Visuals for my students for the unit on Voting and Voter Behavior in America

3. • The Framers of the
Constitution
purposely left the
power to set
suffrage
qualifications to
each State.

4. • Both of these terms
have the same
meaning:
–The RIGHT or
PRIVILEGE to
vote.

6. • When the Constitution went into
effect in 1789, who was allowed to
vote?
–White, male, property owners

7. • Today the size of the
American electorate
(potential voting
population) is around
210 million people
• Who is allowed to vote
today?
– Nearly all citizens who
are at least 18 years
old.

8. • That big number is a result of some 200
years of continuing, often bitter and
sometimes violent struggle.
• The history of suffrage has been marked
by (2) long-term trends:
1. The gradual elimination of restrictions on the
right to vote
2. The State’s power over the right to vote has
been assumed by the Federal government.

9. • The growth of the American
electorate to its present size and
shape has come in five fairly
distinct stages:

10. • When:
–Early 1800s
• What:
–Elimination of
religious,
property, and tax
requirements.

11. • When:
–Post Civil-War
Era.
• What:
– Race or color could
not block right to
vote.
– 15th Amendment.

12. • When:
–1920
• What:
–Women get the
right to vote in
Federal elections.
–19th Amendment

13. • When:
–1960s
• What:
– 23rd Amendment allows District of
Columbia to vote in presidential election
– 24th Amendment – No poll tax
– Voting Rights Act 1965

14. • When:
–1971
• What:
–Minimum age of
voting can be no
higher than 18
years old.

16. • Today, every state
requires that any
person who wants
to vote must be
able to satisfy
qualifications based
on (3) factors:

17. • Aliens (foreign born
residents who have not
become citizens) are
denied the right to vote.
• States have power to
regulate this.
• Pennsylvania?
– Citizen for 30 days
– Resident of PA for 30
days

18. • Why is there a residency
requirement?
1. Political Machines
cannot bring voters
in from different
areas.
2. New voters can
become familiar with
candidates and issues
of an area.

19. • Transients:
–persons living in a State for only a
short time; are prohibited from voting
in nearly every state.

20. • 26th Amendment (1971) set
the minimum age for voting
in any election at no more
than 18.
• Vietnam War was key.
• What is the impact of 18-20
years olds in voting?
– NONE: they have the
lowest percentage of all
voting groups..

22. • The States have imposed a
number of other qualifications
over time.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Registration
Literacy
Tax Payment
Persons Denied the Vote

23. • Procedure of voter identification intended
to prevent fraudulent voting.
• A prospective voter must register his/her
name, age, place of birth, present address,
length of residence, and similar facts.
• What is purging?
– Reviewing the lists of registered voters and
removing the names of the ineligible.

24. • Some people argue
that the registration
requirement is bar
to voter turnout,
especially among the
poor and lesseducated.

25. • In 1993 Congress
passed a law dubbed
“the Motor- Voter
Law”.
• What did this do?
1. Register by mail
2. Register when
applying/renewing
driver’s license.

26. • Today no state has a
suffrage qualification based
on voter literacy – a
persons ability to read or
write.
• States had these in place to
keep a group away from the
polls – African Americans,
Native American, Irish
Catholic immigrants.

27. • What eliminated
all of these
requirements?
–Voting Rights Act
Amendments of
1970

28. • Poll tax = payment of
a tax in order to vote.
• Beginning with
Florida in 1889, each
of the 11 southern
states enacted this to
keep AfricanAmericans away
from the polls.

29. • The
Amendment to the
Constitution ended this in 1964.
th
24

30. • Some states deny the right to vote to
certain persons:
– People in mental institutions.
– Persons found legally incompetent.
– Persons convicted of serious crimes.

32. • First step in the
effort to extend
the franchise to
African
Americans.
• What does it
declare….

33. • Right to vote
cannot be denied
because of race,
color or previous
condition of
servitude.

34. • Yet for almost 90 years
(1870-1960), the Federal
government paid little
attention to voting rights
for African Americans.
• During this period, blacks
were kept from the polls by
a mix of violence, literacy
tests, poll taxes and other
devices:

35. • Definition:
–Drawing district
lines to limit or
strengthen the
voting power of
a particular
group.

37. • Definition:
– Practice that
excluded blacks
from running for
office; used in the
South.
– Eventually ruled
unconstitutional.

38. • Allowed for
Federal voting
referees to help
voters register
or vote.

39. • This Act was much broader
and more effective than
either two of the earlier
measures.
• Outlawed discrimination in
several areas – especially
job related matters.
• It relied on judicial action
to overcome racial
barriers.

40. • Definition:
–A court order
that either
forces or limits
an action by a
person.

41. • Voter registration march
in Selma, Alabama were
met with violence showing a need for new
and stronger legislation.
• What played a role in
getting the nation’s
attention?
– The violence shown on
national TV.

