1. AP Government “Political Participation”

2. Dentist Joke
A Burmese man goes to India to have his toothache treated. The Indian dentist wonders why he came all the way to India. “Don’t you have a dentist in Myanmar (Burma)? “Oh, yes we do,” says his patient. “But in Myanmar, we are not allowed to open our mouths.”

3. Political Participation
How many of you have…
Signed a petition, online or paper
Attended a city council or school board meeting
Given money to a political organization
Attended a meeting regarding a political issue
Distributed political information
Joined a protest or rally
voted

4. Definitions Political participation – Conventional participation –
Actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence of support gov’t and politics
Conventional participation –
Relatively routine political behavior that uses institutional channels and is acceptable to the dominant culture
Unconventional participation
Relatively uncommon political behavior that challenges or defies established institutions and dominant norms
Political participation – influence public policy and leadership in particular
In the US most people think of political participation in terms of voting
How politically active are Americans in general?
How do they compare with citizens of other countries?
How much and what kind of participation supports the majoritarian and pluralist models of democracy?

5. Conventional Participation
Examples?
Voting
Volunteering for a campaign
Letter writing to gov’t officials
Putting a campaign sign in your yard
Signing petitions
Attend a campaign speech

6. Conventional: Participation through Voting

7. Making the decision
How Americans vote

8. Suffrage (The legal right to vote
15 Amendment- All races can vote 19 Amendment- All women can vote 24 Amendemt- Non-tax payers can vote 26 Amendment year-olds can vote

9. Election Day is: the first Tuesday after the first Monday, in November
Illinois State Qualifications to register to vote: 18, citizen, resident for 30 days, & not be registered in any other state People incarcerated in the state of Illinois are not eligible to vote Polls are open: 6am-7pm Do you see any potential problems yet?
Voter turnout – the percentage of eligible voters who actually vote in a given election
US citizens are as likely to engage in various forms of political participation as other democracies, but are far less likely to vote

10. Why don’t poor people vote?

11. Voter Registration
Some states require that you register as a voter a month before election day. Is that hindering people from voting?
Illinois requires registration 27 days before the next election

12. Motor Voter Act
You register to vote when you get your drivers license. This makes it easier to register aka more people vote
Motor Voter Act: passed in 1993, requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for their driver’s license

13. 33 states have voter ID Laws

14. Voter ID laws by state

15. Is this hindering certain group from voting?

16. Do you think voters should have to show ID to vote?

17. % of Eligible voters who voted in presidential elections
2008: 62.2% 2012: 59% 2016: 60.2%

18. Characteristics of Voters
How likely are you to vote (not which Party, but just to vote at all!)
More Educated
Most important factor, but connected to other traits
Higher Income
Union Membership
Politically Affiliated
Civic Involvement
Older
More likely until mobility becomes a problem
Married
Traits are cumulative- possessing several adds up

19. Voter Turnout

20. Patterns of Participation
What trends about voting rates do you see in this chart?

21. Patterns of Participation
Average voter turnout in presidential years since have plateaued at around 60% of the electorate except for three different times:
1920s adding of women to the electorate
1940s distraction of WWII
1970s adding of 18 year olds

23. Age

24. Income

26. Race

28. Low Voter Turnout Standard socioeconomic model
relationship between socioeconomic status and conventional political involvement: people with higher economic status and more education are more likely to participate than those with lower status
Review: what do the following factors have to do with voter turnout?
Age
Race
Gender
Marital Status
Young voters tend to vote less, but this percentage increases over time
This suggests that voting is habit forming
Rock the Vote – an organization formed in 1990 within the recording industry to encourage young people to vote
The youth vote (18-29 year olds) increased to 49% by 2004
President Obama made direct appeals to young voters to increase youth voter turnout
What party benefits from high youth voter turnout?

29. Americans compared to Europeans
Less likely to vote
More elected officials
More complex registration process
Political parties are weaker
Has less daily involvement in government
Europeans vote for the entire parliament at once, so it means more
Campaigns are shorter, giving less time to become disenfranchised with a candidate
Labor Union membership is much higher in Western Europe than it is in the U.S.
Do you think it would help to move election day to veteran’s day and make it a holiday?

30. Decline of Voting Rates Over Time
If the standard socioeconomic model is true, why have voting rates stayed low while levels of education in the US have increased?
Lack of a gain to belief that gov’t is no longer responsive to citizens
Candidates are too packaged
Campaigns are too long
Change in attitude toward political parties
Negative ads = negative view of gov’t leaders
When did people’s faith in gov’t get shaken?
LACK OF POLITICAL EFFICACY
“INTERNAL” AND/OR “EXTERNAL”
LACK OF MOTIVATION
UNINSPIRING CANDIDATES
NO REALIGNING ISSUES
AKA “CRITICAL ELECTIONS”
“BUSY”

31. Figure 13.2- Why People Don’t Vote
Back

32. US Voter Turnout Compared to Other Countries
Two factors make voting in the US more of a challenge
Differences in voting laws
2 step process for voting
(no public holiday, weekday voting, 1 day voting period)
(registering to vote, then voting itself)
Voter Registration: a system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of the election day
Registration procedures differ by state.
Motor Voter Act: passed in 1993, requires states to permit people to register to vote when they apply for their driver’s license

34. Voters lining up outside a Baghdad polling station during the 2005 Iraqi election. Voter turnout was considered high despite widespread concerns of violence.

