Voters &Voter Behavior

Chapter 6

The Right to VoteSection 1

History of Voting Rights Suffrage- the right to vote

› Framers of the Constitution purposely left the power to set suffrage qualifications to each State.

› Amendment X- Powers reserved to the States

Expansion of the Electorate Electorate- the potential voting

population; those able to vote› Some 210 million Americans are qualified

to vote› American citizen, 18 years of age

The long road toward American suffrage has been marked by two major trends…1. Gradual elimination of restrictions on

voting rights2. Transfer of power from State

Governments to the Federal Government

Extending SuffrageFive factors that voting restrictions have fallen under in American history:1. Religious belief2. Property ownership3. Tax payment4. Race5. SexWe’ll see these continue to effect American votes today

Five Stages of Suffrage

1. Religious qualifications quickly disappeared by 1800.› No State has had a religious test since

1810 States began to eliminate property

ownership and tax payment requirements› By 1830-40s, nearly all white-American

adult males could vote in every State

Five Stages of Suffrage2. Following the Civil War, Federal

government amends the U.S. Constitution to hold the 15th Amendment› Ratified in 1870, protected any citizen from

being denied the right to vote because of race.

Five Stages of Suffrage3. Early 20th century- Voting rights for all

sexes› 19th Amendment prohibited the denial of

the right to vote because of sex› Ratified in 1920› Executive Power- enforced by the central

government

Five Stages of Suffrage4. 1960s- Ensuring the right to vote to

African Americans in ALL States› Passage of federal legislation and court

decisions 23rd Amendment (1961) added the voters of

Washington D.C. 24th Amendment (1964) eliminated the poll

tax Voting Rights Act of 1965- civil rights act that

helped solidify racial equality in the voting booths

Five Stages of Suffrage Most recent expansions in electorate

suffrage comes with the adoption of › 26th Amendment- No State can set a

minimum age for voting at more than 18 years of age

› Ratified 1971

Voter QualificationsChapter 6 Section 2

Universal RequirementsEvery State requires that any person who wants to vote must:1. Have citizenship2. Have residence3. Be of age

States have found ways to bypass or bend the rules of the first 2 requirements.

Citizenship Aliens- foreign born residents who have

not become citizens› Generally denied the right to vote› HOWEVER, it is not expressed in the

Constitution Historically, western States allowed aliens

to vote (to attract settlers) 1926- Arkansas is the last State to

illegalize voting rights to aliens in federal elections.

Residence One must be a legal resident of the State

he/she wishes to cast their ballot1. To keep a political machine (interest group)

from importing out-of-staters to vote in local & State elections

2. To allow new voters some time to become familiar with the candidates/issues of their State

Voting Rights Act (1970)- Congress banned any requirement of longer than 30 days for voting in presidential elections

Residence Dunn v. Blumstein- 1972, a Supreme

Court case that found Tennessee’s requirements were unconstitutional› 90 day residency in country› 1 year residency in State

Transients- persons living in a State for only a short time› Out-of-State salesman, armed service

member, or college students may find it difficult to vote while travelling

Montana Residency 30-day residency requirement

› Must live in-State for thirty days› Live in a specific county

30-day registration requirement› Registration deadline is 30 days before

the upcoming election

Age 26th Amendment (1971)- declared that no

State may set a minimum age for voting in ANY election at more than 18 years of age

Before the 26th Amendment, the generally accepted voting age was 21 and up› Only four States had a set voting age of lower

than 21 before 1970. Georgia, Kentucky, Alaska, and Hawaii

Vietnam War: “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote”

Montana Age Requirement Montana was the 8th state to ratify the

26th Amendment › March 29, 1971› Congress proposed the Amendment on

March 23, 1971 Voting turnout in Montana is usually

always higher than the national average

General Election(Year)

Montana Voting turnout (%)

National Voter Turnout (%)

2004 71.4 55.3

2008 74.5 56.8

Registration A procedure of voter identification

intended to prevent fraudulent voting.› Every state, except North Dakota, requires

voter registration› N.D. was one of the first States to adopt voter

registration, but abolished it in 1951because of its small precincts

Dead People Voting Type of electoral fraud that occurs when the

name of a deceased person remains on a state’s official list of registered voters and a living person fraudulently casts a ballot in that name.

