6. WHY PEOPLE DO NOT VOTE
The Indif ferent Voter:
“Meh.”
“ E v e r y t h i n g ’ s O K ” Vo te r
Sure things wi l l go wel l wi thout
them
Al ienated Voter
No fai th in the system
Low- levels of pol itical ef f icacy
7. WHY PEOPLE DO NOT VOTE
Other Factors
Di f ficult process
Bad weather
“ t ime - zo ne ” f a l l o ut
Should increasing voter turnout be a national priority?
9. WHY PEOPLE VOTE THE WAY THEY DO
How do we know how people vote?
-- results of an election
-- field of survey research
-- studies of pol itical socialization
Two Factors
Sociological Factors
Psychological Factors
10.
11.
12. SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS
Income & Occupat ion
- - Higher income = Republ ican
Educat ion
- - Col lege graduates tend toward
Republ ican
- - higher levels of educat ion skew
Democratic
Gender & Age
- - Gender Gap: women tend to favor
Dems in high numbers
- - di f fer signi ficant ly over social issues
- - Older = Republ icans
13. SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS
Rel igious & Ethnic Background
-- Protestants = Republicans
-- Cathol ics & Jews = Democratic
Why are some Catholic voters skewing Republican?
-- African Americans = Democrats
Republican voters from post -Civil War unti l New Deal
-- Hispanic & Latino Voters = Democrats
14. SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS
Geography
-- Post-Civil War: Sol id Democratic South
-- Today: Republicans strong in South and Midwest
Democrats strong in Nor theast & West
-- Democrats strong in urban areas
-- Republ icans strong in rural areas & smal l towns
ht tp: / / elec t ions .ny t imes . c om/2012/ resul t s /pres ident
Family & Other Groups
-- 9 out of 10 married couples vote the same
-- 2 out of 3 voters fol low the pol itics of their parents
15. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS
Par ty Identification
-- has been the most signi ficant predictor
-- many st raight -ticket vote
-- weakening; spl it-ticket voting
-- growing number of independents
What role do the candidate and the issues play in influencing
voter behavior?
Editor's Notes
Off year elections highlighted
Do people vote for president more than lower offices?
Ballot fatigue
(hand out sample ballot)
Resident aliens
Sick or physically impaired
Mentally ill
Incarcerated
Religious beliefs prevent voting
Racial bias
-- people in mental institutions or found mentally incompetent
-- 25% of states preclude anyone convicted of a serious crime from ever regaining the right to vote
-- some states preclude those dishonorably discharged from the military
Should ex-felons be allowed to vote?
Voters
High levels of income, education, job status
High levels of political efficacy
Party id
Non-voters
Younger than 35
Unmarried
Unskilled, low skilled
Low level of political efficacy
Women vote more than men
Better competition increases turnout
