Chapter Ten

The Citizen in Government

Electing Leaders

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The Right to Vote

Voting• one of the most important rights held by U.S. citizens• means through which citizens can most directly affect

the actions of government• at the age of 18, all U.S. citizens become eligible to

vote in national, state, and local elections

• voter qualifications• decided by each state

• registering to vote and voting in state elections• registration in most states

• person must be 18• within a certain time period before the next election• by the time of the next election

• constitutional provisions• forbids any state to deny a citizen the right to vote on the basis

of race, color, or sex• 15th Amendment, 19th Amendment, 26th Amendment

• must be followed by all states• Voting Rights Act - 1965

• outlawed discriminatory voting practices• literacy tests

• expanded in 1970, 1975, and 1982• disqualifications – loss of voting rights

• certain people lose the right to vote or are not allowed to vote• prison inmates and people convicted of felonies

• conditionally or permanently denied• mentally incompetent persons

• institutionalized• election-law violators• persons with no established residence

• homeless

Voting in the U.S.

• registration• places a voter's name on the official roll of eligible voters

• most states require voters to register before the day of election• people give their name, address, date of birth

• other information is sometimes required• may be given cards showing that they are registered voters

• types of registration• permanent

• voters need to register only once• periodic

• voters must register before each election or at regular intervals • re-registration needed

• when voters do not vote in a certain number of elections• when voters change their address

• move to a new precinct• when voters change their name

• women get married

Qualified Voters

• citizens may be asked to register as a member of a political party when registering to vote• party membership may be changed later by registering again

• citizens may also register as independent voters• if a person does not register as a member of a political party,

they may not be allowed to vote in primary elections in some states

Independent Voters = Voters who are not members of a political party.

Party Affiliation

Primary Elections• primary elections

• usually held in the late spring or early summer • voters choose the candidates from each party who will run in the

November general election• closed primary

• only those voters who are registered with the party can vote to choose the party's candidates • only registered Democrats can vote for Democratic candidates• only registered Republicans can vote for Republican candidates• people registered as independent voters cannot vote

• used by most states• open primary

• voters may vote for the candidates of either major party, whether or not the voters belong to that party

Primary Elections• winning a primary

• in most states, the candidate who receives the highest number of votes is the winner• the winning candidate does not have to receive a majority - more

than 50 percent• in some states, the winner must receive a majority of the votes

• if no candidate receives a majority, a runoff election between the two leading candidates decides the winner• the winning candidate in the primary election then becomes the party's

candidate in the general election

• nominating conventions• in some states political parties choose their candidates at special

conventions• delegates to the convention are elected by the various committees in

the state's political organization• state convention - county and city committees select the delegates• national convention - state committees select the delegates

Independent Candidates• not affiliated with a major political party

• does not have to participate in primary elections• getting on the general election ballot

• supporters sign a petition• candidate can have his or her name printed on ballot

• write-in vote• voters may write in the name of an unofficial candidate

• grassroots support • support from many individuals at the local level rather than from

national parties and other large organizations• not elected as often as major-party candidates

• do win some elections, mostly for local offices

General Elections• voters choose the leaders who will take office• held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November

• the president and members of Congress are elected in even-numbered years• presidential elections take place every four years• congressional elections occur every two years

• most general elections for state officials are also held in November• some states elect their state officials in odd-numbered years

• the timing of state elections varies from state to state

• voter resources• nonpartisan organizations like the League of Women Voters

provide information about national and local election issues• read newspapers and magazines and find information about

candidates on the Internet• listen to the candidates on the radio and on television and can

discuss the candidates with other people

Voting in America• poll watchers

• people acting as inspectors at polling places• each party has them to ensure that elections are conducted fairly

• early 1800s• voice vote

• voters announced aloud to the election official their choice of candidate

• easy to pressure a person to vote a certain way

• 1888• secret ballots

• paper ballots contain the names of the candidates and a place for the voter to mark a choice

• ballot marked in secret to guarantee that a person's vote remains private

• helps make elections fair and honest

• voting mechanisms• mechanical lever machines

• large curtained booths with rows of levers with the name of a candidate or issue near the lever

• punchcards• use a hole punch to indicate what candidate or issue they support

• marksense or optical scan system • requires voters to fill in little black circles or arrows with a pencil• a special machine called an optical scanner then counts the votes

• direct recording electronic (DRE) systems• voters select their candidates by touching the person's name on a

computer screen

• straight ticket• vote for all of the candidates of one party

• split ticket• choosing candidates of more than one political party

• polling places• usually open from early in the morning until evening• by law employers must give time off to employees to vote

Voting Today