Monday, November 7

• Today: Voters and Voter Behavior– Issue – Property Ownership and Voting– Lecture Notes on History of Voting Rights

• Thursday *Quiz on 27 Amendments*• Friday Current Events

Voters and Voter BehaviorChapter 6

The Constitution and the Right To Vote

Section 1

History of Voting Rights

Suffrage = Franchise = the right to vote

Today’s Electorate (potential voting age population) is approx. 231,000,000.

Tuesday, November 9• Today:– Lecture Notes: History of Voting and Voter

Qualifications– Issue of the Day: Should Voting Be Mandatory?

• Wednesday: Veteran Speaker

• TEST on Voter and Voter Behavior: Next Wednesday

• No Amendment Test/ No Current Events

5 Stages of Voting History

1. Individual states begin to end restrictions based on religious affiliation, property ownership, and tax payments.-By 1850, all white adult males can vote

2. 1870, 15th Amendment: right to vote cannot be denied based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

3. 1920, 19th Amendment:RTV cannot be denied based on sex.*Wyoming since 1869

4. A. Voting Rights Act of 1965: provided enforcement to 15th Amendment. Dept. of Justice oversees voting changes. B. 1961, 23rd Amendment:includes voters in D.C. in presidential electorateC. 1964, 24th Amendment: eliminates poll tax

5. 1971, 26th Amendment: 18 years or older can vote

Power to Set Voting Qualifications

• States have the right to set voter qualificationsWith the only restrictions being: 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th,

26th Amendments*

*Voting Rights Act (preclearance)*Hill v. Stone suffrage cannot be denied based

on taxable property owned. (violates 14th amendment)

Voter Qualifications Among States

Section 2

State Qualifications for Voting

1. Citizenship– Aliens generally denied right to vote • (a few states allow non-citizens to vote in local

elections)

– Nothing in Constitution states that aliens cannot vote

State Qualifications for Voting

• Residence– 2 Reasons states adopt residence requirements:• 1. stop political machines from bribing outsiders to affect

local elections• 2. every voter should have time to become familiar

with candidates and issues in an election

Voting Rights Act Amendments no more than 30 days for presidential elections

*Most states require around 30 days for all elections

State Qualifications for Voting

• Most states prohibit transients from voting:– Traveling salespeople, member of armed services,

college students– (some states allow college students)

State Qualifications for voting

• Age– 26th Amendment sets 18 minimum age for voting– In most states, 17 year-olds can cast ballots in

primary elections if their 18th birthday falls before the general election

Thursday, November 11

• Should 16 year olds vote?• Voter Qualifications, Elections

• Test: Thursday Next Week

Other Qualifications

• Registration – a procedure of voter identification– intended to prevent fraudulent voting– Identifies party preferences and, hence, their

ability to take part in closed primaries.

Making Voting Easier• Same-day registration – register and vote in the same day

– N. Dakota – Requires no voter registrations– Wisconsin requires no registration if you live in rural areas

• National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) 1995

• Ohio (and some states) No Excuse Absentee Voting • Some States have early voting, but no absentee ballots.

You can personally vote in places before election day • Access for disabled

• Who May Not Vote: – Those in mental institutions, convicted of serious

crimes, – Some states do not allow those dishonorably

discharged from the armed forces. – Some states do not allow polygamists or the

homeless to vote

Elections in Brief

• Ballot device which a voter registers a choice in an election.

• Primary Elections: a member of a specific political party is selected from a group of other members to run in an election

Elections in Brief

• Closed Primaries limited to registered party members who have declared their party affiliation. – Serves to encourage party unity– Prevent members of another party from voting for

a candidate they don’t support in order to disrupt election results

Elections in Brief

• Open Primaries no party affiliation required to vote in primaries. – You select a party’s ballot, then select party

candidate, regardless of what party you align with.

• Ohio you decide your party by voting in that party’s primary.

Elections in Brief

• Blanket Primary a primary in which a voter can choose from among candidates of both parties in a single election.

• Non-Partisan Election where elections do not indicate party labels on names

*(R) or (D)• Run-Off Elections Top two vote-getters in

primaries in a second election. Regular primaries take on a plurality.

• Non-partisan primary in Louisiana

Voting in Ohio

• Secretary of State oversees elections– 2 republicans and 2 democrats on every county board of

elections in Ohio– Appointed by the SoS based on what local political

parties desire.• *Other states elect board of electors…some go by

municipalities

• Local Boards monitor voter registrations, campaign financing, and petition validity.

Voting in Ohio

• Voting Done By DRE Direct Recording Electronic – touch screen or computer system

• VVPAT – Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail Receipt given to you after you vote to be sure the vote is cast.– Used to back up DRE recorded information in case

of electronic malfunction or voter fraud.

Nonvoting

Questions to Consider:

• What is the scope of the nonvoter problem?• For what reasons do people not vote?

Nonvoting

• Voter Turnout number of people voting as a percentage of those who are registered.– 1960 Nixon-Kennedy 63%– 2008 McCain-Obama 56.8%Voting Age Population in 2008 = 231,229,580Voter Turnout in 2008 = 132,618,580

– Off year elections have less turnout • 2002 37%• 2006 37.1%

Voter Turnout 1824-2008

Reasons for not voting2008 Survey

Reasons for Not Voting

• The winners will make no difference • Current satisfaction with political world• Lack of political efficacy • Apathy• Time-Zone Fallout

Factors Affecting Turnout

• Those Most Likely To Vote:– have higher levels of income– higher education– well integrated into community life– long-time residents– Strong party affiliations– The elderly

Factors Affecting Turnout

• Those Most Likely Not to Vote:– Younger than age 35– Unmarried– Unskilled– Living in Southern States– Living in Rural Areas

Voter Behavior – why do voters choose to vote the way they do?

• How is Voter Behavior Studied?– Election results– survey research – polling of scientifically

determined cross-sections of the population.– Studies in political socialization - process by which

people gain their political attitudes and opinions.

Psychological Factors