Voters and Voter Behavior

Question 1

two long-term trends

Answer 1

1. federal laws and amendments eliminated all restrictions to vote (expanding American electorate)
2. reduced the power of individual states over a citizen’s right to vote

Question 2

the original electorate

Answer 2

• 1789, property and tax qualifications restricted the electorate to white male property owners
• 1:15 had right to vote

Question 3

Jacksonian democracy

Answer 3

• Andrew Jackson and supporters had respect for common sense and abilities of common man
• eliminated property ownership and tax payments as qualifications for voting
• 1850, all white males had right to vote

Question 4

Fifteenth Amendment

Answer 4

• prohibited voting restrictions based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”
• However, literary tests, poll taxes, white primaries, and grandfather clause prohibited African Americans

Question 5

Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

Answer 5

• women = full voting rights in NY and some Western states

- removed voting restrictions based on gender

Question 6

23rd Amendment (1961)

Answer 6

-added voters of District of Columbia to presidential electorate

Question 7

24th Amendment (1964)

Answer 7

• poll taxes discouraged citizens from voting

- outlawed any tax as qualification for voting

Question 8

Voting rights act of 1965

Answer 8

• prohibited any govt from using voting procedures that denied a person based on race or color
• abolished the use of literacy requirements for anyone who had completed the sixth grade
• authorized federal registrars to protect African Americans’ right to vote in Southern states and counties with histories of discrimination

Question 9

26th Amendment (1971)

Answer 9

• minimum voting age = 18

- state can set it lower

Question 10

factors that influence turnout

Answer 10

1. education
2. income
3. age
4. gender
5. religion
6. race
7. cross-pressures

Question 11

education

Answer 11

• more education, more likely to vote
• more education, more Republican
• 2008 election defied this bc more college graduates voted for Obama

Question 12

income

Answer 12

• more income, more likely to vote
• less income, less likely to vote
• 2008 election = equally split

Question 13

age

Answer 13

• older more likely
• young voters = Democratic
• old voters = Republican

Question 14

gender

Answer 14

• women more than men

- women favor Democrats; men favor Republicans (gender gap 1980s)

Question 15

religion

Answer 15

• Jews/Catholics more likely to vote than Protestants
• Protestants = Republicans
• Jew/Catholic = Democrats

Question 16

race

Answer 16

• whites more likely than minority groups
• when income and education eliminated, black citizens vote at higher rate than whites
• Roosevelt = blacks turned toward democratic party

Question 17

cross-pressures

Answer 17

• voters belong to more than one group

- anything that produces this, reduces voter turnout

Question 18

key statistics of nonvoters

Answer 18

1. 230 million people have right to vote
2. 60% actually voted in 2008
3. lower than other democracies

Question 19

factors that decrease voter turnout

Answer 19

1. voter registration
2. a decline in political efficacy
3. frequent elections
4. weekday, non-holiday voting

Question 20

voter registration

Answer 20

• 49 states: registration laws require voters to place name on electoral roll in order to be allowed to vote
• significantly reduced fraud

Question 21

National Voter Registration Act of 1993

Answer 21

allowing people to register to vote while applying for or renewing a driver’s license

Question 22

a decline in political efficacy

Answer 22

• political efficacy: belief that political participation and voting can make a difference
• citizens believe their vote will not affect outcome (distrust in govt)

Question 23

frequent elections

Answer 23

• produces more elections than any other modern democracy

- makes it difficult for citizens to keep up with all the candidates running for office

Question 24

weekday, nonholiday voting

Answer 24

• difficult for people to leave work and vote

- first Tuesday after the first Monday in November