Chapter 6

Voters & Voter Behavior

Suffrage, or Franchise, means the right to vote. The

qualifications to vote are left up to each state, but there are some restrictions, such as:

states cannot deny you the right to vote based on

(1) religious beliefs, (2) race or sex, states cannot require

(3) states cannot require you to pay a tax in order to vote,

(4)states cannot deprive any person who is 18 yrs old the right to vote because of age.

Qualifications to VoteYou must be a U.S. citizen.You must be a resident of the state in which you vote.You must be 18 years old.You must be registered.You cannot be convicted of a felony.

In general, more people vote in primary or special elections than any other. Those people who vote in

one election, but not another are called

“nonvoting voters”.

As a general rule, the farther down the ballot an

office is, the fewer the number of votes that will

be cast for it. This is called “ballot fatigue”

Factors that influence voting behavior are broken down into Sociological and

Psychological factors.

Sociological Factors

Income, Occupation (Voters with higher incomes tend to vote Republican, those with lower incomes tend to vote Democrat)Education (Higher educated people tend to vote Republican)

Gender, Age (Women generally tend to vote for Democrats, as do younger people.)Religious, Ethnic Background (Protestants prefer the GOP, while Jews & Catholics prefer Democrats. Nonwhites generally support the Democrats.)

Geography – (Southern states are more Democratic)

Family & Other Groups – (Generally family members vote similar ways. Also those you hang-out with tend to influence your habits.)

Psychological FactorsParty Identification – (Loyalty of people to a particular party. *Straight-ticket voting, Split-ticket voting, Independents)

Candidates & Issues

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WHAT does a ballot look WHAT does a ballot look like?like?

Each ballot is different, depending on what you’re voting for, but this is a sample ballot from the 2004 presidential election

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WHEN do I have to register?WHEN do I have to register?

In order to participate in an election, a qualified voter must be properly registered no later than thirty (30) days before the election. Deadline for November 4, 2008 election: October 6,

2008

The election commission office will process any by-mail voter registration form that has been postmarked at least thirty (30) days before the election In other words, get it in the mail by October 6, 2008.

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WHEN do I vote?WHEN do I vote?

Primary elections: February 5, 2008

General elections: November 4, 2008

Absentee ballots: Must be delivered by postal mail and received no later than the close of polls on election day

Early voting: October 15 – October 30, 2008

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WHO am I voting for?WHO am I voting for?

Barack Hussein Obama (Democratic)

Cynthia Ann McKinney (Green Party, Peace and Freedom)

Ralph Nader (Independent, Natural Law Party)

Robert Laurence 'Bob' Barr (Libertarian)

John Sidney McCain (Republican)

Charles O. 'Chuck' Baldwin (U.S. Taxpayers/Constitution Party)

2008 U.S. Presidential Candidates**

** in alphabetical order, announced candidates as of 8/12/08