AP GovMiller

Political ParticipationUnit II Module 3

ObjectivesBy the end of this module, SWBAT

Describe voter turnout trends in American history

Explain the evolution of suffrage rights in America

Describe how Americans participate in politics besides voting

List recent voting legislation and its effects on contemporary elections

Just the BeginningVoting is substantial method for affecting

political change but it is just one of manyPolitical participation can be classified as

either “active” or “passive”

Ways to Participate

Active Participation Passive Participation Voting Volunteering in elections

(either in a neutral way by working in a polling place or partisan way by helping a campaign)

Discussing politics with other Americans

Contributing money to candidates, parties, or special interest groups

Blogging political views or commenting on political blogs

Assembling and protesting in public for a political cause

Watching politically-themed TV programs

Reading politically-themed periodicals

Visiting politically-themed web sites

Paying labor union dues (which are later used to push the union’s political agenda)

Recent TrendsMore and more Americans have been focusing

exclusively on passive forms of participationPolitical scientists usually correlate lower

voter turnout with a decrease in active participation

Skillful use of technology, however, can reverse these trends Obama’s success reaching voters for

contributions via text message, email Surge of young voters using the Internet to

drive the Sanders campaign

Turn’t OutVoter turnout = percentage of potential

voters who vote in a given electionVoting can be done in person at the polling

placeOR can be done by mail via an absentee

ballotEven those who have not registered can

complete a provisional ballot America currently sits in the middle of the

pack when it comes to develop democracy voter turnout

Turn’t Out Highest turnouts are in European and Asian

democraciesUnitary parliaments = less voter fatigueMany of these nations feature “compulsory

voting” those who are qualified to vote and don’t actually vote face stiff fines

Many of these nations are smaller, more homogenous in population – easier to spread the “get out and vote” message than in US

Turn’t OutMany western hemispheric democracies

tend to have lower voter turnout ratesMost (but not Canada) feature federal

republic governments – more voter fatigueThese nations tend to be poorer than

European, Asian democracies (except US) – why does that matter?

Turn’t OutThe following people are more likely to vote

and actively participate than others (in USA)College gradsMembers of the upper classChurch-goersWomenUnion membersSenior citizensPeople of European ancestry

Turn’t Out

History of SuffrageConstitution was silent on the topic of

voting rights and election protocol reserved to the states via 10th Amendment

State rule at that time gave white, male landowners voting rights

First expanded by Jacksonian Democrats in 1830s who dropped the property restriction so all white males could vote

History of SuffrageNext change didn’t occur until after Civil

War15th Amendment gave newly freed black

slave men the right to vote – so after that all male CITIZENS (those born in USA) had the right to vote

Was all for naught anyway due to terrorism of KKK and apartheid brought on by Jim Crow laws that purposely denied the black vote during the late 19th Century and early 20th Century

History of SuffrageJim Crow’s arsenal

Literacy tests Grandfather clausesPoll taxes

Women gain the right to vote anywhere in the nation after the passage of 19th Amendment in 1920 (they had been voting in territorial elections in the late 1880s)

History of SuffrageNext steps in evolution took place during

Civil Rights Movement in 1960s24th Amendment makes poll taxes

unconstitutional in 1964Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 reinforces

the 15th Amendment Now all adult citizens had the right to vote

… as long as he or she was at least 21 years old …

History of SuffrageVoting age lowered to 18 by the 26th

Amendment in 1971 As of now, any citizen who is 18 years of

age or older is legally permitted to register and vote

There are no fees to pay, aptitude tests to pass, or other obstacles … yet turnout has not risen much at all

Election Day The Constitution states that presidential

elections must take place every four years in November on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of the month

Sounds confusing but it ends up being anywhere from November 2 – November 8

Many people think an election day amendment needs to passed to fix the date

Election DayOld date based on agricultural system, outdated

work structureNew date should encompass more than one day

and should be on the weekend to allow more voters access to the polls

Current system benefits white collar workers with their own mode of transportation – can vote during a work break

Younger, poorer workers either can’t take a break long enough to go and vote or wait in long lines to vote after work and sometimes can’t make it to the polls in time

Election DayAnother possible solution is to make the

absentee voting form simpler – currently younger, poorer voters have a hard time navigating the document

Encouraging off-site voting could be a compromise to save Election Day as we know it

Colorado has already begun experimenting with a new method that allows voters to submit ballots from home (a la absentee ballots) but are counted instantly via computer system (a la polling place ballots)

Turnout History

Turnout HistoryMassive spike of turnout during, shortly

after Jacksonian reformsHighest average turnout during the Gilded

Age, era of political machines Much of political machine activity was

corrupt (story of Poe, slogan of “vote early and vote often”) – ironically Progressive reforms of early 20th Century decrease voting rates

Turnout HistorySince mid-20th Century, rates have

fluctuated greatly A few noteworthy presidents have been

able to attract more voters as a wholeFDREisenhowerKennedyClintonObama

Turnout HistoryAll of these presidents relied on

transformative technologies to engage votersFDR – radio broadcastsEisenhower – first televised campaign adsKennedy – first televised debates and master

of presidential imageClinton – first to reach out to young voters

through cable TV programsObama – master of email, text message

campaigning

How Do We Vote?Ever since Progressive Era, voters must

first register before they can cast ballotsGenerally, liberals would like to make it

easier for individuals to register to vote whereas conservatives would like to make it harder to register

Conservatives aren’t “anti-voting” but most likely a newly registered voter will be a poorer, darker, younger, less educated person from a city and therefore, already leans toward a liberal vote

How Do We Vote?Last major attempt by liberals to expand

the registered voter pool was the “Motor Voter” Act

Requires that all states must offer voter registration forms to all those people who renew driver’s licenses

Original version vetoed by Bush I, signed into law by Clinton

How Do We Vote?Physical polls operate three different types

of ballots according to state preferencePunch card ballots – improperly punched

ballots caused the “hanging chads” fiasco in the election of 2000

Ink card ballots – California uses these, can be confusing and hard to read

Computer touch screen ballots – Easier to use but susceptible to corruption and hacking (Romney family owns a company that produces these machines, for example)

How Do We Vote?Individual states administer elections – led

by the states’ Secretaries of StateAfter the starring role of the state of Florida

in the disputed 2000 Election, Congress worked to unify the administration of elections in all states and passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002

Its purpose is to assist states with the work of elections (ballot distribution, collection, counting, etc.) and restore Americans’ faith in the voting process