42. • This act applied to ALL
elections held anywhere
in this country – state
and local as well as
federal.
• Originally, the Act was
to be in effect for 5 years
but Congress has
extended its life three
times.

43. 1. Suspended us of
literacy tests.
2. Gave Federal
government
power to oversee
elections.

44. • Changes that must be
approved:
– Location of polling
places
– Boundaries of districts
– Deadlines in election
process
– Qualifications of
candidates

45. • Additions to the law
include:
– extensions for existing
provisions
– help for language
minorities (ballots in
several languages)

47. • There are several
legitimate reasons
for not voting…
• But the troubling
fact remains that
most of the millions
who do not vote
cannot claim those
reasons.

48. • Case in point
Election Day 2000:
– those eligible to vote
(205.8 million) and
105.4 million did vote
(51.2%)
– How many people did
not vote at all?
• Nearly 100 million
people!!!

49. • Off-year elections, which
are the congressional
elections in between a
President’s term, have even
lower rates of voter
turnout.
• What does it mean to be a
“nonvoting voter”?
– Vote for candidates at
top of ballot, but no other
offices.

50. • One reason for
nonvoting is “ballot
fatigue”
– many voters get
exhaust their
patience and/or
knowledge as they
work they way down
the ballot.

51. • There are any
number of reasons
for not voting:
– Belief that it makes
no difference who
wins.
– Others are satisfied
with the political
world as they it.

52. • Define
– People who lack any
feeling of influence or
effectiveness in
politics.
• Why do people have it?
– They believe they
have no impact on
what the government
does.

53. • Cumbersome
election
procedures
(registration, long
lines and ballots)
• Bad weather can
also effect turnout.

54. • Time-Zone
Fallout
– polls on East Coast
close before other
time-zones
– Announcing East
Coast results might
discourage West
Coast voters.

55. • A simple factor is, purely and simply,
a lack of interest!

56. • Voters and Nonvoters.
• One useful way to get
a handle on the
problem of nonvoting
is to contrast those
who go to the polls
regularly and those
who do not…

57. • High level of income,
education and job
status.
• Strong sense of party
identification.
• Long time residents
who are active in their
community.
• Unmarried, unskilled
and under the age of
35.
• Live in rural areas of
country.
• Women vote more
than men.

58. • Voting has been studied more closely than any
other form of political participation.
• Why is this? The importance of the topic and
the great amount of data available.

59. • Most of what is known about voter
behavior comes from (3) sources:
The Results of
Particular
elections
The Field of
Survey Research
• Studying the returns from areas
populated with a specific group will
indicate how they voted.
• Scientific polling of public opinion
can determine voter outcome.
Studies of Political • This involves studying experiences
Socialization
and relationships in people’s lives

60. • Sociology is
the study of
groups and
how people
behave within
groups.

61. • Lower income tend to be
Democrat, higher income
Republicans.
• Occupations :
– professionals, business
people tend to vote
Republican
– manual labor, union
workers tend to vote
Democrat.

62. • College grads vote
for Republicans in
higher percentages
than do high school
grads; High school
grads vote GOP
more than grade
school grads.

63. • The Gender Gap in
politics:
– Women tend to favor
Democrats by 5-10%,
and men tend to favor
Republicans by the
same amount.

64. • Historically, a
majority of Protestants
have voted
Republican.
• Social issues are key to
most Protestants
voters.

65. • Traditional, have
voted Democrat.
• Immigration in early
1900s.
• Recent trend is that
they are swing voters:
– 2004 52% for Bush
– 2008 58% for Obama

66. • Traditionally have
always voted Democrat.
• Immigration in early
1900s.
• Recent trend:
– 2004 75% for Bush
– 2008 79% for Obama

67. • For decades, African
Americans have
supported the
Democratic Party
consistently and
massively.
• 95% in 2008

68. • Do not vote as a block
• Cuban-Americans:
– Tend to vote Republican
• Mexicans and Puerto
Ricans:
– Tend to vote Democrat

69. • The part of the country in which a person
lives has an impact on voting.
• Solid South:
– Starting with the end of the Civil War, the South
voted solidly Democrat for over 100 years.

70. • Married couples and
family members tend
to vote the same way.
• What is the role of
parents?
– 2 of 3 voters follow the
political attachments of
their parents

71. • Psychology is
the study of
the mind and
of individual
behavior.

72. • A majority of
Americans identify
with one of the major
parties – and many
NEVER change.
• This is the SINGLE
most significant
predictor of how a
person will vote.

73. • Straight Ticket :
– Voting of candidates
of ONLY one party
• Split Ticket:
– Voting for candidates
of MORE than one
party

74. • Term used for
people with no
party affiliation.
• New breed of:
– Often young and
above average in
education, income
and job status.

75. • Candidates:
– An impression a
candidate makes on a
voter can cause a
switch in party
• Issues:
– An important issue can
cause a switch in party
for a voter.