Chapter 6 Summary

1. CHAPTER 6
Voters & Voter Behavior

2. PP. 152-155
Chapter 6.1: The Right to Vote

3. Expansion of the Electorate
At first suffrage was only granted to white male
property owners
 1 in 15 adult white males
Today the electorate is 230 million +
 Restrictions have been taken away & federal government has
taken control of suffrage laws

4. Extending the Suffrage
Stage 1=States eliminated religious requirements &
property-owning requirements
Stage 2=15th
Amendment (1870) allowed African
American males to vote
 Still difficult for many blacks to vote for various reasons—poll
taxes, literacy tests, violence
Stage 3=19th
Amendment (1920) allowed women to
vote nationally

7. Extending the Suffrage
Stage 4=Civil rights movement, 1960s
 Civil rights acts
 Voting Rights Act of 1965
 23rd
Amendment (1961) allowed voters of Washington, DC to
vote in presidential elections
 24th
Amendment (1964) eliminated poll taxes

10. Extending the Suffrage
Stage 5=26th
Amendment (1971), no state can set the
minimum age for voting at more than 18 years
Vietnam War era

13. The Powers to Set Voting Qualifications
Constitution does not give the federal government
power to set voting qualifications
Constitution does set 5 restrictions
 1. If allowed to vote in state elections, you can vote in national
elections as well
 2. Cannot be denied vote based on race or color
 3. Cannot be denied vote based on gender
 4. No state cannot require a payment of a tax in order to vote
 5. No state can deny a person the age of 18 or older the right to
vote

14. What’s Next?
Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote?
 http://prospect.org/article/making-sweet-sixteen-even-
sweeter

15. PP. 156-163
Chapter 6.2:
Voter Qualifications

16. Universal Requirements
1. Citizenship—foreign-born resident who are not yet
citizens are denied the right to vote
2. Residence—one must be a legal resident of the
state in which he/she wishes to cast a ballot
 Various lengths of residency, some states require 30 days,
some less, some none at all
 Nearly every state prohibits transients from voting
3. Age—no state can set the minimum age for voting
in any election at more than 18
 18-20 y.o.’s historically have low voter turnout

17. Registration
Process of voter identification, meant to prevent
fraudulent voting
Gives election officials a list of qualified voters
Also used to identify voters with a party & provide
eligibility to take part in closed primaries

18. Registration
Requirements:
 Typically a voter must provide: name, age, place or birth,
present address, length of residence
 Logged by a local official
 Registered until he/she moves, dies, convicted of a felony,
moved to a mental institution
 Purging of voter lists done every 2-4 years

19. Registration
Controversies:
 Some argue that registration requirements should be dropped;
argue that it hurts voter turnout
 Others argue that it prevents fraud
 Where is the line where it is so easy to vote that fraud is
encouraged, and it is so difficult that legitimate voting is
discouraged?
 The U.S. is the only democratic country in which each person
decides whether or not to vote
 “Motor Voter Act” effective in 1995
 Citizens can register to vote when renewing a driver’s license

20. Registration
Voter ID laws
 Require people to prove identity when registering to vote
 Usually sponsored by Republican-controlled states
 Intended to prevent fraud, but opponents say they are
designed to prevent certain groups from voting
 Elderly, disabled, poor, & minority groups
What about voter ID laws?
 Fair or unfair?
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-
fix/wp/2013/03/26/the-countrys-voter-id-laws-in-1-map/

21. Literacy Tests
Today no state has voter qualifications based on
literacy
Aimed at limiting certain groups from voting:
 Irish Americans, African Americans
Grandfather clauses
SC banned literacy tests as voter requirement in
1970
 Oregon v. Mitchell
*See “Can You Answer These?” on p. 162*

22. Tax Payments
Property ownership was once a common voter
requirement
Some state required voters to pay a special tax or a
poll tax
 Still in use in AL, MS, TX, & VA in 1966 despite the 24th
Amendment
Taxing requirements are now gone

23. Persons Denied the Vote
People in mental institutions and/or people who are
found to be mentally incompetent
People convicted of serious crimes
 In many states convicted felons can regain the right to vote
Some states do not allow people dishonorably
discharged from the military to vote

