copyright atomic dog publishing, 2006 chapter 7 voting and participation lecture 7

Copyright Atomic Dog Publishing, 2006

Chapter 7

Voting and Participation

Lecture 7


Actual voter turnout depends on:

VoterTraits

RegistrationLaws

CampaignContacts


Education is the mostimportant variable

in whether people vote.

Education and Voting


Socio-economic Status

FamilyIncome +

=

Education

Occupational Status


VoterTraits

• Socioeconomic Status

• Race and Ethnicity

• Psychological Characteristics


RegistrationLaws

• Registration and voting laws also affect turnout by changing the costs of voting from state to state.

• The more difficult and time-consuming it is to vote, the less likely people are to do so.


Voter Turnout in the 1990s


61.1

29.9RegisteredWhitesNon-RegisteredWhites

Percentage of SouthernWhites registered

to vote in 1960

Voting Act of 1965


29.1

60.9

RegisteredBlacksNon-RegisteredBlacks

Voting Act of 1965

Percentage of SouthernAfrican-Americans registered

to vote in 1960


• Tests of literacy

• Educational attainment

• Knowledge

• Good moral character

The Voting Act of 1965

Eliminated the following “requirements” for voting. These factors were “interpreted” by Southern registrars to deny Blacks the vote.


Activism can be defined as political activities that go beyond

voting, such as attempting to persuade others, attending rallies, donating money, or

working for a candidate or cause.

7-2 Political Activists


Three Factors Influencing

Voting Behavior

Party Identification

CandidateCharacteristics

Issues


7-3a Party Identification

The psychological feeling of belonging to a particular political party, which

influences voting behavior


7-3b Candidate

Characteristics

The candidate's character, personality, experiences, past record,

and physical appearance


Retrospective

Issue Voting

Prospective

Issue Voting

Easy Issues

Hard Issues

7-3c Issues


RetrospectiveIssueVoting

Deciding how to vote on the basis of

past policy outcomes

ProspectiveIssueVoting

Deciding how to vote on the basis of a candidate's likely

future policies and campaign promises


Easy issues that allow voters to make quick, emotional decisions

without much information

Easy Issues

Deciding how to vote on the basis of a

candidate's likely future policies

Hard Issues


Why Many Americans Do Not Vote• Lack of education and information

• Lack of personal efficacy

• Complex registration rules

• Frequent movers must re-register

• Felon disenfranchisement laws in many states

• No personal contact by party officials or interest groups (churches, labor unions)

• Skepticism about politics, government officials

• See no differences between parties or candidates


Why Many Young Americans Do Not Vote

• Weak party identification

• Rely on TV: little knowledge of candidates or issues

• Frequent movers; must re-register

• Transients, renters; little stake in state/local issues

• Many young minority males have prison records

• Parties and candidates appeal to older voters


Hudson: Trivialized Elections

Hudson argues that US elections fail to meet three essential criteria for true democracy:

1. Equal representation

2. Opportunity for policy deliberation

3. Election outcomes should control what government does


Unequal Representation

• Equal voting rights are not sufficient in a representative democracy

• Political parties are required to provide choices and channel votes into policy influence

• US parties have been weakened by “reforms” – primaries, end of patronage, state regulations

• Thus candidates self-select and parties have little influence over their policy choices


Problems with Candidate-Centered Campaigns

• Emphasis on fundraising, personal wealth, PACs

• “Hidden election” by wealthy donors actually selects the candidate long before the primaries

• No commitment to a party platform or policy record

• Emphasis on marketing techniques, image, NOT policy or voters’ concerns

• Once elected, candidates have weak ties to party


Problems with Media Coverage

• Focus on the “horse race” not issues

• Declining coverage of policy substance; shorter sound bites

• Coverage of jokes, mishaps, sensation, scandals

• Negative campaigning/attack ads work best to gain voter and media attention

• Campaigns as spectacles or entertainment, NOT opportunity for deliberation


Hudson: Elections Do Not Control Policy

• No one can draw policy conclusions from trivialized elections

• Nonelected institutions make policy:

The Federal Reserve Board

The Supreme Court

Interest-group influence over the bureaucracy

• Without party support, candidates cannot carry out their promises

Clinton and health care

Bush and Social Security privatization

copyright atomic dog publishing, 2006 chapter 7 voting and participation lecture 7

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