Political+Participation

 Political Participation 



Why do people vote or not vote? A large percentage of minorities who voted in the 2004 elections tended:


 * to have some college degree or higher
 * to have an income level greater than $50,000
 * to be a Government Worker
 * to own a house
 * to have Rented a house for a few years
 * to live in a no cash rental unit more than a year
 * to be a Veteran
 * to be 45 years and older
 * to be a Naturalized Citizen

http://ethnictrends.blogspot.com/2005/08/latest-minority-voting-patterns-2004.html

 Education impacts voting



 Age, gender, and ethnicity also impact political participation





http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Politics/PrcntByAge.gif

Important Vocabulary to Remember! **Voting age population**- American citizens, who once reach the minimum age requirement, are able to vote. Voting specialists- Older then average person and only vote.
 * Registered voters**- Citizens, after completing the registration requirements, are allowed to vote.
 * Literacy test**- A test that citizens must pass in order to vote.
 * Poll tax**- citizens pay a required tax so they can register to vote.
 * Grandfather clause**- Allows people to vote if their ancestors voted before 1867, applies to people who do not meed the registration requirements. This clause is located in the Registration Laws.
 * White primary**- used registration requirements and intimidation in southern primaries to prevent blacks from voting.
 * Australian ballot**- Reduced voting fraud and was adopted by many states around 1890. It was made to be casted in secret and included uniform dimensions.
 * Activists**- Middle-aged citizens who participate in different forms of politics. They are also usually rich, and highly educated.
 * Inactives**- 22% of American citizens. Do not get involved in politics and tend to be poor, uneducated young people.
 * Campaigners**- They identify with their respected parties and usually participate in voting and campaigns. Large interest in conflicts, passions, and struggles of politics.
 * Communalists**- Similar to campaigners but dislike tension and conflict in campaigns. Most energy placed toward community activities.
 * Parochial participants**- Non-voters who contact officials about personal political issues.

Key Concepts to Remember! - The real reason why it seems voter turnout seems so bad in the U.S. is because there is a relatively low percentage of adults registered to vote in the U.S. of those who are registered the overwhelming majority votes. There is a //cost// to voting in the U.S.. Voters must register on their own time, fill out forms, and re-register if they move to a new state. In many other countries voting is costless; all the people have to do is show up on Election Day and vote. One way the U.S has tried to make voting less costly is the //motor voter registration law//, this allowed people to register to vote while getting their drivers license. But voting is not the only way to participate in politics. Actions such as joining civic associations, supporting social movements, and writing to legislatures are all ways to participate in politics. - There are six forms of participation. One fifth of the population is totally //inactive//. One ninth of the population are considered //activists// these are highly educated people with high incomes, and tend to be middle aged rather than young or old. There also are people who are considered //voting specialists//, these are people who vote but do little else. They tend to have little income as well as schooling, and also tend to be older. //Campaigners// not only vote but also get involved in campaign activities. They tend to be better educated, they also are interested in the conflicts, passions, and struggle of politics, they clearly identify with a political party, and are willing to take a strong position//. Communalists// have a very similar social background to the Campaigners, but do not like the conflict and tension of partisan campaigns; they tend to reserve their energy for community activities of a more nonpartisan nature. They form and join organizations that deal with local problems and contact local officials about those problems. Finally there are the //Parochial Participants// they do not vote and stay out of election campaigns and civic associations, but are willing to contact local official about specific and often personal problems. - Men and Women vote at a very close rate, but blacks and whites do not. At one time that difference was a result of discrimination, now it can be explained by differences in social class. Blacks are usually poorer and have less schooling than whites. But among people who have roughly the same amount of income and schooling blacks tend to vote more than whites. - Political parties are no longer as effective as they once were at mobilizing voters. Parties were once organizations with which people identified. Now parties are distant bureaucracies that many people do not identify with very strongly. - Initially states were left entirely in control of who could vote and for what offices. Constitution gave congress the right to pick the day that electors would gather and alter state regulations regarding the congressional elections. The only thing in the constitution requiring a popular election was that in Article I of the constitution it said that the House of Representatives would be chosen by the people of the several states. Because of this vagueness early federal elections varied greatly. For example presidential electors were first picked by state legislatures rather than by the voters directly. Congress through law and amendment to the Constitution has greatly reduced the freedom of the states regarding these matters. The most important changes were those that extended suffrage to women, African Americans, and eight-teen year olds. As well as the mandatory direct popular election of those running for senate and the House of Representatives. It was the 15 amendment that said the “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race.” - Even though black people were technically allowed to vote in the 1870’s though it took much longer for black people to finally vote unrestricted. Some of the ways white southern people continued to disallow black people to vote was through literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses. When these measures failed blacks were intimidated, threatened, or harassed if they were bold enough to show up at the polls. Finally in 1915 these previously stated measures were declared unconstitutional and the all white primary fell in 1944. Yet still only a small proportion of voting age blacks were able to register and vote in the south. A dramatic change did occur in 1965 when the Voting Rights act was passed. Though this had no dramatic effect on the outcome of elections. - Women on the other hand were kept from voting more from law than intimidation. When the laws were eventually changed they began almost immediately to vote in large numbers. Though this did not dramatically affect the elections. - The political impact of the youth vote was also less than expected. The voting rights act of 1970 gave 18 year olds the right to vote. Though with this act about 25 million people became eligible to vote their turnout was lower than the population as a whole and did not flock to any particular party or candidate. Though recently the voter turnouts for 18-24 year olds has been between 30 and 38 percent rates of participation in civic activities such as community service have hit all time highs.

