US GovernmentMrs. Lacks

Voter Turnout

Qualifications (set by states)•C

itizenship: must be a US citizen•R

esidency: must vote where you live (or where you are specifically registered)

•Age: must be at least 18

•Registration: • must have formally applied/registered to vote• All states except North Dakota (only need to be a resident of

the precinct in which you’re voting for 30 days)

Changing in Voting Eligibility•1

870: 15th Amendment (African American men)•1

920: 19th Amendment (Women)•1

924: Native Americans get citizenship and voting rights•1

961: 23rd Amendment (DC residents can vote in federal elections)•1

964: 24th Amendment (prohibits poll taxes in federal elections)•1

965: Voting Rights Act (removes anything that might restrict African Americans from voting)

•1971: 26th Amendment (changes voting age from 21 to 18)

Voter Registration•D

esigned to reduce voter fraud•A

lso seen as discouraging•M

otor Voter (1993)– register at DMV when you renew your driver’s license

Absentee & Early Voting•A

bsentee voting• if you’re going to be out of your district on Election Day, you

can mail in your vote• Has to be post marked no later than Election Day• Used since the Civil War• 2004: more than 1 in 5 voters voted absentee

•Early Voting• 2008: 31 states allowed early voting• 2012: all states allow early voting; how early depends on the

state • http://www.270towin.com/early-voting-2012-election/

Precedent 2012•N

Y Governor Andrew Cuomo (Dem) signed an Executive Order on November 5th allowing voters in NY to vote at any polling place by signing an affidavit saying that they’re registered

Voter Turnout•T

he proportion of the voting age population (VAP) that votes in a given election• Declined significantly since 1960• Oddly enough, parallels rising levels of education

Year Voting Age Population Registration Turnout % T/O of VAP

1996 196,511,000 146,211,960 96,456,345 49.08%

1994 193,650,000 130,292,822 75,105,860 38.78%

1992 189,529,000 133,821,178 104,405,155 55.09%

1990 185,812,000 121,105,630 67,859,189 36.52%

1988 182,778,000 126,379,628 91,594,693 50.11%

1986 178,566,000 118,399,984 64,991,128 36.40%

1984 174,466,000 124,150,614 92,652,680 53.11%

1982 169,938,000 110,671,225 67,615,576 39.79%

1980 164,597,000 113,043,734 86,515,221 52.56%

1978 158,373,000 103,291,265 58,917,938 37.21%

1976 152,309,190 105,037,986 81,555,789 53.55%

1974 146,336,000 96,199,020* 55,943,834 38.23%

1972 140,776,000 97,328,541 77,718,554 55.21%

1970 124,498,000 82,496,747# 58,014,338 46.60%

1968 120,328,186 81,658,180 73,211,875 60.84%

1966 116,132,000 76,288,283^ 56,188,046 48.39%

1964 114,090,000 73,715,818 70,644,592 61.92%

1962 112,423,000 65,393,751+ 53,141,227 47.27%

1960 109,159,000 64,833,096x 68,838,204 63.06%

Reasons for low voter turnout in US•I

nstitutional (political) barriers • Registration

• Long Ballot

• Type of Election

• Higher in general elections than primaries• Higher in presidential elections than midterms• Higher in federal elections than state elections• Higher in state elections than local elections

• Absentee Ballot

• Young people

•4 Political Reasons: efficacy, candidates, no competition, mobilization efforts

Who votes in US?•A

ctivists (elites): people who participate in all forms of politics•Educated•White•Older•Wealthy

Factors affecting voter behavior1.G

eography2.S

trong Presidential candidates (coattail effect); Candidate Appeal

3.Timing (realignment, midterms)

4.Party Affiliation (strongest)

5.Demographics1. Sex2. Race3. Social class4. Religion

6.Issues (Retrospective - are you better off today than you were four years ago vs. Prospective- looking ahead at how a candidate will handle something)

Voter Turnout in Industrialized Democracies

•Much higher than US voter turnout•Automatic voter registration•Multi-party systems•Penalties for not voting

RED: Compulsory voting, enforced.DARK PINK: Compulsory voting, not enforced.ORANGE: Compulsory voting, enforced (only men).LIGHT PINK: Compulsory voting, not enforced (only men).YELLOW: Historical: the country had compulsory voting in the past

Compulsory Voting (fines, service, imprisonment)

Participation•V

oting is not the only way to participate in politics• joining civic associations• supporting social movements• writing to legislators• fighting city hall