1982- Gubernatorial election in Illinois estimated that as many as 1 in 10 ballots cast during the election were fraudulent, including votes by the dead.› Same can be said in the 1960 election

Registration Purging- State law directs local election

officials to review the lists of registered voters and to remove those names no longer eligible› Usually happens every 2 to 4 years

Poll Books- Lists of all the registered voters in each precinct› The “Death Master Files”

Literacy A person’s ability to read or write.

› A device used to keep African Americans from voting in parts of the South Used to keep Native Americans from voting

in the West and Southwest

Tax Payment Poll Tax- the payment of a special tax, as

a condition for voting 1889- Florida is the first of 11 Southern

States to initiate these poll taxes› Used to discourage African Americans from

voting› 1966- the poll tax was still used in 4 southern

states 24th Amendment (1964)- outlawed the poll

tax, or any other tax in federal elections

Suffrage and Civil RightsSection 3

Key Terms Gerrymandering- the practice of

drawing electoral district lines in order to limit the voting strength of a particular party or group.› District lines are the boundaries of the

geographic area from which a candidate is elected to a public office

Congressional Lines in the U.S.

Montana Legislative Districts(2007)

Red=Senate DistrictsBlue= House Districts

Key Terms Injunction- a court order that either

forces or limits the performance of some act by a private individual or by a public official.

Voter BehaviorSection 4

Democrat Convention 2008

Republican Convention 2008

Public Opinion

This is an area of study that has been researched and investigated more thoroughly than just about any other in Political Science.

Here are just some things you should know...

The Nonvoter The word idiot comes from the Greek

root word idiotes, meaning those citizens who do not vote.

Tens of millions of Americans, for one reason or another, do not vote.

The Size of the Problem General Presidential Election (2000)

› Votes cast: 51.2% of the voting populous General Presidential Election (2008)

› Votes cast: 56.8% of voting populous Off-year elections- The congressional elections held in the even-numbered yearsbetween presidential elections

Voter Turnout, 1960-2010*

YearVoting-agepopulation

Voterregistration Voter turnout

Turnout of voting-age population (percent)

2010** 235,809,266 NA 90,682,968 37.8%

2008* 231,229,580 NA 132,618,580* 56.8

2006 220,600,000 135,889,600 80,588,000 37.1

2004 221,256,931 174,800,000 122,294,978 55.3

2002 215,473,000 150,990,598 79,830,119 37.0

2000 205,815,000 156,421,311 105,586,274 51.3

1998 200,929,000 141,850,558 73,117,022 36.4

1996 196,511,000 146,211,960 96,456,345 49.1

1994 193,650,000 130,292,822 75,105,860 38.8

1992 189,529,000 133,821,178 104,405,155 55.1

1990 185,812,000 121,105,630 67,859,189 36.5

1988 182,778,000 126,379,628 91,594,693 50.1

1986 178,566,000 118,399,984 64,991,128 36.4

1984 174,466,000 124,150,614 92,652,680 53.1

1982 169,938,000 110,671,225 67,615,576 39.8

1980 164,597,000 113,043,734 86,515,221 52.6

1978 158,373,000 103,291,265 58,917,938 37.2

1976 152,309,190 105,037,986 81,555,789 53.6

1974 146,336,000 96,199,0201 55,943,834 38.2

1972 140,776,000 97,328,541 77,718,554 55.2

1970 124,498,000 82,496,7472 58,014,338 46.6

1968 120,328,186 81,658,180 73,211,875 60.8

1966 116,132,000 76,288,2833 56,188,046 48.4

1964 114,090,000 73,715,818 70,644,592 61.9

1962 112,423,000 65,393,7514 53,141,227 47.3

1960 109,159,000 64,833,0965 68,838,204 63.1

Why People Do Not Vote The time that it takes to vote at the

polls should NOT be a significant reason for so many nonvoters.› “Cannot-Voters”› Actual Nonvoters› Inconvenient Polling

“Cannot-Voters”

1. 10 million of the 100 million potential voters who did not vote in the 2000 election are resident aliens.

