1. Political participation

2. Beliefs about politics People hold widely differing views about politics – Political efficacy Trust in institutions Belief in your own ability to affect policy Role and duties of citizenship

3. Data on political beliefs General Social Survey, 1972-2006 National Opinion Research Center

24. Agree or disagree: The average person has a great deal of influence on government decisions

35. Gallup evaluation Implications The public is clearly frustrated with the government's performance; thus, the presidential candidates' competition to be viewed as the "candidate of change" makes sense. It is unclear how much a change in leadership by itself will necessarily improve public trust..... But ratings of government institutions are to a large degree influenced by assessments of conditions for the United States both domestically (especially in terms of the economy) and internationally. Historically, these assessments have been slow to recover when at similarly low levels. – Source: Jeffrey M. Jones, “Trust in Government Remains Low,” The Gallup Report, September 18, 2008. Available at: http://www.gallup.com/poll/110458/Trust-Government-Remains-Low.aspx

39. Citizenship in democracy Unlike other forms of government, democracy—if it is to really be democracy— requires active participation from among the citizenry – Cannot simply vote every so often and then forget about it till the next election There may never be another election

40. The state of political participation The most significant form of political participation for the largest group of Americans is voting – Americans don’t vote at a very high level compared to the democracies of the world http://www.idea.int/index.cfm

43. Registration and voting by age (2006)

44. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/ polls/#USP00p1 http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/ polls/#USP00p1

45. However: Several reasons for low turnout exist – There is no holiday for elections – Voting is not required – Actual impact on the outcome is quite limited “You’re more likely to be hit by a bus” – Distrust of government

46. Other forms of participation Support for candidates – Campaigning – Financial support Discussion of candidates and issues Active petitioning of officials – Lobbying

47. American political behavior Data are from the General Social Survey, a large-scale omnibus survey by the University of Michigan, from the years 1972-2006. Many questions were only run one time, generating about 1,000 responses. Some were run multiple times, at about 1,000 responses per year.

48. Political participation Overall participation is rather low However, participation varies a great deal based on: – Age – Race – Education – Socioeconomic class Interestingly, gender is not a very good predictor

71. What actions have been taken to increase participation? Education Registration drives GOTV Attempts to generate greater participation in groups – Labor/management groups – Religious groups – Young – Elderly

72. Benefits of participation Some indication of increased personal happiness, feelings of efficacy System legitimation – Willingness of populace to sacrifice for government they have a stake in