The Importance of Voting

The Right to Vote History of Suffrage in U.S. (Who could vote at the time and how did suffrage change?) 1789-white, male property owners 1800’s-religious restrictions removed Mid 1800’s- elimination of property ownership & tax payments After Civil War- 15th amendment (race and color removed) 1920- 19th amendment allowed women to vote 1960’s- Vote Rights Act passed to ensure racial equality at the polls 1971- 18 year olds allowed vote 26th amendment

The Right to Vote Power to Set Voting Qualifications Power “reserved” to States (5 Restrictions of set by the Constitution) Anyone allowed to vote for “most numerous” office of state legislature allowed to vote for representatives of Congress States can’t deny a voter because of “race, color, or former servitude Can’t be deprived right to vote because gender Can’t be required to pay a tax Can’t be denied the right to vote as long as eighteen or older

Voter Qualifications Among the States Citizenship-nothing in Constitution denies aliens the right to vote Minnesota is the only state that requires that you can be a citizen for 3 months Confused aliens may register and vote Residence-usually required to live in a state for a certain period of time Stops political machines from recruiting outsiders to affect local elections (“vote now-vote often”) Gives people time to become familiar with local candidates and issues Length of residency requirement-average residence is 30 days, some shorter/ S.C. prohibited transients (armed forces, students, traveling salesman) from gaining legal residence

Voter Qualifications Among the States Age-26th amendment 18 years of age-changed because of Vietnam War 17 year olds can vote in primary if they will be 18 by general election of that year in some states Other Qualifications Registration-process that identifies voters and prevents voter fraud Must give name, address, and length of residency Computers (Electronic Voting Machines-still could produce fraud if no written notification is given) Registration Motor-voter Law (1993) Register by mail Forms are made available at employment, welfare, and social services offices

Voter Qualifications Among the States Literacy requirement Used to determine capacity to cast an informal vote Used to prevent certain groups from voting—whites didn’t have to take a test Voting Rights Act (1970)-S.C. literacy test in which blacks interpret the constitution in Oregon v Mitchell Tax Payment Poll tax-discouraged African Americans from voting 24th amendment outlawed poll tax

Voter Qualifications Among the States Who Can’t Vote? Those in mental hospitals Mentally incompetent Those convicted of serious crimes/felons (this law might change in MD) Dishonorable discharged homeless

Participation Inactive 1/5 th of the population does not participate in any way They do not vote or talk about politics Typically little education, low income and young Voting Specialists These individuals vote but do not participate in any other manner Typically older and have little education Campaigners They vote and get and enjoy working on political campaigns Have more than average education, tend to engage in political controversy, and have a strong identification with a particular political party

Participation Communalists Have more than average education, tend to engage in political controversy, feel strongly connected to the community and engage in community based activities and contact local officials Parochials Do not participate in campaigns but contact officials with problems or issues Activists Consists of 1/9th of the population Are highly educated, have high incomes, and a tendency to be middle aged They participate in all forms of politics

Groups of Participation Conventional Widely accepted modes of action Voting Trying to persuade others Petitioning Money to campaigns Running for office Although voting trends have swung back and forth and recently have been on the decline these other conventional forms are on the rise Unconventional Dramatic activities Protesting Civil disobedience More violent acts Although often controversial forms it often attracts media attention and has been successfully used to influence gov’t policy especially during the civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s (civil disobedience)

Nonvoting Size of Problem 196 million eligible to vote (1996), only 96 million voted in that Presidential election 81 million cast vote in “off year” election for House of representatives/state representatives Even more common in local elections More people vote in general elections than in primaries

Nonvoting Why People Don’t Vote Cannot Vote 6 million are resident aliens Illness/physically impaired Traveling unexpectedly Mental condition Jailed Religious reasons Race Actual Nonvoters-purposely refrain from voting Satisfied with system and don't want to change Distrust of politicians (political efficacy) Squeezed out of process/poor Cumbersome process of registration Time zone fallout (media announces winner on east coast) Lack of interest

Nonvoting Factors Affecting Turnout Income Education Occupation Integration into community Political identification Believe voting is an important act

Voter Behavior Study of Voter Behavior 3 sources that have been studied Election results Survey research Political; socialization Factors that influence Personal characteristics (age, race, income, occupation, education, and religion) Affiliation-family, co-workers, friends (Family 1st influence) Voter’s perception of politics

Voter Behavior Sociological Factors Income/occupation middle to upper class (Rep)/lower income (Dem) Education-close relationship between education and voting (college grads vote more republican than H.S. grads, while H.S. grads vote more Rep than those who don’t finish Age & gender-these groups differ on response to war, gender gap created in 1980’s, younger the voter the more they vote Democratic usually

Voter Behavior Geography After Civil War-south became the solid south and voted Dem. (radical Republicans/Blacks-Republican until FDR In past 30 years South votes more rep. Rep. get more support from Northeast (main & Vermont), as does Midwest (Kansas, Nebraska, an Dakotas) Dem. Hold more of the cities of Northeast & rep. Hold more Dem. Of the suburban vote Religion Protestants vote more Rep., while Catholics vote more Dem. Ethnic interests-until 1930’s African Americans voter rep. in northern cities, after that they tended to vote more Dem. (Hispanics tend to vote more Dem., but Cubans vote more Rep.-Professionals (Conservative) left Cuba

Voter Behavior Psychological factors-voter’s perception of politics Party Identification Identify with one party in every election (straight ticket voting) Split-ticket voting (vote for candidates of more than one party in same election) Independent-no party affiliation Short-term Factors issues and candidates Most voters identify with one party or another Don’t always vote that way One issue may sway the change for that election Issue or candidate