POLITICAL PARTICIPATION and VOTING

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POLITICAL PARTICIPATION and VOTING
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Outline of Lecture

• Political Participation
• Who participates, and how?
• Explaining Political Participation
• Why do people participate?
• Voter Turnout

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POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

• What is political participation?
• Forms of Political Participation

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Who participates And how?

• African Americans
• Latinos
• Asian Americans

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Who participates And how?

• Women v. Men
• Religious Associations
• Age

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WHY do people participate in politics generally?
(not just voting!)

• Socioeconomic Status
• Resources
• Civic Engagement
• Recruitment
• Institutional Mechanisms
• Political Mobilization

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No opinion
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Why some people do not vote
No absentee ballot
1
No way to get to polls
3
Out of town
5
New resident
Did not register
6
31
Not a citizen
6
Voting was not convenient
7
7
Were working
10
Did not like candidates
7
8
8
Were ill
Not interested
No reason in particular
Source A November 1984 Gallup poll.
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DECLINING TURNOUT?
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Why has Turnout Declined?

• 1. Parties Activities
• 2. 26th Amendment
• 3. Decline in Social Capital and Efficacy
• How do we measure turnout?

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PRESIDENTIAL TURNOUT
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The Rationality of Voting

• - Change the question from
• Why dont people vote?
• to
• Why DO people vote?

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TURNOUT A RATIONAL MODEL

• The rational calculus of voting
• p UD-R gt (CB CI)

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Main Points from Rational Calculus

• The fundamental assumption, that voters choose to
  vote because they wish to affect the election
  outcome, must be suspect.

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and the socio-psychological response

• Voting is determined by political involvement.

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VOTING BY LEVEL OF INTEREST
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VOTING BY LEVEL OF CONCERN
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VOTING BY POLITICAL EFFICACY
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VOTING BY SENSE OF DUTY
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CONCLUSIONS
SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED ABOUT LOW POLITICAL
PARTICIPATION AND TURNOUT?