1. Voting
Copy all of the notes that are in bold and any slides that state “copy slide” into your “notes” section of your notebook.

2. Expanding Voting Rights
In colonial times and during the early years of our country, men had to prove that they owned property land in order to be able to vote.
Where did this idea come from? English laws and customs

3. Suffrage Suffrage – The Right To Vote
Mid 1800’s – Universal white adult male suffrage
Post Civil War: 1870
15th Amendment: All adult men were guaranteed the right to vote
Including African Americans

4. Suffrage cont.
Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote in 1869
Post World War I:
19th Amendment: 1920
Women were guaranteed the right to vote

5. Suffrage cont.
Indian Citizenship Act – American Indians were given U.S. citizenship and the right to vote
23rd Amendment – Gave residents of the District of Columbia the right to vote
26th Amendment – 1971 – Influenced by the Vietnam war, the voting age changed from 21 to 18

6. African American Suffrage (do NOT copy)
15th Amendment (1870) states that no state can deprive any citizen the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
Southern states set up a number of roadblocks to limit and discourage African Americans from voting

7. African American Suffrage cont.
Grandfather Clause – only voters whose grandfathers had voted were eligible to vote without paying a tax or taking a literacy test
Literacy Test – required to pass to qualify to vote
Poll Tax – pay some money in order to vote
Gerrymandering - drawing electoral district lines
If the laws didn’t work at discouraging African Americans to vote, local people would use fear, harassment, and violence

8. Civil Rights Movement
African Americans & Others begin to fight for rights in 1950’s and 60’s

9. Voting Rights Act of 1965 - serves to protect and enforce the 15th Amendment (Do NOT Copy))
Timeline: (do not copy timeline)
March 7, Bloody Sunday - About 600 non-violent voting rights marchers heading to Montgomery, Alabama's state capital, are attacked by state troopers in Selma.
March 15, President Lyndon Johnson, in a speech before a joint session of Congress says: "There is no constitutional issue here. The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong, deadly wrong, to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country."
August 6, Is signed into law by President Johnson to protect and enforce the 15th Amendment.

10. Sates can no longer discriminate
Copy Slide Voting Rights Act of 1965: Protect the 15th Amend. Ensured that everyone voted:
Sates can no longer discriminate
Federal (National) Inspectors ensure that all people are voting
Outlawed literacy test
24th Amendment: ends poll tax

12. You can vote if… You are a U.S. citizen
You meet your state's residency requirements.
You are 18 year old.
YOU CAN NOT VOTE IF: You are not permitted due to a court order (some felons).

13. Register to Vote!

14. Voting Procedures Polling place – where you vote
Precinct – a voting district. Each town/city is divided into precincts containing from 200 to 1,000 voters
Most states have touch screen voting machines.

15. What are we voting for? National Elections:
House of Representatives: 2 year terms
Senators: 6 year terms
We select all our representatives and 1/3 of our senators in congress every two years
We elect a President every 4 years
What else do we vote on? Local/State Policies & Offices

16. Nevada (do not copy) Senators:
Dean Heller -Republican, Next Election in 2018!
Catherine Cortez Masto -Democrat, Next Election in 2022
Representatives- Up for re-election in 2018!
Dina Titus -Democrat
Mark Amodei -Republican
Jacky Rosen -Democrat
Ruben Kihuen -Democrat

17. Nevada Congressional Districts

18. Gerrymandering

19. Voting for who will be President?
First, we nominate a candidate.
Candidates begin campaigning (advertising, touring, debating) about a year before election day
Election laws vary state to state. Candidates reach the ballot through one of these methods:
Caucus - local members of a political party register their preference among candidates running for office or select delegates to attend a convention
Nominating convention – official public meeting of a party to choose candidates
Primary election – party members choose who to run in the general election
Petition – specified number of voters sign the petition to have a candidate placed on a ballot

20. Nominating a Pres/VP Canidate
National Conventions
(Republican Convention & Democrat Convention)
Appointed or elected delegates representing all 50 states and the US territories attend the convention
The delegates select a “ticket”
Ticket – candidates for President and Vice President

21. How do we elect our President
Election Day: the Tuesday after the first Monday in November
Electoral College: The Electoral College consists of 538 electors. A majority of 270 electoral votes is required to elect the President.
Your state's entitled allotment of electors equals the number of members in its Congressional delegation: one for each member in the House of Representatives plus two for your Senators.

22. Electing a President Winner Takes All!
The candidate who wins the greatest number of popular votes in any state usually receives all of those state’s electoral votes
If a canidate won the 11 largest states (population), he/she would obtain the 270 electoral votes to win the presidency
Why do we have this system?
Do you think it is a good system? Why or why not?