment sets 18 minimum age for voting – In most states, 17 year-olds can cast ballots in primary elections if their 18 th birthday falls before the general election

Thursday, November 11 Should 16 year olds vote?  Voter Qualifications, Elections Test: Thursday Next Week

Other Qualifications Registration – a procedure of voter identification – intended to prevent fraudulent voting – Identifies party preferences and, hence, their ability to take part in closed primaries.

Making Voting Easier Same-day registration – register and vote in the same day – N. Dakota – Requires no voter registrations – Wisconsin  requires no registration if you live in rural areas National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) 1995 Ohio (and some states)  No Excuse Absentee Voting Some States  have early voting, but no absentee ballots. You can personally vote in places before election day Access for disabled

Who May Not Vote: – Those in mental institutions, convicted of serious crimes, – Some states do not allow those dishonorably discharged from the armed forces. – Some states do not allow polygamists or the homeless to vote

Elections in Brief Ballot  device which a voter registers a choice in an election. Primary Elections: a member of a specific political party is selected from a group of other members to run in an election

Elections in Brief Closed Primaries  limited to registered party members who have declared their party affiliation. – Serves to encourage party unity – Prevent members of another party from voting for a candidate they don’t support in order to disrupt election results

Elections in Brief Open Primaries  no party affiliation required to vote in primaries. – You select a party’s ballot, then select party candidate, regardless of what party you align with. Ohio  you decide your party by voting in that party’s primary.

Elections in Brief Blanket Primary  a primary in which a voter can choose from among candidates of both parties in a single election. Non-Partisan Election  where elections do not indicate party labels on names *(R) or (D) Run-Off Elections  Top two vote-getters in primaries in a second election. Regular primaries take on a plurality. Non-partisan primary in Louisiana

Voting in Ohio Secretary of State oversees elections – 2 republicans and 2 democrats on every county board of elections in Ohio – Appointed by the SoS based on what local political parties desire. *Other states elect board of electors…some go by municipalities Local Boards monitor voter registrations, campaign financing, and petition validity.

Voting in Ohio Voting Done By DRE  Direct Recording Electronic – touch screen or computer system VVPAT – Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail  Receipt given to you after you vote to be sure the vote is cast. – Used to back up DRE recorded information in case of electronic malfunction or voter fraud.

Nonvoting Questions to Consider: What is the scope of the nonvoter problem? For what reasons do people not vote?

Nonvoting Voter Turnout  number of people voting as a percentage of those who are registered. – 1960 Nixon-Kennedy 63% – 2008 McCain-Obama 56.8% Voting Age Population in 2008 = 231,229,580 Voter Turnout in 2008 = 132,618,580 – Off year elections have less turnout  2002  37% 2006  37.1%

Voter Turnout

Reasons for not voting 2008 Survey

Reasons for Not Voting The winners will make no difference Current satisfaction with political world Lack of political efficacy Apathy Time-Zone Fallout

Factors Affecting Turnout Those Most Likely To Vote: – have higher levels of income – higher education – well integrated into community life – long-time residents – Strong party affiliations – The elderly

Factors Affecting Turnout Those Most Likely Not to Vote: – Younger than age 35 – Unmarried – Unskilled – Living in Southern States – Living in Rural Areas

Voter Behavior – why do voters choose to vote the way they do? How is Voter Behavior Studied? – Election results – survey research – polling of scientifically determined cross-sections of the population. – Studies in political socialization - process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions.

Psychological Factors