History of Suffrage Suffrage – right to vote (Franchise) 1776:  Male  White  Over age 21  Land Owning  Literate  Passed Religious test  Paid Tax 2011:  Male/Female  All Races  Over age 18  No ownership qualifications  No tests, etc.

History of Suffrage 1810: most religious tests, property requirements had been eliminated After Civil War  13 th Amendment outlawed slavery  14 th gave citizenship rights to former slaves  15 th outlawed denying right to vote based on race  NOT enforced Voting Discrimination  Poll Taxes & Literacy tests

History of Suffrage 1920  19 th Prohibited denying right to vote based on gender 1960’s  23 rd Amendment – Residents of DC granted right to vote for President  24 th – outlawed poll taxes 1970’s  26 th – Voting age lowered to 18  Vietnam War

Voter Participation Who can vote?  Citizens of the United States  Legal residents of the state they will vote in  At least 18 years old States have restricted the voting rights of  Mentally incompetent  Convicted of serious crimes  Dishonorably Discharged from Military  Can restrict, as long as it doesn’t contradict Constitution

Voter Participation In November ‘08, only 56.8% of eligible people voted in the Presidential election  Participation is even lower for off-year elections  Off year – Congressional elections held between Presidential elections Idiotes – non-voter in Ancient Greece

Voter Participation Why do people not vote?  Inconvenience, long lines, etc.  Don’t believe their vote will make a difference  Distrust of politics or candidates  Bad weather on voting day  Misunderstanding voter registration requirements  Voter apathy  “Time-Zone Fallout”

Voter Participation People are more likely to vote:  The older the individual gets  The more education the individual earns  The more money the individual makes  In Presidential election years  When the race is very close & highly contested