Chapter 7

Democracy and Political Participation  Democratic ideal is “government run by the people”  Difficulty lies with definitions of how much and what kind of participation needed  Direct democracy versus democracy carried out by representatives  Elections necessary for democracy, but do not ensure democracy

Political Participation  All citizen activities that attempt to influence government’s structure, selection of officials, or policies  Conventional participation  Unconventional participation

Unconventional Participation  Can range from protest marches to terrorist activities  “Bloody Sunday” March from Selma, AL, to Montgomery, AL in 1965  1995 bombing of Oklahoma City’s Federal Building by Timothy McVeigh  Terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001

Unconventional Participation

Support for Unconventional Participation  Boston Tea Party in 1773 first of many violent protests  Most Americans not willing to participate in unconventional political activities  Sometimes difficult to define which activities fall under heading of “unconventional political participation”

Figure 7.1 What Americans Think Is Conventional Behavior

The Effectiveness of Unconventional Participation  Unconventional participation not always successful, even when violent  Direct action appeals most to persons who distrust the political system and have a strong sense of political efficacy  Participation also depends on an individual’s group consciousness  Americans about as likely to participate as citizens of other nations

The Effectiveness of Unconventional Participation

Conventional Participation  Practical test for democracy: can citizens influence policies by acting through its institutions?  Two major categories for conventional participation:  Supportive behavior  Influencing behavior

Supportive Behavior  Actions that express allegiance to country and government  Require various levels of effort  Sometimes actions an individual sees as supportive actually suppress democracy

Influencing Behavior  Some types of behavior seek benefits; others have broad policy objectives  Particular benefits - those that benefit self, immediate family, or friends  Very common at local level, especially “contacting behavior;” may require little initiative  More common with those of higher socioeconomic status  Sometimes done quietly  Viewed differently by majoritarian and pluralist theories  Campaign contributions also on this list

Influencing Behavior  Broad Policy Objectives – activities that influence selection of government officials and policies  Also require different levels of initiative  Voting, running for office, holding meetings, working on campaigns, attending hearings, or using the court system

The Twitter Revolution

Influencing Behavior

Conventional Participation in America  Usually only those with a stake in the outcome take initiative to participate in Congressional or administrative hearings  Most common form of political behavior is voting  Rate of voting is voter turnout  U.S. voter turnout low compared to other industrialized democracies

Participating Through Voting  Electoral process heart of democratic government  Rules for suffrage, or franchise, and rules for counting ballots and electoral systems define process  Who can vote  How much each vote counts  How many votes needed to win  No nation has universal suffrage

Expansion of Suffrage  U.S. first to hold mass elections, but suffrage limited by states  Initially only landowners or taxpayers  By 1850s, all working-class males  Suffrage for blacks and women took longer

The Enfranchisement of Blacks  Even with passage of Fifteenth Amendment after Civil War, some states resisted  Poll taxes, literacy tests, “white primary,” and violence all deterrents  Supreme Court rulings supporting black suffrage began with Smith v. Allwright (1944); later Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966)  Voting Rights Act of 1965

Figure 7.2 Voter Registration in the South, 1960, 1980, and 2000

The Enfranchisement of Women  Women could not vote anywhere in world until 1869  First to grant women vote in U.S.: Wyoming Territory in 1869  Equal Rights Party formed in 1884  Women gained national right to vote in 1920 with Nineteenth Amendment

The Fight for Women’s Suffrage…and Against It

Evaluating the Expansion of Suffrage in America  Last major expansion was 26 th Amendment in 1971  Lowered voting age to 18  Though process towards generally universal suffrage slow, U.S. still ahead of many other countries, including other democracies

Voting on Policies  Political power comes with suffrage  Progressivism flourished from 1900 to 1925; proposed several electoral changes:  Direct primary  Recall  Referendum  Initiative  Not clear if these opportunities improve policies made by elected representatives

Figure 7.3 Westward Ho!

Voting for Candidates  Serves democratic government two ways:  Voters can choose candidate they think will best represent their interests  Voting allows citizens to re-elect candidates or vote them out of office  U.S. government has few elected officials compared to state and local governments  U.S. has more frequent and varied elections than any other country in the world – but lower voter turnout than many

The Growth of Electoral Democracy

Explaining Political Participation  Political participation can be:  Conventional or unconventional  Require little or require much initiative  Serve to support government or influence its decisions  People who participate in one way may not participate in others

Patterns of Political Participation Over Time  Generally, Americans’ participation stable over time  Socioeconomic status a good indicator of most types of participation  Income  Education (most important)  Occupation  Age, race, and gender also important

Figure 7.4 Effects of Education on Political Participation

Low Voter Turnout in America  Difficult to explain decline in voter turnout in America  26 th Amendment (younger voters tend not to vote)  Belief that government no longer responsive to citizens  Change in attitude about political parties

Figure 7.5 The Decline of Voter Turnout: An Unsolved Puzzle

U.S. Turnout Versus Turnout in Other Countries  Differences in voting laws and administrative machinery affect voter turnout in the U.S.  Tuesday Election Day not a public holiday  Burdensome registration procedures  Political parties not tied to certain groups  Most elections not particularly competitive  Large number of elections and candidates means difficult for voters to educate selves

Participation and Freedom, Equality, and Order  Participation and freedom key in normative theory  Citizens free to participate when and how they want (or not)  Citizens free to use personal resources to pursue any legal means to influence government decisions

Participation and Freedom, Equality, and Order  Participation and equality requires that each citizen’s ability to influence government be equal to every other citizen  Differences in resources should not matter  Elections serve ideal of equality best  Groups can band together to increase influence

Participation and Freedom, Equality, and Order  Relationship between participation and order complicated  Some types of participation promote order; others, disorder  Political system more threatened by unconventional participation  26 th Amendment effort to bring order to Viet Nam War protests

Participation and Models of Democracy  Elections implement democracy by allowing citizens to choose among candidates and issues  Elections socialize political activity  Elections institutionalize access to political power  Elections bolster the state’s power and authority

Participation and Majoritarianism  Majoritarian theory views participation narrowly  Favors conventional participation, especially voting  Bias towards equality in elections  Some say goes hand in hand with communitarianism  Because majoritarian theory favors formalized, collective decisions, little place for private influence