Political Participation: Voting and Non-voting Participation in the United States

Political Participation Do Americans participate in government?  What are the trends?  What explains levels of participation in the U.S.? How do participation levels of Americans compare with citizens of other nations?  What can explain the differences? What do those who participate look like?  Demographic factors and turnout Should Americans participate? Does participation matter?

Political Participation Two Types of Political Participation:  Conventional Participation Voting Letter writing Contact with Representatives Working on Campaigns Campaign Contributions Joining Groups (social capital) Running for Office  Unconventional Participation Boycotts, Sit-ins, Marches, Demonstrations, Violence

Expanding Suffrage Constitutional Amendments: 15 (1870) = Race 19 (1920) = Sex 23 (1961) = Residents of DC can vote for President but not Congress 24 (1964) = Poll tax 26 (1971) = 18 years old, changes from 21

Voting Trends Initially, suffrage changes resulted in increased participation Recently, voter turnout steadily on the decline = the vanishing electorate High of around 60% in Presidential elections -- 50% in midterm -- even lower in local elections

Various Explanations for Limited Participation Why Americans Still Don’t Vote Voter Registration  Not automatic  Requires foresight  Residency requirements Mobile Electorate Voting Percentage of Registered Voters rivals the voter turnout in other countries Motor-Voter Legislation

Various Explanations for Limited Participation There are too many elections in the United States  High information costs Election Day (Tuesday, work day) Voter apathy People believe they gain few personal benefits to themselves from voting

Various Explanations for Limited Participation Political parties are weaker Opportunity costs Generational Change  Civic duty has declined Irrational to vote  Very little chance of affecting the outcome of an election Weather

Demographic Factors and Voter Turnout Graph 2000 Election Exit Polls s/US/P000.html s/US/P000.html

Increasing Voter Turnout How could we increase voter turnout? Should we increase voter turnout?

Three Puzzles About American Turnout  Why is turnout in national elections lower than most other democracies? Institutional factors  Why has turnout in the U.S. declined since 1960?  What caused turnout to go up slightly in 1992? And go back down in 1996? Education levels have been rising Registration has become much easier