1. Chapter 8 Political Participation

2. WHO GOVERNS? TO WHAT ENDS? Who votes, who doesn’t?
Why do some people participate in politics at higher rates than others?
TO WHAT ENDS?
How did the Framers of the Constitution think average citizens should participate in America’s representative democracy?
Should today’s college-age citizens participate more in politics?
Replace picture? This picture is on p. 182
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3. Q1
In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia’s death penalty was unconstitutional. However, at that time Americans overwhelmingly favored capital punishment. Which of the following principles does this best illustrate?
A. public opinion polling should be used to make important government decisions?
B. most Americans do not pay much attention to Supreme Court opinions
C. members of the Supreme Court are generally unaware of public opinion polls
D. Public opinion polls are not important in government policymaking
E. sometimes government policies go against what the public wants.
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4. A1
E. Although public opinion polls influence policy-making, sometimes policies that are made go against public opinion. The Supreme Court’s `1972 decision overturning a death penalty law is one example. Two years later, the Court modified its stance on the death penalty
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5. Q2
Which of the following voters will most likely prefer a Republican candidate?
A. A black woman with college degree and high income
B. a middle-class Asian man who belongs to a labor union
C. a southern white male business owner
D. an Hispanic employee of the federal government
E. a white “soccer mom” who lives in the suburbs
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6. A2
C. while many of the voters mentioned have some factors that influence conservative voting, the southern white male business owner has the most. He is white and male. In addition, many business owners prefer to vote Republican, as do Southerners
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7. Q3
A public opinion poll asks whether or not people agree with the following statement: “The federal government should see to it that all people have adequate housing.” Which of the following statements best describes the accuracy of the poll?
A. it will not be accurate because a random sample was not used.
B. it will not be accurate because the statement is loaded.
C. it will not be accurate because of sampling error.
D. it may be accurate depending upon how many people are polled.
E. there is no way to determine the accuracy of the poll
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8. A3
B. the statement is one-sided. When people were asked this question, they agreed. However, when people were given a choice between a federal housing policy and individual responsibility, a slight majority favored the second choice.
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9. Question Why do you think some people chose not to vote in the USA?
What can be done to change this?
Why do you think there was only a 28% turn out rate at St. Francis High School?
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10. A Closer Look at Nonvoting
Voting-age population – citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching the minimum age requirement. (60% of population)
Registered voters – people who are registered to vote. (61.6% but fewer vote about 70% of those registered)
Source of low voter turnout – a relatively low percentage of the voting-age population is registered to vote.
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11. Reasons/solutions
Identify the factors why you think voting is low in the USA?
Discuss solutions to solve the problems
Predict: How would you try to win the votes of the less informed in the USA? Should they vote?

12. Figure 8.1 Voting and Registration
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey,
“Voting and Registration,” June 2008, Figure 6.
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13. After Reconstruction ended in 1876, black voting shrank under the attacks of white supremacists. p. 179
Department of Social History/Smithsonian Institution
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14. http://elections.gmu.edu, accessed May 8, 2009.
Source: Updated from Michael P. McDonald and Samuel L. Popkin, “The Myth of the Vanishing Voter,” American Political Science Review 95 (December 2001):
table 1, 966. Reprinted with permission of Cambridge University Press; Michael P. McDonald, “2008 General Election Turnout Rates,” updated April 26, 2009, at
accessed May 8, 2009.
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15. The Rise of the American Electorate
From State to Federal Control
Literacy test
Poll tax
Grandfather clause
White primary
Voter Turnout
Flip Schulke/CORBIS
After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, blacks and whites voted together in a small Alabama town, p. 179
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16. 15th amendment
1870=“right of citizens of the US to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color”
Supreme court ruled states can’t deny based on race but states could come up with alternative tests to prove people weren’t able to vote

17. States block the vote Literacy test=most former slaves were illiterate
Poll tax=most former slaves were poor
Grandfather clause=people who couldn’t pass the tests above could still vote if ancestors voted before 1967

18. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, blacks and whites voted together in a small Alabama town. p. 179
Flip Schulke/CORBIS
The campaign to win the vote for
women nationwide succeeded with the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment in p. 180
Library of Congress
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19. 1965 voting rights act
Criminal offense for interfering with the right to vote
Got rid of literacy tests, federal examiners who could order the registration of blacks in states were fewer than 50% were registered
Politicians in the South now try to court the African American vote!

