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Voting and Voter Behavior

Voting and Voter Behavior. Voting Part 1. Who has suffrage in the US? What are the requirements to vote? Who is prohibited from voting? What is voter registration?. Suffrage or Franchise =the right to vote.

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Voting and Voter Behavior

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  1. Voting and Voter Behavior

  2. VotingPart 1 Who has suffrage in the US? What are the requirements to vote? Who is prohibited from voting? What is voter registration?

  3. Suffrage or Franchise =the right to vote • By 1810 religious qualifications were eliminated, by 1840s property requirements • 1870-15th Amendment- race • 1920-19th Amendment- gender • 1961- 23rd Amendment- DC residents • 1965- Voting Rights Act • 1964- 24th Amendment – no poll tax • 1971- 26th Amendment – age 18+

  4. Universal requirements set by the states • Citizenship-(varies by state) • Nothing in the Constitution says that an alien should not be able to vote • Residency-(varies by state) • requirement to live in the state need to be < than 31 days in a Presidential election • Age • Limit cannot be higher than 18

  5. Registration- a procedure of voter id to prevent fraudulent voting • A Progressive reform – early 1900s • All states except N. Dakota require registration • Most European democracies require public officials to compile a list of eligible voters. • “Motor-Voter” Law since 1995

  6. Persons denied the vote • No state allows anyone living in a mental institution to vote. • ¼ of the states denies voting to felons. • A few states do not allow anyone who is dishonorably discharged from the military to vote.

  7. Homework: After assessing your personal political orientation and analyzing the various platforms presented by the existing political parties, you’ve decided to start your OWN 3rd party! Devise a name for your party and a symbol that will attract voters. Create a PLATFORM with at least 5 “planks” from the following topics: Economy, debt, taxation, foreign affairs, Afghanistan, Iran, War on Drugs, War on Terror, immigration, homeland security, health, environment, energy, social issues such as abortion, marriage law, capital punishment. Write out each “plank” in 2-3 complete sentences which describe and explain your position.

  8. Part 2 • Who votes and why? • Who doesn’t vote and why?

  9. Why people do not vote • Close to 100 million did not vote in 2004 • % of non-voters is generally increasing • 56.7% of eligible voters voted for president • 60.9% in 1968, 49% in 1996 • Cannot voters – 20-21 million • 10 million resident aliens • 5-6 million ill, disabled • 500,000 in mental institutions • 2-3 million traveling unexpectedly • 2 million in jail • 100,000 who do not vote based on religious reasons What about everybody else?

  10. What for? It won’t make any difference Everything’s fine. Why bother? 80,000,000 votes !@#$% the “system”. I refuse to participate! Uggghhh! The line’s too long and it’s raining… I don’t know. I don’t care.

  11. idiot from the Greek word idiotes: those who did not vote or take part in civic life

  12. Sociological factors determining whether or how people vote

  13. Sociological factors determining whether or how people vote • Income, occupation • Lower income groups vote Democrat • Education • Higher percentages of college graduates vote Republican • Gender • Before 2004 women more likely to vote Democrat. • Age • Younger people tend to vote Democrat

  14. Sociological factors of voting 5. Religion-Republican party recent gains • Protestants=Republican • Catholics & Jews= Democrat 6. Ethnic Background • African Americans typically vote Democrat • Mexican Americans & Puerto Ricans usually vote Democrat • Cubans usually vote Republican 7. Family • 9/10 married couples share partisan leanings • 2/3 people vote like their parents

  15. Voters • Straight ticket • vote the same party in all races • Split-ticket • split presidential and Congressional and/or state and local • Independent

  16. Use this website:http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm 1. Who is the current California Secretary of State? 2. Who is eligible to vote in California? 3. If you want to vote in the November election, when is the deadline for registration? 4. How do you register to vote? 5. When is the California primary?

  17. Why don’t more people vote? Talk to your partner; prepare 1-2 reasons why people might choose not to vote.

  18. The Economics of Voting • Highlight author’s thesis and key points. Margin note your questions, connections and reactions to the author’s words. • Prepare to discuss the bulleted questions.

  19. http://electoralmap.net/index.php Interactive Electoral Map http://www.electoral-vote.com History of electoral votes by state

  20. References • McClenaghan, W. (2006). Magruder’sAmerican Government. Boston, MA: Prentice Hall. • Hart, Diane. (2009). Government Alive! Power, Politics and You. Palo Alto, CA: Teachers’ Curriculum Institute. • http://www.balancedpolitics.org/ideology.htm • http://www.edgate.com/elections/inactive/the_parties/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_ideologies • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States#Current_major_parties • http://www.3pc.net/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties_in_the_United_States

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