CHAPTER 8

Political Participation
0OBJECTIVES
This chapter reviews the much-discussed low voter turnout and the poor percentage of other forms of political participation in the United States. After reading and reviewing the material in this chapter, the student should be able to do each of the following:0 10. !plain wh" the te!t believes that the description, the anal"sis, and man" of the proposed remedies for low voter-turnout rates in the United States are generall" off base.

#0. $ompare the wa"s that turnout statistics are tabulated for the United States and for other countries, and e!plain the significance of these differences. %0. &escribe how control of the elections has shifted from the states to the federal government, and e!plain what effect this shift has had on blac's, women, and "outh. (0. State both sides of the debate over whether voter turnout has declined over the past centur", and describe those factors that tend to hold down voter turnout in the United States. )0. &iscuss those factors that appear to be associated with high or low political participation.

0OVERVIEW
The popular view that Americans do not vote because of apath" is not *uite right. +t would be much closer to the truth to state that Americans don,t register to vote-but once registered, Americans vote at about the same rate as citi.ens in other nations. /an" other factors-having nothing to do with apath" -also shape participation rates. These include age, race, part" organi.ation, barriers to registration, and popular views about the significance of elections. The most powerful determinants of participation are schooling and information, and the ne!t most powerful is age. 0ace ma'es a difference, but blac' participation rates appro!imate white rates when controls are in place for socio-economic status. $ompared with citi.ens of other nations, Americans vote at lower rates, but more fre*uentl" and for man" more offices. 1or these reasons, elections ma'e a bigger difference in the conduct of public affairs in the United States than elsewhere. Americans also engage somewhat more fre*uentl" in various nonelectoral forms of participation, such as writing letters to officeholders, attending meetings, and other political activities.

0CHAPTER OUTLINE WITH KEYED IN RESOURCES0

+0. A closer loo' at nonvoting0 A0. 0Alleged problem: low turnout of voters in the United States compared with urope0 10. Since 1223, 30 percent of citi.ens aged 14 and older who are eligible to vote actuall" registered to vote during mid-term congressional elections with this percentage rising to 33 percent during presidential elections.

Chapter 8: Political Participation

#.

5nl" (%.3 percent of those registered to vote actuall" voted in the #003 midterm $ongressional elections.

%. $omparing the percentage of registered voters who voted to the total percentage of the population eligible to vote, we see that 60.6 percent of registered voters voted. (. $ross-national comparisons of voting turnout rates between the United States and urope reveal three factors: a7 0an'ed in terms of average voter turnout as a percentage of voting-age population during the period 12() to #006, the United States ran's last behind democracies such as 8erman" 941 percent7 and +ndia 931 percent7. b7 0an'ed in terms of voter turnout among registered voters, the United States is in the middle of the pac', with 1rance at 36 percent and the United :ingdom at 6) percent. c7 0an'ed in terms of voter turnout during presidential elections, the United States would be in the top half of the pac' at 60 percent, ahead of ;apan 934 percent7 and $anada 932 percent7. ). Apath" on national election da"s is not the source of the problem. A ma<orit" of those registered to vote actuall" participate. The problem is the low percentage of eligible person who actuall" register. =ow do Americans stimulate registration> =ow do the" get registered voters to actuall" vote> a7 ?arious get-out-the-vote 985T?7 strategies have a limited impact on actual turnout. b7 @hen as'ed, registered voters who did not vote gave three reasons for not voting: 917 About a *uarter of registered voters stated the" were too bus" or had scheduling conflicts 9#7 1amil" chores or obligations 91# percent7 9%7 The" believed their vote would not matter 91# percent7. 3. 5ther proposals to the problem of nonvoting include ma'ing lection &a" a national holida" or holding elections on wee'ends. ?oting prior to elections b" mail in ballots or no fault absentee voting have also failed to produce significant increases in voter participation. a7 (0 million registered voters failed to vote in the #003 and #004 elections. b7 (0 million voting-age citi.ens failed to register in either of the two elections. 6. +n urope, registration is done b" the government. +n the United States, the burden falls on the individual. @ould reducing the cost of registrations increase the percentage of eligible voters who are actuall" registered> a7 +n 122%, $ongress passed the /otor ?oter law, which allows people in all fift" states to register to vote when appl"ing for driver,s licenses and to register through the mail. /an" did register but did not vote. b7 &ata still show man" have not registered.

