•An important right of American citizenship•A responsibility of citizenship

“Let us never forget that government is ourselves. The ultimate rulers of our

democracy….are the voters of this country.” FDR

Who can Vote?

Voting RightsPrior to 1870, only white male property owners,

typically over the age of 21 were allowed to vote1870-15th amendment- no state may take away a

person’s voting rights on the basis of race, color, or previous enslavement- allowed all males (with the exception of Native Americans) the right to vote

1920- 19th amendment- women allowed to vote (with the exception of Native Americans)

1924- Congress recognizes the Native American as citizens

1971- 26th amendment- set a universal voting age at 18 for all states

Qualifying to vote in LouisianaA citizen of the United StatesAt least 18 years of ageA resident of the state you are registering in

Have not been deemed mentally incompetent by the courts

Not be under the order of imprisonment for the conviction of a felony (in jail, prison, probation, or parole)

Voter Registration in LouisianaOne must register at least 30 days prior to

the election in order to vote in that electionMay register online, by mailing the voter

registration application, when obtaining your driver’s license at the DMV (due to the National Voter Registration Act in 1995), or at the parish register of voter’s office (located in Covington in the Judicial Complex)

When registering for the first time, you must have your driver’s license number or your social security number

Steps in VotingOn election day, voters go to the polling

place in their precinct (usually set up in town halls, schools, fire stations, community centers, and other public buildings)

Polling places are open in LA from 6 am to 8 pm

In order to vote, identification with a signature on it must be presented (driver’s license, state issued id, etc.)

Upon arriving, you can study a sample ballot that has been hung on the entrance wall

Upon entering, you will go to the clerk’s table for your ward, present your ID, and the clerk will read your name aloud while 2 other people, called challengers, record your name in the voter’s journals, then you will sign your name on the register

You will then be lead to a polling booth by a judge where you will cast your vote (judges watch over the operation of the booth, make sure that everyone can vote in secret, helps voters who are elderly, disabled, or whom cannot read)

Voting on a straight ticket means that you have voted for all the candidates of one political party; whereas, if you choose candidates from both parties, this is called a split ticket

Absentee VotingAvailable for citizens who cannot get to the polls on election day (those who will be out of town, who are too sick to go to the polls, or who are in the military)

In LA, anyone can vote early for any reason

In LA, one can vote from 14 to 7 days prior to the election at the Register of Voters office or other designated location

Counting the VoteWhen the polls close, election workers count the votes at

the polling place and take the returns (results) to the election board, who then tallies for the entire parish and reports the returns to the state canvassing authority (in LA, the Secretary of State’s office) who will certify the election of the winner

Exit polls may be conducted by the media and party workers by asking samples of voters leaving how they voted to predict winners as soon as possible

-the media will then “call” the election based on computerized predictions based on past voting history

-often criticized because (1) millions of Americans in the Western time zones have not cast their votes when the Eastern time zones are being called in Presidential elections sometimes causing western Americans not bothering to vote, (2) which can also affect state and local races, and (3) decreases voter turnout overall