Chapter 6 – Voters and Voter Behavior – History of Voting Rights

Suffrage and Franchise – right to vote; Electorate – voter

Early 1800’sReligious, Property ownership and tax payment qualifications

removed and almost all white males could vote.Timeline1870 - 15th Amendment - Right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen b/c of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Removed racial barriers (race, color); disenfranchised (deprived person’s right of citizenship and voting for African Americans)1920 - 19th Amendment – Gave women the right to vote

Sex/Gender1924 – Indian Citizenship Act – gave native peoples the right and privileges of

American citizenship1957 - Civil Rights Act of 1957 –Set up Civil Rights Commission to inquire into claims of voter discrimination

Gave Attorney General the power to seek INJUNCTIONS to prevent interference with any person’s right to vote in federal elections.

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Chapter 61960 - Civil Rights Act of 1960 – provided federal referees where voter discrimination was found. Given power to help qualified person to register to vote in federal elections.

1961 - 23rd Amendment - gave the District of Columbia the right to vote in presidential elections and have minimum number of electors

Voting rights to Washington D.C. residents and expanded rights to African Americans

1964 - Civil Rights Act of 1964 –Outlawed discrimination in several areas, job-related matters and forbade use of several unfair voting requirements–voter registration & literacy requirementFederal Injunctions were also used

1964 - 24th Amendment –removed the poll tax

1965 - Voting Rights Act of 1965 – Made the 15th Amendment effective by requiring it be applied to all elections - federal, state, and local elections

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1971 - 26th Amendment – Minimum voting age in an election is 18 years of age.

1975 - Amendment to Voting Rights Act of 1965-Rid election process of any literacy qualifications (literacy qualifications were eliminated)

1995 - Motor Voter Law – register to vote when apply or renew driver’s license, provide voter registration, by mail, make registration forms available at local offices

2003 - Federal Voting Standards & Procedures Act - requires states to streamline registration, voting, and other election procedures

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Voting QualificationsConstitution reserves to STATES the right to set voting requirements but has 5 restrictions the use of STATES’ power.

1. Any person that a State allows to vote for members of their legislators must be allowed to vote for representatives and senators in Congress.2. State cannot deprive any person the right to vote based on race,

color, or previous condition of servitude (slavery) 15th A.3. State cannot deprive any person the right to vote based on sex

(women) 19th A.4. State cannot require payment of any tax as a condition to vote

(no poll tax) 24th A.5. State cannot deprive any person b/c they are 18 yrs. of age.

26th A.

Restriction prohibit the states from withholding voting from groups protected by Constitution

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Voter Qualifications – UNIVERSAL REQUIREMENTSCitizenship, Residence, and Age

Other Qualifications states have imposed over time:Registration, Literacy, Tax Payment…only Registration has survived

Citizenship - Aliens generally not allowed to vote but is NOT prohibited by ConstitutionMinnesota draws distinction between native born and naturalized citizens (at least 3 months before election)

Residence - all states have requirements; to prevent election fraud and familiarize themselves with issues1972 - SC ruled states cannot require waiting period longer than 30 days in presidential election(Dunn v.Blumstein)

Age - 26th Amendment; many states allow 17 yr old to vote in PRIMARY elections if turn 18 for GENERAL election 9

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Registration - prove identity to avoid fraudPurging - state officials allow locals to review and update list every 2 and 4 years

Motor Voter Law - 1995 register to vote when apply or renew driver license, provide voter registration, by mail, make registration forms available at local offices

Literacy - ensure voters cast informed ballot and was used to discriminate African Americans- ILLEGAL by Congress 1970

Grandfather Clause - enfranchise white males who were unintentionally disqualified b/c failure to meet requirements

(Voting Rights Act 1965 & 1975)

Tax Payment - Poll tax in South; Congress and SC banned all taxes as condition for voting 1960's

24th Amendment - no poll tax - 1966- Harper v. VA BOE

Who may not vote - mentally incompetent, convicted of a serious crime (felony), dishonorable discharge from military, polygamist.

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Gerrymandering - practice of drawing the lines of electoral districts in order to limit the voting strength of a particular group or party.

(form of redistricting in which electoral districts are manipulated for electoral advantage)

Packing - opposition votes into a few districts to gain more seatsDilution - diffuse minority strength across districts

1870 - 15th Amendment - grant voting to freed slaves1950's & 1970's Congress passed laws to end disfranchisement of African Americans

Civil Rights Act 1957 & 19601957 - set up Federal Civil Rights Commission to investigate discrimination AND gave the Attorney General the right to seek INJUNCTIONS - court orders against persons/group trying to interfere with voting rights of qualified voters.

Violation is a crime and punished by fine or imprisonment

1960 - Provided appointment of FEDERAL REFEREES that oversaw states discriminating

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Civil Rights Act 1964 - outlawed job discrimination, outlawed States to use voter registration requirements in discriminatory manner Injunctions enforced

Voting Rights Act of 1965 - enforce 15th Amendment (applies to all elections FED, STATE, LOCAL) attacking discriminatory practices in South and send federal officials ensure African Americans allowed to vote

Law was good for 5 yrs and Amendments for law extended three times (1970, 1975, 1982) 1982 expires 2007, effective for 25 yearsExpanding coverage to the statesCounties outside the southLanguage minorities 1992; 10,000 or more in community; Spanish, Native American, Asian American, Alaskan Natives more than 5 % = ballot printed in the that language.

Preclearance = voting laws couldn’t be changed by the State unless approved by Dept. of Justice. State would be taken out of the preclearance known as “BAIL OUT” process if showed no discrimination for at least 10 years. Preclearance applied to ALABAMA, GA, LA, MI, SC, VA, NC.

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People who did not vote were called IDIOTS ½ registered voters vote Presidential elections1/3 voters vote off-year electionsMore vote in federal elections vs. state/local elections

BALLOT FATIGUE = farther down the ballot, fewer number of votes placed

OFF YEAR ELECTION = congressional election between presidential elections

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WHY PEOPLE DON’T VOTE

1.CANNOT VOTERSApprox. 20 million Americans cannot vote b/cAliensMentally and physically handicappedprisonersreligious beliefdiscriminatory electoral practices

2.ACTUAL NONVOTERSsatisfied with political system and believe outcome will not affect themdistrust political process and won’t make a differencebad weathertime-zone fallout (returns on East coast affect Presidential election for

the west coast)cumbersome election procedures - keep away from the pollsout of the voting district due to travel

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WHY PEOPLE DON’T VOTE

3.FACTORS AFFECTING TURNOUTVoters - usually higher social class, higher educationNonvoters - under 35, unskilled and single, live in the South, rural areas

People with high sense of POLITICAL EFFICACY are likely to vote no matter what their background . People with LOW POLITICAL EFFICACY lack any sense of their own influence or effectiveness in politics (don’t believe that they or their votes can make a difference)

greater the competition - higher voter turn out

VOTERS usually are:-high levels of income, education, and occupational status-long time residents who are active participants in society-strong sense of party identification-live in areas where laws, customs, and competition between parties promote voter turnout

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Voting Behavior comes from 3 sources:

1. Results of particular election2. Public opinion polls3. Try to understand POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION - process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions AND influences how people see political world and their role in it

SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS - include person’s social characteristics - AGE, RACE, RELIGION, etc.Question: who Dem / Rep?Depends on:family/group affiliationsincomeeducationsex, agereligion/ethnic backgroundgeography

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PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS - includes how voter sees the PARTIES, CANDIDATES, and ISSUES in an ELECTION

Party identification (loyalty to party)Straight ticket votingSplit ticket voting (1960's increased today)

CandidatesIssues

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