37. Ways to Improve Voter Turnout
Make registration and absentee voting easier?
Make Election Day a holiday?

38. 2016 Voting Maps

39. Why do people vote for one candidate over another?

40. Because they agree with the public policy beliefs?

41. Maybe people vote for a candidate for a different reason.

42. Party identification

43. Appearance Public speaking Personality Integrity and trust
Personal Image
Appearance Public speaking Personality Integrity and trust

45. Policy Voting Policy Voting
Basing your vote choice on issue preferences and where the candidates stand on policy issues
Policy voting may occur if :
Voters know where they and the candidates stand on issues and see differences between candidates
Unlikely to occur because:
Candidates can be ambiguous on the issues.
Media tend to focus on the “horse race” not issues.
Today candidates are forced to take a clear stand in the party primaries increasing chances for policy voting.

46. Understanding Elections and Voting Behavior
Candidates who vow to continue popular policies are more likely to win elections. Retrospective voting: voters cast a vote based on what a candidate has done for them lately. Those who feel worse-likely to vote against incumbents. Bad economies make politicians nervous.

47. Mandate Theory of Elections
The winning candidate has permission from the people to carry out his or her platform, if a majority of the people vote for him or her. Make laws based on ideas expressed in the campaign

48. Unconventional Participation

49. Unconventional Participation
Examples?
Massive public protests against existing laws (Selma March)
Boston Tea Party
Boycotts and strikes
Terrorism
Occupying gov’t buildings (Alcatraz, Wounded Knee, Bureau of Indian Affairs)
Burning items such as draft cards, bras, US flags
Does it work?

50. hhhhhhhhhhh
For this to be true, people must participate in politics, whether it be through conventional or unconventional ways

51. Initiatives for Influencing Politics
Low level initiatives for influencing politics
Voting how an we move this to high level?
Wearing a candidate’s shirt or displaying a bumper sticker
Watching debates or conventions on TV
Sign a petition
High level initiatives for influencing politics
Running for office
Work on a candidate’s campaign
Calling and writing letters to Congress or other elected officials
Attend gov’t meetings or hearings
Why is Congress so powerful, why is letter writing so effective?
The closer you are to the people (HoR and then the Senate), the more likely you are to be heard by your representative. Example- Mark Kirk (R) in Illinois (Democratic State)

52. Redistricting & Gerrymandering

53. This is called REDISTRICTING. US CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
When the Census is held every 10 years, every Legislative District in the United States is redrawn to reflect population changes.
This is called REDISTRICTING.
US CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

54. The PARTY in control of each state legislature controls redistricting.
If they use this power to give themselves an electoral advantage, this is called GERRYMANDERING.

55. Illinois and Chicago Congressional Districts
GERRYMANDERING leads to oddly-shaped campaign districts, as ruling parties divide opposition voters to make them less powerful.
Illinois and Chicago Congressional Districts

56. Gerrymandering Gerrymandering Article
Back

61. Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District

62. Gerrymandering or Ink blot?
inkblot-quiz

63. The Last Battle: The Electoral College
Electoral college actually elects the president—founders wanted him chosen by the elite of the country States (political parties) choose the electors Winner-Take-All system gives bigger emphasis to more populated states

64. How the Electoral College works
Each state has as many votes as it does Representatives and Senators.
Winner of popular vote typically gets all the Electoral College votes for that state
Electors meet in December, votes are reported by the vice president in January
If no candidate gets a majority (270 votes), the House of Representatives votes for president, with each state casting one vote.

65. A Tale of Three Elections

66. http://www. realclearpolitics
What is the Alternative Vote? Problems with the Alternate Vote

67. Elections and the Scope of Government
Federal Gov’t does more now because…
Elections generally support government policies and power.
Voters feel they are sending a message to government to accomplish something
Thus, the government expands to fill the needs of the voters.

68. Summary
Voters make two basic decisions at election time: 1-Whether to vote 2-Who to vote for Party identification, candidate evaluations, and policy positions drive vote choice. How important are demographics ? Voter Demographics = Stereotyping? Does this influence campaigns? Policies? Elections are fundamental to a democracy.

69. QUESTIONS
1-IS VOTER PARTICIPATION LOWER IN THE USA THAN IN EUROPEAN CONTRIES? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
2-WHAT HAVE BEEN THE POLICY CONSEQUENCES OF A BROADER ELECTORATE.
3-WHAT COULD BE DONE TO INCREASE VOTER TURNOUT?
4-WHAT SORTS OF PEOPLE ARE OVERREPRESENTED ANOUNG THOSE WHO PARTICIPATE A GREAT DEAL? DOE THIS BIAS THE POLICIES THE GOVERNMENT WILL ADOPT? IF SO, WHICH ONES?