Chapter 8: Political Participation Outline

1. Chapter 8: Political Participation Outline

2. I. A closer look at nonvoting • Alleged problem: low turnout of voters in the U.S. compared to Europe • Data are misleading: tend to compare turnout of voting-age population; turnout of registered voters reveal problem is not so severe

3. 2. Real problem is low voter registration rates a) Proposed solution: get-out-the-vote drives b) But this will not help those who are not registered 3. Apathy is not the only cause of nonregistration a) Registration has costs in the U.S.; there are no costs in European countries where registration is automatic b) Motor-voter law of 1993 took effect in 1995, lowered costs and increased registration throughout the country

4. B. Voting is not the only way of participating—by other measures, Americans may participate in politics more than Europeans. • C. Important question: how do different kinds of participation affect the government?

5. II. The rise of the American electorate A. From state to federal control 1. Initially, states decided who could vote and for which offices 2. This led to wide variation in federal elections 3. Congress has since reduced state prerogatives through law and constitutional amendment. a)1842 law: House members elected by district b)15th Amendment (1870): seemed to give suffrage to African Americans (1) Opened the door to literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses (2)Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally guaranteed right to vote to Blacks c)Women given right to vote by 19th Amendment (1920); participation rose immediately, but no major impact on electoral outcomes d)18-year-olds given suffrage by 26th Amendment (1971); voter turnout among the newly eligible was low, and has continued to fall

6. Jennings Randolph"Father of the 26th Amendment"Jennings Randolph was a warrior for peace and had great faith in young people:"They possess a great social conscience, are perplexed by the injustices in the world, and are anxious to rectify those ills.""The Father of the 26th Amendment" introduced legislation eleven times -- in the U.S. House of Representatives and later in the United States Senate -- to lower the voting age, beginning in 1942 until its passage in 1971. Due to his persistence, 18-20-year-olds have had the opportunity to vote in eight presidential elections.

7. 4. National standards now govern most aspects of voter eligibility • 5. Twenty-third Amendment was ratified in 1961, giving District of Columbia residents the right to vote in presidential elections. Ronald Martin, Robert Patterson, and Mark Martin stage sit-down strike after being refused service at an F.W. Woolworth luncheon counter, Greensboro, N.C. 1960

8. Sample Literacy Test from Alabama If the President is removed from his office, who assumes his/her duties?______________________ "Involuntary servitude" is permitted in the United States upon conviction of a crime. (True or False)___________ If a state is a party to a case, the Constitution provides that original jurisdiction shall be in_________________ Congress passes laws regulating cases which are included in those over which the United States Supreme Court has____________________________ jurisdiction. I hereby certify that I have received no assistance in the completion of this citizenship and literacy test, that I was allowed the time I desired to complete it, and that I waive any right existing to demand a copy of same. (If for any reason the applicant does not wish to sign this, he must discuss the matter with the board of registrars.) Signed:___________________________________________

9. 1. Debate about declining percentages of eligible adults who vote: two theories • a)Real decline caused by lessening popular interest and decreasing party mobilization • b)Apparent decline, induced in part by the more honest ballot counts of today • (1) Parties once printed the ballots • (2) Ballots were cast in public • (3) Parties controlled the counting • Rules regarding voter eligibility • were easily circumvented • (5) Australian ballot (standard, government, rather than party, printed, and cast in secret) was adopted throughout the country by 1910 • B. Voter turnout An Australian Ballot from an 1893 Iowa City municipal election (partial)

10. Given that US citizens have been given the right to participate in the democratic process, the question arises why don't more US citizens vote? In the 2004 elections, voting turnout ranged between 46% and 76% across states. See the color coded map above to see voter turnout by US state in 2004. Generally speaking, the northern states tend to have better voter turnout than the southern states. Three states with no state income tax (Tennessee, Florida, and Texas) are in the lowest quintile for voter turnout rate. Do you think there is a relationship?

11. 2. Most scholars see some real decline due to several causes: a)Registration is more difficult—there are longer residency requirements; educational qualifications; discrimination; and registration has to occur far in advance of elections b) Florida controversy in 2000 presidential election has provided for some changes to make voting more consistent nationally, but stops short of creating a uniform national voting system • Continuing drop after 1960 cannot be easily explained, and may be a function of how turnout is calculated, rather than a substantial phenomenon 3. Some scholars believe that non-voters mirror voters, so their absence has little effect on electoral outcomes

12. III. Who participates in politics? A. Forms of participation 1. Tendency to exaggerate participation a) Voting the commonest form of political participation, but 8 to 10 percent of citizens report voting regularly when they have not b) If voting is exaggerated, other forms of participation also likely to be exaggerated

14. 2. Verba and Nie’s six forms of participation and six kinds of U.S. citizens a) Inactives: rarely vote, contribute to political organizations, or discuss politics: (little education, low income, young, many Blacks; 22 percent) b) Voting specialists: vote but do little else; not much education or income, older c) Campaigners: vote and get involved in campaign activities; more education, interested in politics, identify with a party, take strong positions d) Communalists: nonpartisan community activists with a local focus e) Parochial participants: don’t vote or participate in campaigns or political organizations, but contact politicians about specific problems f) Activists: Participate in all forms of politics (highly educated, high income, middle age; 11 percent)

15. B. The causes of participation 1. Those with schooling or political information are more likely to vote 2. Church-goers vote more because church involvement develops the skills associated with political participation 3. Men and women vote at the same rate 4. Race a) Black participation is lower than that of whites overall b)Controlling for socioeconomic status, Blacks participate at a higher rate than whites 5. Studies show no correlation between distrust of political leaders and not voting

16. 6. As turnout has declined, registration barriers have been dropping and so they cannot account for the differences 7. Several small factors decrease turnout a) More youths, Blacks, and other minorities in population are pushing down the percentage of eligible adults who are registered and vote b) Parties are less effective in mobilizing voters c) Remaining impediments to registration have some discouraging effects d) Voting is compulsory in other nations e) Possible feeling that elections do not matter

17. 8. Democrats, Republicans fight over solutions a) No one really knows who would be helped by increased turnout b) Nonvoters tend to be poor, minority, or uneducated. c) But an increasing percentage of college graduates and white-collar workers are also not voting d) Hard to be sure that turnout efforts produce gains for either party: Jesse Jackson in 1984 increased registration of southern whites even more than southern Blacks

18. C. The meaning of participation rates 1. Americans vote less, but participate more a) Other forms of activity are becoming more common b) Some forms of participation are more common here than in other countries 2. Americans elct more officials and have more elections 3. U.S. turnout rates are heavily skewed to higher status persons 4. See Critical Thinking exercise—Civic Participation: Is America "Bowling Alone"?

19. High School Political ActivityEntering freshmen survey conducted by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

20. The End