The document summarizes the expansion of suffrage and voting rights in the United States over time. It discusses how voting was initially only granted to white male property owners but has expanded to include all races, both sexes above age 18. The document also outlines the various stages of this expansion, from eliminating property and religious requirements to amendments granting women and younger adults the right to vote. Finally, it discusses current issues around voter registration, identification laws, and factors that influence voter behavior.

1. CHAPTER 6
Voters & Voter Behavior

2. PP. 152-155
Chapter 6.1: The Right to Vote

3. Expansion of the Electorate
At first suffrage was only granted to white male
property owners
 1 in 15 adult white males
Today the electorate is 230 million +
 Restrictions have been taken away & federal government has
taken control of suffrage laws

4. Extending the Suffrage
Stage 1=States eliminated religious requirements &
property-owning requirements
Stage 2=15th
Amendment (1870) allowed African
American males to vote
 Still difficult for many blacks to vote for various reasons—poll
taxes, literacy tests, violence
Stage 3=19th
Amendment (1920) allowed women to
vote nationally

7. Extending the Suffrage
Stage 4=Civil rights movement, 1960s
 Civil rights acts
 Voting Rights Act of 1965
 23rd
Amendment (1961) allowed voters of Washington, DC to
vote in presidential elections
 24th
Amendment (1964) eliminated poll taxes

10. Extending the Suffrage
Stage 5=26th
Amendment (1971), no state can set the
minimum age for voting at more than 18 years
Vietnam War era

13. The Powers to Set Voting Qualifications
Constitution does not give the federal government
power to set voting qualifications
Constitution does set 5 restrictions
 1. If allowed to vote in state elections, you can vote in national
elections as well
 2. Cannot be denied vote based on race or color
 3. Cannot be denied vote based on gender
 4. No state cannot require a payment of a tax in order to vote
 5. No state can deny a person the age of 18 or older the right to
vote

14. What’s Next?
Should 16-year-olds be allowed to vote?
 http://prospect.org/article/making-sweet-sixteen-even-
sweeter

15. PP. 156-163
Chapter 6.2:
Voter Qualifications

16. Universal Requirements
1. Citizenship—foreign-born resident who are not yet
citizens are denied the right to vote
2. Residence—one must be a legal resident of the
state in which he/she wishes to cast a ballot
 Various lengths of residency, some states require 30 days,
some less, some none at all
 Nearly every state prohibits transients from voting
3. Age—no state can set the minimum age for voting
in any election at more than 18
 18-20 y.o.’s historically have low voter turnout

17. Registration
Process of voter identification, meant to prevent
fraudulent voting
Gives election officials a list of qualified voters
Also used to identify voters with a party & provide
eligibility to take part in closed primaries

18. Registration
Requirements:
 Typically a voter must provide: name, age, place or birth,
present address, length of residence
 Logged by a local official
 Registered until he/she moves, dies, convicted of a felony,
moved to a mental institution
 Purging of voter lists done every 2-4 years

19. Registration
Controversies:
 Some argue that registration requirements should be dropped;
argue that it hurts voter turnout
 Others argue that it prevents fraud
 Where is the line where it is so easy to vote that fraud is
encouraged, and it is so difficult that legitimate voting is
discouraged?
 The U.S. is the only democratic country in which each person
decides whether or not to vote
 “Motor Voter Act” effective in 1995
 Citizens can register to vote when renewing a driver’s license

20. Registration
Voter ID laws
 Require people to prove identity when registering to vote
 Usually sponsored by Republican-controlled states
 Intended to prevent fraud, but opponents say they are
designed to prevent certain groups from voting
 Elderly, disabled, poor, & minority groups
What about voter ID laws?
 Fair or unfair?
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-
fix/wp/2013/03/26/the-countrys-voter-id-laws-in-1-map/

21. Literacy Tests
Today no state has voter qualifications based on
literacy
Aimed at limiting certain groups from voting:
 Irish Americans, African Americans
Grandfather clauses
SC banned literacy tests as voter requirement in
1970
 Oregon v. Mitchell
*See “Can You Answer These?” on p. 162*

22. Tax Payments
Property ownership was once a common voter
requirement
Some state required voters to pay a special tax or a
poll tax
 Still in use in AL, MS, TX, & VA in 1966 despite the 24th
Amendment
Taxing requirements are now gone

