1. POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

2. Gladiatorial Activities
Holding public and party office
Being a candidate for office
Soliciting political funds
Attending a caucus or strategy meeting
Becoming an active political party member
Contributing time in a political campaign

3. Transitional Activities
Attending a political meeting or rally
Making a monetary contribution to a party or candidate
Contacting a public official or a political leader

4. Spectator Activities Political button, bumper sticker
Attempting to talk another into voting a certain way
Initiating a political discussion
Voting
Exposing oneself to political stimuli (reading/watching media)
Apathetics

5. Why don’t Americans vote?
15th Amendment interpreted to mean that someone could not be denied the right to vote based on race
Literacy Test
White Primaries (ended 1944)
Grandfather clause: could vote if ancestors before 1867 could vote (unconstitutional 1915)
Poll tax
Harassment of minorities

6. Why don’t Americans vote?
Women could not vote until 19th Amendment (1920)
Initially voted like men and not as frequently
18 year old could not vote until 26th Amendment (1971)
Low (42%) turnout in 1972 elections
Most voted for Nixon
College graduates voted for McGovern
Today, 20-30% of year olds vote

7. Why don’t Americans vote?
In late 1800s:
Long residency requirements
Register many months before election

8. Why don’t Americans vote?
People do not register
Do not like candidate
Not interested in politics
Politics is distasteful
Voting is not compulsory
No difference between candidates
Vote does not matter
People are happy with status quo
Parties have become “distant, national bureaucracies”
Other ways to participate…

9. Methods to make voting easier and fairer
End laws against minorities
19th and 26th amendments
Australian Ballot: secret ballot
Voting Rights Act (1965): ended literacy tests and appointed federal examiners
30 day residency maximum
Motor-Voter Law (1993):
Has not changed party balance
Has increased independent registration
Voting on Sunday (done in Europe not here)

10. Trends Nonvoters more likely to be poor, black or Hispanic
Blacks vote and participate in other ways more than Hispanics
Percentage of voters has declined but participating in other political activities has increased
More elections more often than in Europe so vote seems more important in Europe
White collar vote is overrepresented
Blacks vote less than whites, but blacks vote more than whites of same socioeconomic status (income and schooling)

11. Trends
College graduates are more likely to vote than those with less education, but proportion of college graduates not voting has increased to 18% in 1980)
People cynical about leaders are just as likely to vote as those not cynical
Turnout is declining for all economic classes
More voters see more important differences between the parties today than in the1960s
Voters and nonvoters differ very little in policy preferences or party affiliation
Levels of turnout do not significantly impact election results