The Right to Vote

Suffrage & Franchise- The right to vote What portion of the population originally had the right to vote in our country? Since that time, the electorate, has continually grown to over 220 million people. The history of American suffrage has been defined by two trends: 1)the gradual elimination of restrictions on the right to vote, and 2)the gradual change in hands of the determining who has suffrage from the States to the Federal govt.

Extending Suffrage The elimination of restrictions on the right to vote has come in 5 distinct stages: 1.The elimination of religious and property restrictions The elimination of race restrictions (15 th Amendment) The elimination of gender restrictions (19 th Amendment) The elimination of systematic denial of suffrage based of race (Voting Rights Act 1965 and 24 th Amendment). 1960’s 5.The admission of those who are 18 or older as voting citizens (26 th Amendment). 1971

Power to Set Suffrage Qualifications The right to set suffrage qualifications is reserved to the states, however, the Constitution sets 5 restrictions on that reserved power. 1.States must allow all voters to vote in all elections th Amendment- “No state can deprive a person the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude th Amendment- “No state can deprive a person the right to vote based on the account of sex.” th Amendment- No state may institute a tax in connection with the election of the Pres, Vp, or Congress th Amendment- “No state can deprive any person who is at least 18 the right to vote based on age.”

Suffrage & Civil Rights Which Amendment extended suffrage to African Americans? 15 th Amendment (1870) Was this Amendment effective? For about 90 years, the Federal Government did little to ensure the constitutionally granted African American right to vote. African Americans were generally and systematically denied suffrage through many mediums.

Suffrage & Civil Rights The most common medium used to prevent African American voting was violence. Tactics such as threats and social pressures also helped limit African Americans from casting their vote. Other “legal” devices were used such as literacy tests and Gerrymandering. The practice of drawing electoral district lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or party.

Suffrage & Civil Rights

Civil Rights Activists, such as Martin Luther King Jr. began to draw attention to the civil rights movement and African American suffrage. Civil Rights Act of Outlawed any discriminatory measure in voter registrations or literacy tests. -Relied on an injunction- the violation of an injunction is punishable by fine and imprisonment. (not effective). -i.e. Selma, Alabama voter registration march. Civil Rights Act of Most effective civil rights legislation to date. 1.Suspended Literacy Tests and similar devices 2.Appointed Federal voting examiners. 3.Gave Federal voting examiners the power to register voters in their appointed district.

Voters and Voting Behavior Most of what we know about voting behavior comes from 3 main sources: 1.The Results of particular elections – B studying the election returns of particular election populated by different groups, we can find out how each group voted in a given election. 2.The field of Survey Research – scientifically polling cross sections of the public to find out certain public opinion on candidates and issues. (Gallup Polls) 3.Studies of Political Socialization – Studying the experiences and relationships that determine how/why people participate in politics the way that they do.

Factors that Influence Voters The two main factors that influence the way that people vote are 1) Sociological and 2) Psychological factors. The Sociological factors that influence voters are their personal characteristics and group affiliations. The Psychological factors that influence voters are personal perceptions of politics (in general), parties, candidates, and issues. These two influence factors are closely related and constantly interact with one another.

Sociological Factors Income/Occupation – T raditionally we can draw these assumptions: High Income = Republican, Low Income = Democrat. White collar = Republican. Blue Collar = Democrat. Education – Trends show that the more education you receive, the more likely you are to be Republican. Gender/Age – Traditionally, women are more likely to be democrats, males are more likely to be republicans (this is known as the gender-gap). Young voters are more likely to be democrats, while older voters are more likely to be republicans. Religion/Ethnicity- Protestants= Republican, Jews & Catholics= democrats. African Americans and Latinos favor Democratic Party candidates.

Sociological Factors (cont) Geography: Family and Other Groups: 9/10 married couples vote in the similar ways. Children most often follow the political attachments of their parents.

Psychological factors Party Identification: the loyalty of people to a particular party, is the single most significant and lasting predictor of how a person will vote. A trend away from party identification in recent years has grown to create more split-ticket voting. Overall, Independents are generally much less concerned with politics. However, recently a new breed of independents have been formed – young, highly educated, and employed voters.