23. Persons Denied the Vote
People in mental institutions and/or people who are
found to be mentally incompetent
People convicted of serious crimes
 In many states convicted felons can regain the right to vote
Some states do not allow people dishonorably
discharged from the military to vote

24. PP. 164-168
Chapter 6.3:
Suffrage & Civil Rights

25. Terms to Know
15th
Amendment
Gerrymandering
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
*See timeline on pp. 166-167*

26. PP. 170-178
Chapter 6.4:
Voter Behavior

27. Nonvoting
Only 61% of eligible voters voted in 2008 election;
roughly 57% in 2012
Typically rates are much lower in off-year elections
“Nonvoting voters”
 For example: vote for president, but not for members of
Congress
“Ballot fatigue,” voters exhaust patience/knowledge
as they work down the ballot

28. Why People Do Not Vote
“Cannot voters”—resident aliens, ill/physically
disabled, traveling suddenly/unexpectedly, mentally
disabled, prisoners

29. Why People Do Not Vote
Actual Nonvoters—Many are convinced their vote
makes no difference
 Many in this group lack political efficacy
 Political efficacy—one’s own influence or effectiveness on politics
 Cumbersome procedures, long lines, bad weather, etc.
 “Time-zone fallout”—discourages voting on West Coast
 Lack of interest, indifference

30. Voters Nonvoters
High income
Educated
Long-time residents
Sense of party
identification
Area where there is
competition between
parties
Younger
Less education
Lower pay
Rural locales
Men, more so than
women
Voters vs. Nonvoters

32. Voting Behavior
What we know about voter behavior comes from 3
sources:
1. Results of previous elections
2. The field of survey research
 Gallup Organization & Pew Research
3. Political Socialization
 The process by which people gain their political attitudes &
opinions

33. Voting Behavior
Sociological factors that influence voters:
1. Income & occupation
 Lower=Democrat
 Higher=Republican
 Professionals w/ higher incomes tend to vote for GOP
candidates
 Manual laborers tend to vote for Democrats

34. Voting Behavior
Education
 College graduates vote for Republicans in higher percentages
than high school grads
Gender
 Women tend to favor Democrats—5-10%
 Men often give GOP same edge
 “Gender gap”
 Topics men & women tend to vote differently on:
 Abortion, health care, social welfare programs, military
involvement

35. Voting Behavior
Age
 Younger voters prefer Democrats
 Older voters prefer Republicans
 In ‘08 Obama won 66% of the 30 & under vote
Religion
 Protestants prefer the GOP
 Catholics & Jews vote for Democrats
 ‘08 election supported these trends
 55% of voters that went to church once/week voted for McCain in
‘08

36. Voting Behavior
Race/Ethnicity
 African Americans tend to vote for Democrats
 Had voted for Republicans from 1860s to 1930s
 Why the shift?
 Latinos typically favor Democrats

37. Voting Behavior
Geography
 Post-Civil War the South had voted for Democrats
 Now the South is controlled by the GOP
 States that have most consistently been Republican:
 Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming
 ‘64 was the last time AK, ID, KS, NE, ND, OK, SD, UT, WY voted
for a Democratic presidential candidate (LBJ)
 Democrats have controlled New England over past two decades
 Voters in small cities & rural areas tend to vote Republican
 Urban residents prefer Democrats

38. Presidential Elections—1980-2012
What trends do you see?
Which states always vote the same?
Which states tend to go back & forth?
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showelection.php?
year=1980

39. Voter Behavior
Family/Groups
 Typically 9 out of 10 married couples have the same political
leanings
 As many as 2 out of 3 voters follow the political attachments of
their parents
 A person’s group associations reinforce the opinions he/she
already has

40. Voting Behavior
Psychological Factors (perception of politics):
Party Identification
 Some times little or no regard to issues or candidates
 Single-most significant & lasting indicator of voter behavior
 Straight-ticket voting
 Split-ticket voting his been on the rise since the ‘60s
 Today there are large number of people who call themselves
“independents”
 1/3 to ¼ of all voters
 Important in close elections
 Typical independent today=young, above average education,
above average income

41. Voting Behavior
Psychological Factors:
Candidates & Issues
 Personality, character, appearance, style past record, ability
 Important issues recent elections: recession, Iraq &
Afghanistan Wars, immigration, health care