VOTING and ELECTIONS

U.S.A.

50%

Mexico60%

Canada70%

Voter ParticipationAcross the Globe

France80%

U.K.77%

Russia55%

India53% Australia

95%Japan67%

Brazil100%

Voter ParticipationAcross the Globe

Belize90%

Denmark85%

Malta96%

South Africa92%

Venezuela64%

Austria58%

Greece99%

1870 15th Amendmentsuffrage extended to African American men

1920 19th Amendmentsuffrage extended to women

1961 23rd AmendmentD.C. granted 3 electoral votes

1964 24th Amendmentpoll tax declared unconstitutional

1971 26th Amendmentsuffrage extended to 18 year-olds

Expanding the Electorate:“The Voting Amendments”

CONVENTIONAL vs. UNCONVENTIONAL POLITICAL

PARTICIPATION Conventional Methods• Registering to vote• VOTING• Writing letters or emails to your

representative or senator• Making a phone call to your

representative or senator• Forming an interest group• Joining an interest group• Making financial contributions

to campaigns or interest groups

Unconventional Methods• Boston Tea Party• Shay’s Rebellion• participating in boycotts or protests (WTO, World Bank)• camping outside President Bush’s ranch to protest the Iraq War• throwing red paint on those who wear fur coats to protest animal cruelty

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Voting Rights Act of 1965

• applied to ALL elections held anywhere in this country--local, state, and national

• suspended the use of any literacy tests or similar device in any state or county where less than half of the electorate had been registered to vote in the 1964 presidential election

• authorized the Attorney General to appoint voting examiners to serve in any of those states or counties

• gave federal officers the right to register voters and otherwise oversee the conduct of the elections in those areas

• this Act provided for major changes in voter registration and elections in six states--Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina, and VIRGINIA, and 40 counties in North Carolina

Voter Turnout in the United StatesYear % Turnout of Voting Age Population

2008 62.00 2006 37.10

2004 55.302002 37.002000 51.201998 33.901996 49.001994 36.601992 55.101990 33.101988 50.301986 33.501984 53.301982 38.001980 52.801978 34.901976 53.501974 35.901972 55.201970 43.501968 60.90

* Presidential election years in bold; off-year (mid-term) elections in plain type

U.S. Census Bureau

Registered Voters

Voting Behavior

Voting is the most common form of conventional political

participation

Turnout is the proportion of the electorate who votes

States regulate voter eligibility

Voters are more educated and make more money

Voters are likely to be middle-aged, women, and white

The South traditionally has the lowest voter turnout rate

Turnout of Eligible Voters

Voting in the South v. Non-South

Voter Eligibility

Why Is Turnout so Low?

In 2008, 62 percent of eligible voters turned out

Most common reason for not voting is being too busy

Registration can also be an unclear process

Absentee voting can be difficult

There are a lot of elections

People are apathetic

Political parties have less influence than in earlier

years

Why People Don’t Vote

What are the majorfactors that influencevoters’ decisions?

• personal background

• loyalty to political parties

• campaign issues

• voter’s image of a candidate

• propaganda

Purposes of Elections

Legitimize government, even in authoritarian

systems

Organize government

Choose issue and policy priorities

Electorate gives winners a mandate

Party Conventions

Each party has its own rules about delegates

Delegates tied to candidate, except superdelegates

Require representation of women and minorities

Republicans do not bind delegates to candidate

Media extensively cover happenings

The Electoral College

Representatives from each state who select president

Electors equivalent to senators plus representatives

Framers favored system to remove power from people

Originally president and vice president selected alone

Changed after 12th Amendment

1876 and 2000 elections demonstrate concerns

The Electoral College

Reforming the Electoral CollegeThree major proposals have been made:

Select the president by popular vote

Each congressional district has a vote

Keep the College, abolish the electors

Congressional Elections

In Congress, incumbency has its advantages

Support from a paid staff

Media and travel budgets

“Scaring off” other challengers

Redistricting and gerrymandering to protect

incumbents

Gerrymandering

2008 Congressional Elections Democrats advantaged by momentum and money

Used these to make gains in House and Senate

Victories in South and West were particularly

notable

Why Incumbents Lose

Redistricting can pit incumbents against one

another

Scandals or personal misconduct

Presidential coattails

Midterm elections;

president’s party usually loses seats