Chapter 8: Political Participation

A0. ?oting is not the onl" wa" to participateB b" other measures, Americans ma" participate in politics more than uropeans. $0. +mportant *uestion: how do different 'inds of participation affect the government> ++0. The rise of the American electorate 9T= / A: CDAE&+E8 DA0T+$+DAT+5E +E F $T+5ES70 A0. 1rom state to federal control0 10. +nitiall", states decided who could vote and for which offices #0. This led to wide variation in federal elections %0. $ongress has since reduced state prerogatives through law and constitutional amendment.0 a07 A" 14(# law, =ouse members elected b" district b07 1ifteenth Amendment 914607: seemed to give suffrage to African Americans 9170 5pened the door to literac" tests, poll ta!es, and grandfather clauses 9#70 0?oting 0ights Act of 123) finall" guaranteed blac's the right to vote c07 @omen given right to vote b" Eineteenth Amendment 912#07B participation rose immediatel", but no ma<or impact on electoral outcomes d07 ighteen-"ear-olds given suffrage b" Twent"-si!th Amendment 912617B voter turnout among the newl" eligible was low, and has continued to fall e7 +n #004, )# percent of the eighteen- to twent"-nine-"ear-old voting population voted. This was higher than #000 9(1 percent7 and #00( 9(4 percent7 but lower than 126# 9)) percent7 or 122# 9)# percent7. 1rom 1223 to #00(, under-thirt" voters onl" accounted for 16 percent of the electorate. That figure rose to 14 percent in #004. (0. 0Eational standards now govern most aspects of voter eligibilit". )0. Twent"-third Amendment was ratified in 1231, giving &istrict of $olumbia residents the right to vote in presidential elections. A0. ?oter turnout0 10. &ebate about declining percentages of eligible adults who voteB two theories:0 a07 0eal decline caused b" decreasing popular interest and decreasing part" mobili.ation b07 Apparent decline, induced in part b" the more honest ballot counts of toda"0 9170 Darties once printed the ballots 9#70 Aallots were cast in public 9%70 Darties controlled the counting 9(70 0ules regarding voter eligibilit" were easil" circumvented. 9)70 Australian ballot 9standard, printed b" the government rather than parties, printed, and cast in secret7 was adopted throughout the countr" b" 1210. #0. /ost scholars see some real decline, due to several causes:0 a07 0egistration is more difficult: longer residenc" re*uirementsB educational *ualificationsB discriminationB and registration has to occur far in advance of elections b07 1lorida controvers" in #000 presidential election has provided for some changes to ma'e voting more consistent nationall", but stops short of creating a uniform national voting s"stem. c07 $ontinuing drop after 1230 cannot be easil" e!plained, and ma" be a function of how turnout is calculated, rather than a substantial phenomenon. %0. Some scholars believe that nonvoters mirror voters in their demographic and ideological composition, so their absence has little effect on electoral outcomes.

Chapter 8: Political Participation

+++0. @ho participates in politics> 9T= / A: 0 AS5ES 150 DA0T+$+DAT+5E70 A0. 1orms of participation0 10. Tendenc" to e!aggerate participation a07 ?oting is the commonest form of political participation, but 4 to 10 percent of citi.ens report voting regularl" when the" have not. b07 +f voting is e!aggerated, other forms of participation are also li'el" to be e!aggerated. #0. ?erba and Eie,s si! forms of participation characteri.e si! 'inds of U.S. citi.ens:0 a07 +nactives: rarel" vote, contribute to political organi.ations, or discuss politics 9little education, low income, "oung, man" blac'sB ## percent7 b07 ?oting specialists: vote but do little elseB not much education or income, older c07 $ampaigners: vote and get involved in campaign activitiesB more education, interested in politics, identif" with a part", ta'e strong positions d07 $ommunalists: nonpartisan communit" activists with a local focus e07 Darochial participants: don,t vote or participate in campaigns or political organi.ations, but contact politicians about specific problems f07 Activists: Darticipate in all forms of politics 9highl" educated, high income, middle agedB 11 percent7 A0. Darticipation: $ause and /eaning0 1. a07 Dolitical participation of an" form is greater among people who have gone to college, are emplo"ed. +t is greater among white and blac's than =ispanics. b7 These differences are descriptive but ma'e generali.ation problematic. 0eligion increasing political participation is too sweeping a statement. G$ertain t"pes of religious e!pressionH can sometimes increase political participation. c7 Americans participate in nonvoting activities at higher rates than citi.ens of other democracies. According to a groundbrea'ing boo' published in #004 b" $orwin . Smidt, factors influencing political participation are complicated. Americans var" b" religious tradition but also b" their level of public religious practice on a scale 9high or low7. #. =olding other variables constant 9income, race, gender, age, marital status7 mainline Drotestants are more li'el" than members of other religious traditions to participate in voluntar" associations. %. 0egardless of religious tradition, those whose form of religious e!pression involves high levels of both public and private practice are more li'el" to <oin voluntar" associations. (. @hat about religion in relation to political engagement> 0eligion is a significant factor in determining who votes but no more than education or income. ). 5ne,s form of religious e!pression has a greater impact in shaping civic rather than political participation. $0. The meaning of participation rates0 10. Americans elect more officials and have more elections. #. Fatinos doubled their participation rates in elections between 1223 9) percent7 and #004 92 percent7. Fatino voters gain political information from church membership but also have politicall" relevant s'ills and attach *uasi-religious meaning to civic engagement.

Chapter 8: Political Participation

0I!PORTANT TER!S
activist Australian ballot Derson who tends to participate in all forms of politics A government-printed ballot of uniform dimensions to be cast in secret that man" states adopted around 1420 to reduce voting fraud associated with part"-printed ballots cast in public A clause in registration laws allowing a person who does not meet registration re*uirements to vote if he or his ancestor voted before 1436 A re*uirement that citi.ens prove that the" can read before registering to vote A re*uirement that citi.ens pa" a ta! in order to register to vote Deople who are registered to vote $iti.ens who are eligible to vote after reaching the minimum age re*uirement The practice of 'eeping blac's from voting in southern states primaries through arbitrar" use of registration re*uirements and intimidation

grandfather clause

literacy test poll tax registered voters voting-age population white primary