20. Clips on get out the vote and voter id laws
Get out the vote clips
Voter ID laws clips
Identify and describe major arguments on both sides
Identify and describe how you feel about the issue
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21. Q1
Which of the following is the best explanation for low voter turnout in the United States?
A. more than half of all Americans are apathetic towards politics
B. the voting process is difficult to understand, and ballots are complicated
C. most potential voters do not identify with a political party
D. the burden of registering falls on individual voters
E. it is difficult for many voters to get enough information about the candidates to vote with confidence
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22. A1
D. the most likely reason for low vtoer turnout is that the burden of registering falls upon individual voters. Although many states have made voting more convenient, the results are mixed. In many countries, the government registers voters automatically
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23. Q2 All of the following were used to keep blacks from voting EXCEPT
A. segregation
B. literacy tests
C. poll taxes
D. grandfather clauses
E. intimidation and threats
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24. A2 A. jim crow laws were used to segregate the races in public places
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25. C. Americans are less informed about politics compared with Europeans
What is the best explanation for why Americans vote at lower rates than people abroad?
A. we have a truly democratic system, and most people are satisfied and see no reason to vote
B. unlike most countries, we have a federal system, which means we elect more officials at more levels of government
C. Americans are less informed about politics compared with Europeans
D. less than 50% of Americans are involved in nonpolitical activities in their communities
E. Americans are not required to vote, but most European countries levy fines on nonvoters
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26. B. Americans go tot eh polls frequently to elect officials at all levels of government under our federal system. This may lead to “voter fatigue”
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27. Figure 8.2 Voter Participation in Presidential Elections, 1860-2008
Replace with jpeg, p. 181
Note: Several southern states did not participate in the 1864 and 1868 elections.
Sources: For 1860–1928: Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970, part 2, 1071; 1932–1944: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1992, 517; 1948–2000: Michael P. McDonald and Samuel L. Popkin, “The Myth of the Vanishing Voter,” American Political Science Review 95 (December 2001): table 1, 966; 2004 and 2008 elections, American National Election Studies (ANES).
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28. 18 year old with right to vote
Voting Rights Act of 1970=26th amendment wasn’t very high though
23rd amendment=gave D.C. the right to vote in presidential elections
Chart page 180

29. Source: Adapted from U. S
Source: Adapted from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, June 2008, Table 400.
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30. Who Participates in Politics?
Forms of Participation
Inactive
Voting specialists
Campaigners
Communalists
Parochial participants
Activists
Participation: Causes and Meaning
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31. Campaigners Vote and like to get involved in campaign politics
Better educated but interested in conflict, passion, and struggle of politics
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32. Communalists
Like campaigners in social background but don’t like social conflict and tension, do activities that are more nonpartisan (community based)
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33. Parochial participants
Do not vote, stay out of election campaigns and civic associations but are willing to contact local officials about specific, often personal, problems
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34. Voting Specialists
People who vote but do little else; tend not to have much schooling or income and usually are older than the average person
Read page 186 does “religion boost” Participation
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35. Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan leads a protest against the war in
Iraq near the Pentagon, p. 184
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Young women volunteers work
rebuilding an area in Katrina-damaged
New Orleans, p. 184
Kayte Deioma/PhotoEdit
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36. Figure 8.3 Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections
Source: Adapted from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, June 2008, Table 400.
Replace with jpeg, p. 185
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37. Source: Professor Martin Wattenberg, University of California-Irvine, using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems.
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38. In San Francisco, voting instructions are printed in English, Spanish, and Chinese, p. 187
Daniel Brody
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39. Participation: Causes and Meanings
Political participation higher among people who have gone to college, employed, white
We elect more public officials than the citizens of any other nation
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40. Chart page 185/Page 186 Identify trends you notice with the charts
What correlations do you notice with race, employment, schooling?
How would this affect Democrats/Republicans?
Answer the 2 questions on Does “Religion” Boost Participation?
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41. Q3 Which of the following citizens is most likely to vote?
A 65 year old African American high school graduate?
A 35 year old white college-educated woman
C. a 70 year old white college professor
D. a 40 year old Hispanic with an associate’s degree
E. an 18 year old African American just starting college
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42. A3
C. voter turnout increases with age and educational level. Turnout rates are highest for whites, followed by blacks and Hispanics. Some political scientists believe this may be related more to socioeconomic class than to race
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43. Q4 What is the impact of religion on political participation?
A. religious people are less likely to vote, because they put their faith in a higher power
B. religious people are more likely to give money to charities, but less likely to vote
C. being active in a religious organization increases the likelihood of charitable volunteer work as well as voting
D. being active in a religious organization increases participation in nonpolitical activities but does not increase the likelihood of voting
E. religion has no measurable impact on the likelihood of voting
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44. A4
C. the majority of religious people participate in several forms of nonpolitical activities, including joining organizations, attending church services, and making charitable and church contributions. Religious people are more likely to vote
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45. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
M E M O R A N D U M To: Senator Henry Gilbert From: Peter Clark, legislative analyst Subject: Voting reform legislation In the 1990s, barely half of the electorate voted for president, and only a third or so cast ballots for congressional elections. In a few recent presidential primaries and statewide special elections, turnout has run 10 percent or below. Studies show that often citizens miss the opportunity to vote because of complications with work or child care. To address this problem, legislators from both parties support celebrating Veterans Day on Election Day, which would create a national holiday for voting. Eligible voters who do not go to the polls would be fined.
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46. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Arguments for: 1. This proposal honors veterans by recognizing their service with the fundamental requirement of representative democracy, rule by the people through voting. 2. A voting holiday ensures that people who cannot take off time from work or other responsibilities to vote have the opportunity to exercise their democratic right. 3. Imposing a fine for nonvoting sends a moral message that voting is a civic duty in a democracy. More citizens will feel morally obliged to vote if all citizens are legally obliged to do so.
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47. WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Arguments against: 1. Just as veterans volunteer their service, so, too, should citizens volunteer to exercise their democratic responsibilities. 2. Voting is a right, but citizens have a civic duty to exercise that right, and the government should not, in effect, exercise that duty on their behalf. Moreover, people can vote by absentee ballot at their convenience. 3. Compulsory voting does not guarantee informed voting. It is both unwise and undemocratic to legally oblige people to vote.
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48. WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Your decision: Vote for bill? Vote against bill?
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