Voting Flashcards
Suffrage
The right to vote
Franchise
Right to vote
often used when voting rights are being taken away
Electorate
All of the people entitled to vote in a given election
Who originally had the right to vote?
White, male, property owners, christains
Constitution limiting power that the States have to set voter qualifications
- If a state allows a person to vote for State congress, they have to be able to vote for federal congress
- No state can deprive the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude
- No taxes as requirement to vote
- Cannot be denied based on sex
- If you are at least 18 you can vote (national age)
3 Universal Voting Requirements
- Citizenship
- Residence (# of years determined by states)
- Age
26th Amendment
Sets voting age at 18
North Dakota
Only state that you do not have to register to vote
Registration
Procedure of voter identification intended to prevent fraudulent voting
24th Amendment
Abolished the poll tax
15th Amendment
Declares that the right to vote cannot be denied to any citizen of the United States because of race, color, or previous servitude
Race
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Abolished the use of voter registration or literacy requirement to discriminate against any voter
literacy tests
Injunctions
Court orders that either force or restrain specific acts
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Led to the abolishment of the POLL Tax
Outlawed literacy tests
People who are denied the right to vote
People in mental institution
Those convicted of serious crimes
Some states do not allow those who have been dishonorably discharged from the military
Cannot Voters
Resident Aliens
Mental illness
Unexpected travel or illness
Convicts
Discrimination still exists
Actual Nonvoters
Choose not to go to the polls
Feel it will not make a difference
Distrust politics
Election procedures are cumbersome
Bad weather, long lines
Time zone fallout
Lack of interest!
Voters tend to be…
Higher income level
Higher level of education
Well integrated in community
Non voters tend to be…
Less than 35 years of age
Unmarried
Unskilled
Southern and rural areas
Who normally votes democratic?
Lower income
Women
Jews, Catholics
Minorities
Urban areas
Who normally votes Republican?
Professionals in business
More education=more likely to vote republican
More men vote republican
Protestants in North
Cubans
Political socialization
The process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions
Can predict voter behavior
Can voting behavior be predicted by one sociological factor?
No its a combination of factors
Sociological voter factors
Income and job
Religious and ethnic background
Education
Geography
Gender and age
Family
Party Identification
The loyalty of people to a particular party is the single most significant and lasting predictor of how a person will vote
Candidates and Issues
Short term factors that can make even the most loyal party members switch
People may not like a certain person or the party’s view on a specific issue at hand
19th amendment
ends sex requirement to vote
23rd amendment
District of Columbia can vote
Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960
Largely ineffective
Gave the power to require federal courts to regulate voting
Federal voting referees
Pre-clearance
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Federal government regulated voting in the South
Pre-clearance recently ruled unneccessary
Actual non-voters
Do not go to the polls on purpose
They could vote, but choose not to
Who has the power to set suffrage requirements?
The states
Straight Ticket Voting
Voters can select every candidate from a party with the click of a single button
For example: Hit republican and every office will be voted republican for
PA has this
Split Ticket Voting
Voters vote for people from different parties depending on the office
Sociological factors vs psychological factors of voting
Sociological is like education, income, family, geographic region
Pyschological is like political party association, opinons on specific candidates and key issues
