1. The Right to Vote
The Framers of the Constitution purposefully left the power to set suffrage qualifications to each State
When the Constitution went into effect in 1789, the right to vote was restricted to white male property owners.
Only 1 in 15 adult white males could vote in elections
Today, more than 205 million people qualify to vote

2. 5 Stages of Extending Suffrage
Early 1800s – religious qualifications disappeared, followed by property ownership and tax qualifications. By the mid 1800s almost all adult white male could vote.
Following the Civil War, the 15th amendment tried to end voter discrimination due to race.
19th amendment guaranteed the right to vote for women
During the 1960s, Congress took steps to guarantee suffrage for African Americans
26th amendment extended voting rights to 18 year olds

3. The Power to Set Voting Qualifications
5 Restrictions placed on States
Each state must allow eligible voters to vote in all elections within the state
No state can deprive a person the right to vote because of race
No state can deprive a person the right to vote on account of gender
No state can require the payment of a poll tax
No state can deprive a person over the age of 18 the right to vote because of age.

4. Voter Qualifications 3 factors used to determine voter eligibility
Citizenship
Residence
Important to keep political machines from importing enough outsiders to affect the outcome of the election and to ensure that every voter has at least some time in which to become familiar with the candidates and issues in an election.
Age

5. Other Requirements Registration Literacy Tests
It gives officials a list of people who are eligible to vote in elections, and it helps to prevent voter fraud.
Motor Voter Law
Allows citizens to register to vote when they renew their driver’s license
Literacy Tests
Ruled illegal by the Voting Rights Act of 1970
Citizens must pass a literacy test to be able to vote. Used as a barrier to prevent African Americans from voting after the Civil War
“grandfather clause” – because many whites also could not read or write, literacy tests contained a provision that stated a person may vote without passing a literacy test if any male ancestor could vote.

6. Other Requirements (cont.)
Poll Tax
Declared illegal in the 24th amendment
Required a tax be paid prior to participating in an election.

7. The 15th Amendment
“Right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the United States because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
Intended to ensure the right to vote for African Americans
Southerners tried to block the effect of this amendment by using intimidation, literacy tests, poll taxes, gerrymandering, and white primaries

8. Gerrymandering
The practice of drawing electoral district lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or party.
Ruled unconstitutional in Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960)

9. White Primaries
Because political parties are “private associations” they believed they could bar African Americans from voting in primary elections, thus excluding them from an important step in the public election process
Smith v. Allwright (1944) outlawed white primaries because nominations are an integral part of the election process

10. Civil Rights Legislation
Civil Rights Act of 1957
Set up the U.S. Civil Rights Commission to check into claims of voter discrimination, gave the attorney general authority to prevent interference with any person’s right to vote in a federal election
Civil Rights of 1960
Added an additional safeguard by allowing the appointment of federal voting referees when voter discrimination is uncovered

11. Legislation (cont.) Civil Rights Act of 1964 Voting Rights Act of 1965
Broader and more effective than its predecessors.
Outlaws discrimination in several areas, especially job related matters
Forbids the use of any voter registration or literacy requirement in an unfair or discriminatory manner and makes violation a federal offence
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Made the 15th amendment a truly effective part of the Constitution
Applied to all elections held anywhere in the country

12. Voter Behavior
In the 2000 election million Americans were eligible to vote
Only million (51.2%) actually voted for president
Only 99 million (48%) voted for U.S. Representative
In the 1998 off-year election, only 66,033 (33.9%) voted for U.S. Representative

13. Why People Don’t Vote “cannot vote” nonvoters (20 million)
Resident aliens
Ill or physically cannot make it to the polls
Traveling out of country unexpectedly
People in mental health care facilities
In jail or prison
Religious nonvoters
Actual nonvoters (80 million)
People deliberately choose not to vote
Convinced it makes no real difference who wins
Satisfaction
Distrust of politics and politicians
Lack of political efficacy (lack of any sense of their own influence or effectiveness in politics.)

14. Factors Affecting Turnout
Complicated election procedures
Inconvenient registration requirements
Long ballots
Long lines at polling places
Bad weather
Time-zone Fallout
Because polls have closed in the east and central time-zones, a winner may be declared before some people vote in the mountain and pacific zones
Lack of Interest

15. Who Votes? The people most likely to vote:
Display such characteristics as higher levels of income, education, and occupational status.
They are well-integrated into community life, long-time residents, who are active and comfortable in their surroundings
Strong party identification, and believe voting is important
Women are more likely to vote than men

16. Who Doesn’t Vote? People are less likely to vote if:
They are younger than 35, unmarried, and unskilled
They live in the South and in rural areas

17. Sociological Factors
Political Socialization is the process by which people come to believe what they believe about politics
Factors that influence voting behavior
Income, occupation (higher income – Republican)
Education (more education – Republican, however, education make you more liberal)
Gender, Age (women, young people – Democrat)
Religion (Protestants – Republican, Catholics, Jews – Democrat)
Geography (South/Midwest – Republican, Northeast/West – Democrat)
Family (You vote the way your parents voted)

18. Psychological Factors
A strong party identification is the single most significant and lasting predictor of how a person will vote.
Straight-ticket voting – voting for candidates of only one party in an election
Split-ticket voting – voting for candidates of more than one party in the same election
The impression a candidate makes on the voters can have an impact on how they will vote
The role of issues are especially important in presidential elections, people care about the things that effect them most.