2. 5-6 million voters were said to be physically unable to get to the polls.

3. 2-3 million voters are said to be travelling during the general elections

4. Nearly half-million voters are in mental health care facilities or under some kind of legal restraint

5. 2 million potential voters are in jails and prisons

Actual Nonvoters Even factoring in the “cannot-voters,”

there is still an 80 million voter gap in the U.S.

Many people simple choose not to vote› Many are convinced that their vote doesn’t

make a difference› Some are content with the political world› Others share a distrust toward politics

Political Efficacy- One’s own influence or effectiveness on politics

Inconvenient Polling Cumbersome election procedures

› Registration requirements› Long ballots› Lines at voting polls

“Time-zone fallout” problem› Polls in States in the Eastern/Central time

zones close before Mountain/Pacific time zones

› Media effect It usually comes down to lack of interest

I Recommend Classifying Yourself As A “Voter”

Voters and Voting Behavior Information on voting behavior comes

from 3 main sources”1. Results of Particular Elections

› A careful study of the returns by areas populated by a single interest group

2. Field of Survey Research› Polling of scientifically determined cross

sections of the population

3. Studies of Political Socialization› The process by which people gain their

political attitudes and opinions

Factors That Influence Voters

There are two basic means of studying voter behavior

1. Sociological factors› Voter’s personal characteristics-age, race,

income, occupation, education, religion, etc.› Voter’s group affiliation-family, co-workers,

friends, etc.

2. Psychological factors› Voter’s perceptions of politics

The People’s Choice Written by Paul Lazarsfeld “Social Characteristics = Political Preference Activation~4 Step Process

1. Interest-make people aware2. Exposure-people begin to learn about the

campaign3. Selective Attention-filtering information

Funnel of Causality

4. Crystallization-lock in their vote choice Reinforcement~ Used to appeal to your

partisans

Funnel of Causality

Sociological Factors Income/Occupation

› Voters with higher incomes tend to be Republicans

› Voters with lower incomes tend to be Democrats

Sociological Factors Education

› Statistics show a strong correlation of higher educated voters backing a Republican candidate

› A college graduates vote for Republican in higher % than do high school graduates

› High school graduates vote Republican in higher % than do voters with a grade school education

Sociological Factors Gender Gap- a measureable difference

between the partisan choices of men and women.› First appeared in the election of 1980

(Reagan vs. Carter)› Women generally tend to favor Democrats

by a margin of 5-10%› Similarly, men favor Republicans

Men and women are more likely to vote differently on specific issues:› Abortion, health-care, social welfare, and

military involvement

Sociological Factors Age- traditionally, younger voters tend

to be Democrats Different generations will have different

political values

Sociological Factors Religious

› Catholics (Irish Immigrants) = Democrats› North Protestants (English) = Republicans

Ethnic Background› Nonwhites = Democrats

These ethnic variables conflict with religious values much of the time

Sociological Factors Geography = sectionalism Post Civil Way

› Solid South belonged to the Democrats› This is a thing of the past; the GOP now

controls much of the Southern U.S. Large cities/urban communities draw Democrats Suburban America = Republicans

Family & Friends “Enduring Attachment”

› The idea that partisanship strengthens over time because of outside influences.

Party Affiliation› Social identification› Political Parties different constituent groups

social categories identify self conception

“Psychological Condition” Party Identification- the loyalty of people

to a particular political party› Partisanship strengthens over time› Single most significant predictor for populous’

voting outcome Straight-ticket voting: the practice of

voting for candidates of only one party in an election

Psychological Factors Split-ticket voting

› Voting is an inadequate measure of self-conception

› Party identification is by no means the sole determinant of vote preference

Rise of the Independents› Those people who have no party affiliation

The Prisoner Dilemma

Confess Quiet

Confess 20/20 10/25

Quiet 25/10 2/2

Prisoner 2

Prisoner 1

The True Electorates