Political Participation

Who, How, and Why

In pairs, answer the following questions…• 1. Should Americans be forced to vote?• 2. Should Washington D.C. be granted a seat

in the House of Representatives?• 3. How much of an impact has the expansion

of the voting franchise really had on elections?• 4. How much of an impact would absent

voters really have on the outcome of an election?

• 5. Is it better to cast an ill-informed ballot or not to vote at all?

Changing Electorate

• States had initial control over voting

• Gradually the federal gov’t has reduced state control in favor of civil rights (15th, 19th, 23rd, 26th)

Is Participation a Problem in the US?• If we look at eligible populations…• If we look at registered voters…

• Why aren’t people registered?• Costly (really?)• Apathetic?• Satisfied with the way things are?• Alienated?

• How to get more people registered?• Get out the vote campaigns• Motor voter (‘93)• Vote or Die Campaign

Who Is More Likely to Participate?

• Indicators:-Education – college educated more likely-Religious involvement – social connectedness, clarifies issues-Color/Ethnicity – white tend to vote more than blacks (except when accounting for income and education…hmmm?) Latinos less likely-Age – older people more likely to vote-Occupation – professionals more likely-Income – higher income more likely

Likely Voters• Education

• more• Income

• more $• Age

• older• Gender

• women• Religion

• Catholics & Jews• Race

• White• Except when education

and income are taken into account

Is Participation a Problem in the US?

• Is voting the only measure of participation?• Civic organizations,

letter writing• Campaign activities,

lobbying, following politics

• Activism – protests, movements

• In Western Europe…• Voters automatically

registered• Only vote for a member

of Parliament

In pairs…

• Design a campaign to boost voter turnout.

• Be specific with how you will implement your plan (and be ready to defend it).

• Present it in 3-5 simple steps.

Voter Turn-out• Is the decline real or is it

just now more apparent?

• Real Decline-Difficulty of registration (same day?, universal?)-No ballot uniformity across the nation-Declining interest-Diminished party competitiveness (participation)-More honest process (parties) (Australian ballot)

• We don’t count this very well (VAP & VEP)

Voting Issues

• Do candidates send clear messages?• Policy mandate

• Are voters informed?• Prospective voting – looking to the future,

voting for candidate/issue that matches your beliefs

• Retrospective voting – supporting or opposing a candidate based upon what they have done in office (economic)

How Do Americans Participate?• Forms of participation

• Voting (50-60%)• 22% inactive (young, little education, low

income)• 11% are activists (middle-aged, highly

educated, higher income)

• Contributing• Political organizations, non-political

organizations, religious charity work, other charitable work