VOTERS AND VOTER BEHAVIOR

Voter Qualifications

Voting Qualifications

Citizenship – US

Residence - of the state in state/local elections

Age – 18 and older

Voting Qualifications

Every state except ND requires voters to register.

Registration forms are on the internet

In Florida, 16 year olds can pre-register and vote after their 18th birthday

Voting Qualifications

If a person does not vote for several elections, the rolls are purged and the person’s name is removed.

Who Do You Vote For?

Once a person is registered they can vote in federal, state and local elections

There are many ways to get information about the people running for office and new laws being voted for.

Who Do You Vote For?

Most people get their knowledge from TV

TV ads are bought by the candidate or the group favoring a particular person or cause.

They only tell the positive side of their side and the negative side of the opposition

Barack Obama John McCain

Literacy Tests Reading tests were

given to people (Indians and Blacks) that the people in power did not want to vote

The tests were so difficult that college professors could not pass it

Poll Tax If a voter could not

afford the tax they did not vote but the unpaid tax would be added onto future poll taxes

Disenfranchisement Today In the 2000 and 2004

presidential elections, voters complained that they were turned away

Some in Florida had their names incorrectly removed from the poll books. They did not get to vote.

Increased Suffrage

15th Amendment gives black males the right to vote

Many were kept away by terror tactics, poll taxes, gerrymandering, and literacy tests

Gerrymandering

Named after Elbridge Gerry after he drew a district in MA to ensure his associates would win elections.

Gerrymandering

It is used today to ensure all people have representatives in government, including minority populations

Gerrymandering

Alcee Hastings, D-FL, has benefited from gerrymandering by creating a district made up of mostly African-Americans

Civil Rights Act 1964

Initiated by JFK and passed by LBJ, this act prevents discrimination not only with voting, but with employment, housing, admissions, and other areas with racial barriers.

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Applied to all elections, local,

state and federal Outlawed poll taxes and literacy

tests No new state election laws could

go into effect before preclearance by the Dept. of Justice

Voting Rights Act of 1965 Most of the laws that have gone

through the preclearance process have to do with moving polling places or with deadlines.

VOTERS AND VOTER BEHAVIOR

Chapter 6

Section 4

Idiots

In ancient Greece, citizens who did not vote were called idiotes

In 2000, there were about 205.8 million voters, but almost half were idiotes who did not vote

There are even more idiotes in off-year elections

Don't Vote

Why Idiots Don’t Vote

Cannot vote – physically or mentally ill, religious beliefs

Don’t want to – for a lot of reasons, not believing their vote makes a difference

Poll closing times – 3-5 hrs earlier in east with results posted early

Voters A typical voter:

Higher incomeHigher educationBetter

occupational status

Long time residents

Party identificationfemale

Non-Voters

A typical non-voter:Younger than 35UnmarriedUnskilledLives in

south/rural areamale

How People Vote

It is easier to determine how some groups of people will vote

Polls also use research to determine election winners

All polls showed that the 2004 election would be decided by less than 2% of the vote. They were right.

How People Vote

Psychological factors that can determine who a person votes for include:Voter’s characteristics – age,

sex, education, religion, incomeVoter’s affiliations – work,

friends, families

How People Vote

Sociological factors that can determine who a person votes for include:Income – lower incomes tend to

vote Dem; higher=RepEducation – lower education

tend to vote Dem; higher=Rep

How People Vote

Sociological factors that can determine who a person votes for include:Age and gender – younger

women tend to vote Dem; older males=Rep

Religion – Catholics and Jews tend to vote Dem; Prot=Rep

How People Vote

Sociological factors that can determine who a person votes for include:Race – Non-whites tend to vote

Dem; white = RepRegion – CA, NY, MA=Dem; TX,

KS, ND and Bible Belt=Rep.

How People Vote These are

generalizations only and different issues sway voters

How much a person feels loyalty to their party, party identification, is a good predictor of how a person will vote.

How People Vote

Some people vote for their party, regardless of the person running for office.

Straight-ticket voting relates to party affiliation.

How People Vote

Some people, split-ticket voters, vote for candidates, regardless of political party

This practice has become more common since the 1960s.

Independent voters are likely to do this since they do not belong to a party