Voting and Voter Behavior

1. VOTING AND
VOTER BEHAVIOR
A P U N I T 2 ( C O N T I N U E D )

4. VOTING TERMS
• suffrage - the legal right to vote (now extended
to all U.S. citizens 18 years or older)
• electorate - the population of people who are
eligible to vote in a given election
• nonvoter - a person who is eligible to vote but
chooses not to
• “cannot” voter - a person who cannot vote
given their circumstances (felon, under 18, non-
citizen, in prison, institutionalized, hospitalized,
etc.)

5. VOTING IS THE MOST POPULAR FORM
OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION AND
INFORMED VOTING IS THE MOST
BECAUSE VOTING MATTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6. REQUIREMENTS TO VOTE
•U.S. citizen
•18 years of age
•Registered in the county you live in
•Vote where you’re registered

7. REGISTERING TO VOTE
• Must register to vote and be put on the
electoral roll in order to vote
• Some states allow voters to register on
Election Day, others a period before
• Motor Voter Act (1993) – made voter
registration easier by allowing people to
register to vote when they apply for or
renew their driver’s license

9. VOTING FACTORS AND
TRENDS
1.) Gender: women tend to vote more than
men
-trend: women vote Dem., men vote GOP
(*aka the gender gap*)
2.) Age: the older an individual, the more likely
they are to vote (young people 18-29 are
lowest voting group)
-trend: younger votes Dem., older vote
GOP
3.) Education: Higher education levels (post-

13. 4.) Race/Ethnicity: White/Non-Hispanic tend
to vote more than minority groups (but
minority groups are growing as part of the
electorate)
-trend: minorities vote Dem., whites vote
GOP
5.) Marital Status: Married people are more
likely to vote than singles
6.) Party Identification: those who identify
with a certain political party will vote more
than those without a party affiliation

16. 7.) Income - People with incomes of at
least $50,000 or more generally vote
more than those with lower incomes
-trend: incomes lower than $50,000
vote Dem., above $50,000 vote GOP
8.) Voting habits - have voted once, tend
to vote again
9.) people with a high political efficacy-
believe their vote and voice MATTERS and
that they can make a difference in the
political process (through political
participation)
-low political efficacy = low voter

17. • 10.) Religious affiliation –
Protestant/Evangelical Christians tend
to vote GOP, Catholics split,
Judaism/other religions/religiously
unaffiliated tend to vote Dem.
• 11.) Geography – Rural areas tend to
vote GOP, city/urban areas tend to vote
Dem.

21. MODELS OF VOTING BEHAVIOR
• Rational Choice Voting – voters decide
according to what they think will benefit them
personally
• Retrospective Voting – voters decide if a party or
candidate deserves to be re-elected based on
their past record/actions (retrospective = looking
back)
• Prospective Voting – voters decide according to
how they predict a party or candidate will do in
the future (prospective = looking forward)
• Party-Line Voting (aka “straight-ticket voting”) –

22. OTHER FACTORS
•Party Identification:
–People tend to align themselves
with a certain party they agree
with and keep this affiliation for a
long time
–Growing trend: some people are
voting less strictly on party lines
and more for the candidate they
see fit to govern (aka party
dealignment)

23. •Candidate Image:
–How a candidate is perceived
(attractive, intelligent,
competent, trustworthy, etc.) has
an impact on how people vote
–Some voters judge a candidate’s
personality to gauge how they
would perform in office, then
vote accordingly
–Since TV, people pay attention
more to the candidates
themselves than ever

24. •Policy Issues:
–policy voting - People will vote
according to their
views/preferences on particular
policy issues
Requires them to:
1.) Know their own positions on
the policies
2.) Know the candidates’ positions
on the policies
3.) See the difference between
candidates on the issues

25. OBSTRUCTING THE VOTE
• In the past, various tactics have been used
to prevent people from voting:
1.) literacy tests - voters had to prove they
could read and write before they could
vote
2.) poll taxes - voters had to pay a fee to
vote
3.) gerrymandering - drawing of
Congressional districts to give a political
party an advantage
--Congressional districts were drawn to
keep certain populations from voting in a
district

26. • Many states tried other ways to sidestep
the 15th Amendment to continue to
discriminate against African Americans
–Grandfather Clause – if you could vote
before 1867, or were a descendant of
someone who could, you can vote
(enacted to let poor whites vote, but
not poor blacks)
–White primary - only white voters
could vote in primary elections (to
dilute black influence on elections)

27. EXPANDING SUFFRAGE
• Original requirements: male, white, owned
property
• 15th Amendment (1870) - banned all
discrimination in voting based on race
(all men could now vote)
• 19th Amendment (1920) - women
gained the right to vote
• 24th Amendment (1964) – Prohibited
the use of poll taxes as a requirement to
vote
• 26th Amendment (1971) - minimum

28. *VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965*
• Piece of landmark civil rights legislation focused
on ending voting discrimination and enforcing
the 15th Amendment
– Prohibited any gov’t level from using voting
methods that would deny someone the right
to vote based on race or color
– Prohibited literacy test requirements
– Enforced by federal officials manning state
polls to ensure proper procedures and access
to registration
– Later amended in 1982 to prohibit racial
gerrymandering

29. VOTING ON STATE
MEASURES
• Initiative - voters want to change their
state laws and petition to put it on the
ballot/send to state legislature
–VOTERS start the process with
petitions

30. • Referendum - state legislature sends a
measure/possible law for voter
feedback/approval on ballot
–Ex: changes to a state constitution must be
approved by the state’s residents
• Recall - lets voters remove/replace a gov’t
official before they finish their term in
office