Unit III: Elections, Campaigns, The News Media Ch. 9 (new book): Elections

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Unit III Elections, Campaigns, The News
MediaCh. 9 (new book) Elections
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Objectives

• Demonstrate an understanding of the electoral
  process in the United States, and explain how it
  relates to democratic theory.
• Discuss the factors that influence voter turnout
  in the United States, and compare American voter
  turnout to that of other nations.
• Describe historical restrictions on the vote in
  the United States, and explain how these
  restrictions have been ended.
• Describe the types of elections held in the
  United States, and explain constitutional reasons
  for so many elections.
• Discuss the impact of the mechanics and
  technology of voting on voter turnout, vote
  fraud, and the ability of citizens to trust the
  process.

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VOTER TURNOUT

• Voter Turnout
• State elections when Prez election held
• Local elections
• Lower
• Weird?

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Effect of Low Voter Turnout 2 schools of thought
2. Satisfaction with status quo a. Republican
Democracy still works with small s

• Threat to Republican Democratic System
• Too few w. power
• Cynicism
• Complicated issues/ indifference
• Negative view

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IS VOTER TURNOUT DECLINING?

• Problem eligible to vote v. voting age
• Ex 2008
• 225.5 million
• 206 million
• ? Voter turnout has declined bc of increasing
  size of ineligible popimmigrants

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Who Does Vote in America?

• People with a high sense of political efficacy
  vote!
• What factors influence who votes?
• Age
• Education
• Race
• Gender
• Socio-economic status

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Age and the Vote in America
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Education and the Vote in America
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Race and the Vote in America
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Gender and the Vote in America
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Income Level the Vote
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Your Turn

• Is there any connection between the region of the
  country you live in and whether you will turnout
  to vote?
• Why do some states have higher voter turnout
  rates than others?
• Does where you are employed have any effect on
  voter turnout rates?

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WHY PEOPLE DONT VOTE

• Uninformative Media
• Horse race
• Negative campaigning
• All ugly
• The Rational Ignorance Effect an effect produced
  when people purposely and rationally decide not
  to become informed on an issue because they
  believe their vote on the issue is not likely to
  be a deciding one

All the polls, the spin, the attack ads, the
money and the negative news have soured Americans
on the way we choose our president
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Why do Americans vote on Tuesdays?
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VOTER REGISTRATION

• Another reason people dont vote
• claim its a hardship to register
• Purpose of voter registration
• to disenfranchise immigrants
• to prevent corruption associated with stuffing
  ballot boxes
• STATES set registration procedures
• FL can vote if registered 29 days before the
  election
• Motor Voter Acts of 1993/6 allow voters to
  register when getting drivers licenses
• Registration increased turnout did NOT

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PLANS FOR IMPROVING VOTER TURNOUT

• Mail-in voting (Oregon)
• Easier access to registration
• ? Turnout still low

Visit polls up to 3 weeks in advance
Absentee ballotno reason
Vote on Sunday?
National holiday?
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Review Time!

• Find a partner and brainstorm in bulleted lists
  how you would respond to the following prompt
• In the United States political system, there are
  several linkage institutions that can connect
  citizens to government. Elections constitute one
  such institution. Because of low voter turnout,
  elections represent an imperfect method of
  linking citizens to their government. Even when
  there is low voter turnout, however, other
  linkage institutions can connect citizens to
  government.
• Describe how each of the following is related to
  the likelihood of voting age, education
• Identify one current government electoral
  requirement that decreases voter turnout. Explain
  how it decreases voter turnout.
• Identify one linkage institution other than
  elections and explain two ways it connects
  citizens to government.

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LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON VOTING
In most American colonies, only white males who
owned property with a certain minimum value were
eligible to vote.
Here is a man who today owns a jackassToday the
man is a voterTomorrow the jackass dies. The
next day the mancannot vote at allwhich was the
voter, the man or the jackass?
South Carolina delegate to Constitutional
Convention theoretical nonsense to extend vote
to all citizens
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HISTORICAL EXTENSIONS
The writers of the Constitution allowed states to
decide who should vote.

• 1850
• NC 1856

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FURTHER EXTENSIONS
? However by the end of the century the rights of
African Americans all but rolled back
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IS THE FRANCHISE STILL TOO RESTRICTIVE?

• Ineligible to vote Prisoners, Election law
  violators, mentally incompetent (some states), 17
  and under, noncitizens, and convicted felons

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IS THE FRANCHISE STILL TOO RESTRICTIVE? (cont)
Convicted Felons Most democracies do not prevent
person convicted of a crime from voting after
they have completed sentence
It is wrong to penalize those that have paid
their debt to society Further it injures
minorities bc they make up a disproportionately
large share
Voting a privilege (not a right) We should
keep the types of ppl who commit felonies from
voting
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THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT