Why People vote

1. Why People vote Suffering through Suffrage

2. Clearly Communicated Learning Objectives • Analyze the theories of why people vote and apply them to the 2008 and 2010 Election. • Identify and describe the formal and informal institutions involved in the electoral process

3. Why Americans Don’t Vote • Institutional Factors • Demographic Factors • Behavioral Factors

4. Registration • Registration is a large restriction on voting • States control this power • Once you register, you are more likely to vote

5. Other Institutional Barriers • Restrictions on suffrage • Electoral Competition

7. Why People Don’t Vote Demographics

8. Low turnout because of partisanship • Fewer People Identify with one of the parties • Increasingly difficult to target voters • Partisan districts depress turnout

9. Mobilization and turnout • Voter Contacts and support • The Long Campaign in 2008 advantaged Obama.

10. Campaign Contact

11. The Saw-tooth Pattern High and low stimulus elections

12. Presidential elections • Why Higher • What is the Result- the exciting saw-tooth pattern

14. Midyear Tends to be boring

15. Should We Vote? The rational voter model

16. Normative Democratic Theory • The Classical View of Voting • How We should Participate

17. Rational Choice Theory of Voting • When Should We Vote? • Who should We Vote For?

18. The Purpose of an Election is Simple • A mandate for the incumbent to continue their policies or • A call for the opposition to Change things

19. Our Choices are Simple • Abstain • Vote for Our Favorite Party • Vote for Some other Party Because our Favorite Party has no Chance • Vote For a Party at Random

20. Stay at home Why we abstain

21. Rational Abstention • The Costs of Voting versus the benefits of voting • The costs often outweigh the benefits • The Result is many eligible citizens never vote (rational abstention)

22. Why Abstainers are important • Parties have no idea who is going to abstain • Parties cannot ignore these people • There are enough of these people to shift the electoral balance • Their abstention often does not harm them

23. The Problems of Abstaining • Democracy Cannot Exist • The costs of democracy are too high • The benefits are too low.

24. Should I vote or abstain?

25. The Rational Voting Calculus • C= Cost of participation • B= Benefit of voting (Vote Value) • P= Probability that your vote matters • D= The civic duty term C> PB +D We Stay At Home C< PB +D We Vote

26. The Costs of Voting • When Voting is Costless, everyone should vote • When voting is costly, more people do not turnout

27. Information Costs • The costs of becoming an informed voter • Learning who is running • Understanding the Differences between candidates • Information costs are especially high

28. Time Costs • Registration • Travel • The vote itself • Ways that we have reduced these over time?

29. The Monetary Costs of Voting • Poll Taxes- Not any more • Costs of not working • Opportunity Costs

30. The Impact of High Cost is Low Turnout • Not all costs are born equally • Those who vote less have less political power • This prevents people from making the “wrong Decision”

31. High Costs can deter voters, even if they have a preference