Chapter 7- Voting and
Participation – Learning Objectives:
(1). Examine who votes
and the effect of individual voting characteristics.
(2). Describe socioeconomic, demographic
and psychological
effects on voter turnout.
(3). Discuss the effects of
registration laws and campaign contacts.
(4). Outline key
historical efforts of Americans to secure the right to vote, including:
the 15th,
19th, & 26th Amendments, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
(5). Define political
efficacy, analyze
the decline in voter turnout, and assess its impact.
(6). Examine who
becomes a political activists, and describe the various types.
(7). Examine how
voters make choices, the influence of party identification and
candidate characteristics, and how
voters choose based on the issues.
(8). Contrast retrospective and
prospective issue voting, and the role of economics.
(9). Discuss how the
relative influences and importance of party
identification,
candidate characteristics, and issues
change over time.
(10). Analyze the
influence of social groups on voting
behavior; examine the gender gap.
v Who
Votes: The central activity of Democracy:
Ø 7-1a The
Effect of Individual Voter
Characteristics:
§ Voter
turnout – who actually votes (Table 7-1)
§ Socioeconomic characteristics
· Education
· Income
· Occupation
§ Demographic characteristics
· Race,
ethnicity, age, & gender
§ Psychological characteristics
· Strength
of Party
Identification
· Political
efficacy
· Group
consciousness
· Interest
& trust in Government & awareness
§ So who’s more likely to vote?
Ø 7-1b The
Effect of Registration Laws:
§ Impact on voter turnout => compared in Figure 7-1
· 2 Rules
affecting other industrial
democracies:
¨ automatic
voter registration
¨ compulsory
voting
§ Rules inhibiting voter turnout in US
· Closing
date (30 day deadline to register)
· Region
with most stringent registration laws?
¨ Post-Civil War legacy: poll taxes &
literacy test
¨ 24th
Amendment affect on above?
¨ Old
habits change slowly=> stricter registration rules
§ Congress eases rules nationally:
· National Voter Registration Act of 1993
¨ Also
called?
¨ Impact? (+ 9%) =>
marginal effects do count –
Ø 2000 Election prime example
Ø 7-1c The
Effect of Campaign Contacts:
§ Who is
normally contacted & why? (Figure
7-2)
§ Who
does the contacting? (Parties &
Interest Groups)
§ Methods used to contact => mobilize
supporters to vote:
· Mass mail campaigns
· Telephone banks (“Hello, this is Barbara
Bush…”)
· Personal contact (“Do you need a ride to
the polls?”)
§ New voting
trend in Northwest? => any potential effect?
Ø 7-1d The
Puzzling Decline of Voter Turnout
(Figure 7-3):
§ Two competing
explanations
for decline:
· 1. Democratic Party shift to favor $$$ interest
& impact
· 2. Changes in Voting laws:
¨ Australian Ballot
¨ Requirements to register in order to vote
¨ 19th
Amendment
· Which
argument is more convincing & why?
§ Post-1960s analysis & debate:
· Survey
data indicated => measurable decline in:
¨ party
ID, political efficacy, & newspaper
readers
· Decline
in average age of eligible voters
¨ (26th
Amendment) => impact? (population pool)
§ Also: decline in efforts to recruit campaign volunteers
· Increased
reliance on TV ads & direct mail campaigns
· Door to door campaigning
considered too old fashion?
· Impact
at the polls?
Ø 7-1e Does
Turnout Matter? (Impact of the
rules?)
§ Which Party benefits or
losses? Conventional wisdom?
· High socioeconomic voters’ turnout & preferences
vs.
¨ Historical
turnout & preferences of the poor?
· Exceptions?
Role of cross
cutting cleavages?
§ Impact
of turnout increase from 50-55% => 80-90%?
v Political Participation – The Activists:
Ø Various
ways to participate in politics (Figure
7-4)
§ Most
likely way? Least?
Ø 7-2a Who Becomes an Activist – 3 major factors?
§ 1. Resources: time, $$$, & civic skills
§ 2. Psychological engagement:
· political
efficacy & commitment to issue or group
§ 3. Participating member of organization
(opportunity)
Ø Activist
influence on political agenda? Why?
§ Activities:
staff campaign, register voters, support
election
§ Any correlations evident? Any exceptions?
v How Voters Make Choices:
Ø 7-3a Party Identification (Table 7-2):
§ Psychological
attachment to party => political behavior
§ Influence of Party ID on voting behavior? (Table
7-3)
§ Role played by Party ID:
· Perceptual screen? (Figure 7-5)
· Influences
positions taken by voters on complex issues
· Aid for
deciding which issue or candidate to support
Ø 7-3b Candidate Characteristics
§ personality, experiences, political record,
& appearance
§ Influences:
obvious & subtle prejudices &
preferences
Ø 7-3c Issues –
most important but least influential?
§ Retrospective
issue voting?
· “It’s the economy stupid”?
· Impact
of sociotropic
voters?
§ Prospective
issue voting?
· 3
conditions required (1950’s study):
¨ 1. issue awareness & an opinion on it
¨ 2. knowledge of government’s actions
¨ 3. see the different positions of the candidates
· Recent
Criteria (Seven-point scale – Figure 7-6)
¨ Voter
can place him/herself on the scale
¨ Voter
can place both candidates on scale
¨ Voter
sees difference between candidates
¨ Places Democratic
party to left of GOP candidate
· Results?
Voter’s knowledge (see Table 7-4))
§ Easy
issues vs. hard issues =>
· Candidate
& Party/Interest Group’s conclusion?
¨ Go easy early w/bumper sticker emotional appeal
Ø 7-3d Changes Over Time – factors affecting voter
decisions:
§ Dramatic events (war
& $$$ recessions) => focus on issue
§ Influence
of candidates & new media priorities => impact?
Ø 7-3e Social Groups - influence on voters’ choices in 2000:
§ See Table 7-5
breakdown:
· Family income & Education
· Race/Ethnicity & Religion
· Gender
¨ Note
growing gender gap
· Married couples
· Ideology
Ø Correlations & general conclusions?
v Chapter 7 KEY
TERMS
Ø
Australian ballot: A government-printed
ballot (as opposed to one distributed by political parties) that allows people
to vote in secret.
Ø
Candidate
characteristics:
The candidate’s character, personality, experiences, past record, and physical
appearance.
Ø Closing date: The last day before the election when one can
register in order to vote—usually described in number of days before Election
Day.
Ø Easy issues: Simple issues that allow voters to make quick,
emotional decisions without much information.
Ø Franchise: The right to vote.
Ø Gender gap: The difference between men’s and women’s voting
rates for either a Democratic or Republican candidate.
Ø Group consciousness: Identification with one’s social group (for
instance, black consciousness).
Ø Hard issues: Complicated issues that require voters to have
information about the policy
Ø and to spend time
considering their choices.
Ø Literacy test: A test of ability to read and write, used in
the South to prevent people from voting.
Ø Party identification: The psychological feeling of belonging to a
particular political party, which influences voting behavior.
Ø Poll tax: Before 1964, the tax that people paid in some
states if they chose to vote.
Ø Prospective issue voting: Deciding how to vote on the basis of a
candidate’s likely policies.
Ø Retrospective issue voting: Deciding how to vote on
the basis of past policy outcomes.
Ø Sociotropic voters: People who vote on the basis of their community’s
economic interests, rather than their personal economic interests.
Ø Voter turnout: The percentage of people who actually vote.