O VERVIEW – C HAPTER 6 Voters & Voter Behavior

S UFFRAGE - AKA FRANCHISE The right to vote – always know this definition!!! 15 th Amendment, 1870 – African American men suffrage Smith v. Allwright, 1944 – outlawed white primaries (TX) 19 th Amendment, 1920 – women’s suffrage Civil Rights Acts helped enforce voting rights 1957, 1960, 1964 Voting Rights Act of 1965 – applied 15 th Amend to ALL elections not just federal ones Preclearance – states that had NOT allowed majority of voters suffrage, had to submit any election rules to DoJ 1 st Upheld in 1966, parts overturned in 2012 (impacted 16 states) New laws now being challenged including PA’s

T O V OTE … Citizen of the US No religious qualifications – final elimination by rd Amendment, 1961 – gave Washington DC right to vote in Presidential elections = 3 electoral votes 24 th Amendment, 1964 – eliminated poll taxes 26 th Amendment, 1971 – voting age set at 18 Otherwise, each state controls rules for registering to vote – PA = 30 days prior to election Residency rules – military & sales people at home state Some states allow college students to vote in locale of college

V OTER BEHAVIOR … Vote FOR Candidate A or Vote FOR Candidate B Vote AGAINST Candidate A Vote AGAINST Candidate B Decide to NOT Vote period 2012 Election – voter turnout rate = 58.2% Of the almost 222 million ELIGIBLE voters, only just over 130 million voted – Minnesota – 75.7% best rate; Hawaii – 44.2% worst Rates are worse in off – year elections Ballot fatigue a factor – voters exhaust patience &/or knowledge as they work their way down a ballot Cannot-voters – resident aliens, ill or physically disabled, mental health care facilities, prisons, religious issues Lacking Political efficacy – the sense of influence

F ACTORS THAT INFLUENCE VOTERS … From results of particular elections; survey research; studies of political socialization process how people gain political attitudes & opinions Sociological factors: Income, occupation, education, gender, age, religion, ethnic background, geography, family, “other” groups Psychological factors: Party identification Straight-ticket voting; split-ticket voting; independents Candidates & issues