24. PP. 164-168
Chapter 6.3:
Suffrage & Civil Rights

25. Terms to Know
15th
Amendment
Gerrymandering
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
*See timeline on pp. 166-167*

26. PP. 170-178
Chapter 6.4:
Voter Behavior

27. Nonvoting
Only 61% of eligible voters voted in 2008 election;
roughly 57% in 2012
Typically rates are much lower in off-year elections
“Nonvoting voters”
 For example: vote for president, but not for members of
Congress
“Ballot fatigue,” voters exhaust patience/knowledge
as they work down the ballot

28. Why People Do Not Vote
“Cannot voters”—resident aliens, ill/physically
disabled, traveling suddenly/unexpectedly, mentally
disabled, prisoners

29. Why People Do Not Vote
Actual Nonvoters—Many are convinced their vote
makes no difference
 Many in this group lack political efficacy
 Political efficacy—one’s own influence or effectiveness on politics
 Cumbersome procedures, long lines, bad weather, etc.
 “Time-zone fallout”—discourages voting on West Coast
 Lack of interest, indifference

30. Voters Nonvoters
High income
Educated
Long-time residents
Sense of party
identification
Area where there is
competition between
parties
Younger
Less education
Lower pay
Rural locales
Men, more so than
women
Voters vs. Nonvoters

32. Voting Behavior
What we know about voter behavior comes from 3
sources:
1. Results of previous elections
2. The field of survey research
 Gallup Organization & Pew Research
3. Political Socialization
 The process by which people gain their political attitudes &
opinions

33. Voting Behavior
Sociological factors that influence voters:
1. Income & occupation
 Lower=Democrat
 Higher=Republican
 Professionals w/ higher incomes tend to vote for GOP
candidates
 Manual laborers tend to vote for Democrats

34. Voting Behavior
Education
 College graduates vote for Republicans in higher percentages
than high school grads
Gender
 Women tend to favor Democrats—5-10%
 Men often give GOP same edge
 “Gender gap”
 Topics men & women tend to vote differently on:
 Abortion, health care, social welfare programs, military
involvement

35. Voting Behavior
Age
 Younger voters prefer Democrats
 Older voters prefer Republicans
 In ‘08 Obama won 66% of the 30 & under vote
Religion
 Protestants prefer the GOP
 Catholics & Jews vote for Democrats
 ‘08 election supported these trends
 55% of voters that went to church once/week voted for McCain in
‘08

36. Voting Behavior
Race/Ethnicity
 African Americans tend to vote for Democrats
 Had voted for Republicans from 1860s to 1930s
 Why the shift?
 Latinos typically favor Democrats

37. Voting Behavior
Geography
 Post-Civil War the South had voted for Democrats
 Now the South is controlled by the GOP
 States that have most consistently been Republican:
 Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming
 ‘64 was the last time AK, ID, KS, NE, ND, OK, SD, UT, WY voted
for a Democratic presidential candidate (LBJ)
 Democrats have controlled New England over past two decades
 Voters in small cities & rural areas tend to vote Republican
 Urban residents prefer Democrats

38. Presidential Elections—1980-2012
What trends do you see?
Which states always vote the same?
Which states tend to go back & forth?
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?
year=1980

39. Voter Behavior
Family/Groups
 Typically 9 out of 10 married couples have the same political
leanings
 As many as 2 out of 3 voters follow the political attachments of
their parents
 A person’s group associations reinforce the opinions he/she
already has

40. Voting Behavior
Psychological Factors (perception of politics):
Party Identification
 Some times little or no regard to issues or candidates
 Single-most significant & lasting indicator of voter behavior
 Straight-ticket voting
 Split-ticket voting his been on the rise since the ‘60s
 Today there are large number of people who call themselves
“independents”
 1/3 to ¼ of all voters
 Important in close elections
 Typical independent today=young, above average education,
above average income

41. Voting Behavior
Psychological Factors:
Candidates & Issues
 Personality, character, appearance, style past record, ability
 Important issues recent elections: recession, Iraq &
Afghanistan Wars, immigration, health care