Voters and Voter Behavior Chapter 6
History of Voting Rights The Framers purposefully left the power of voting to the States Suffrage and Franchise – right to vote Electorate – people entitled to vote Today the electorate consists of over 200 million people
In the Past... States have limited voting rights in the following ways: – –Charging poll taxes – –Requiring literacy tests – –Passing political socialization laws – –Implementing the grandfather clause
Extending Suffrage 5 stages to where we are today s – property, religious, and tax qualifications were eliminated – 15 th Amendment – 19 th Amendment (women’s suffrage) s – Voting Rights Act 1965 – focused on all unequal suffrage in US 23 rd Amendment – District of Columbia (3 electoral) 24 th Amendment - poll tax ended – 26 th Amendment
Do you have to be a US citizen to vote? Nope! Some states used to allow immigrants to vote before they were citizens to draw people to the state. All states require it now, but its not in the constitution
Georgia Voter Registration Requirements YOU MUST Be a citizen of the United States Be a legal resident of Georgia and of the county in which you want to vote Be 18 years old within six months after the day of registration, and be 18 years old by election day Not be serving a sentence for having been convicted of a felony Not have been judicially determined to be mentally incompetent, unless the disability has been removed
Universal Requirements 3 requirements of States 1. Citizenship –Most states require you be a citizen of the US 2. Residency –Must be a legal resident of a State –Each state determines their own minimum requirements 3. Age –Minimum is 18 years old
Cont. Registration Literacy Poll tax Mentally Incompetent Felony Offenders
Nonvoters Voter turnout decreases during –off-year/midterm elections (the years in which we do not vote for the presidency) Elections at all levels – most do not vote.
Why People Do Not Vote Voting is inconvenient Political Efficacy- Don’t believe their vote will make a difference Distrust politics or politicians
Characteristics of typical voters Educated Higher-levels of income Occupational status Strong sense of party identification
Voters and Voter Behavior Voter Behavior is studied in several ways: The results of elections –Results of confidential voting The field of survey research –Conducting polls across specific cross sections of the population Studies of political socialization –The process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions
Psychological Factors Party Identification –Loyalty is the single most significant factor of how a person would vote Candidates and the Issues –Short-term factors that can influence a voter