Mr
Mr. McCormack
American Government
Central Dauphin High School
Chapter Six – Voters and Voter Behavior
I. The Right to Vote
A. The History of Voting Rights
1. Throughout American history, the right to vote has steadily expanded to become nearly universal
a. Restrictions based on religious practice, sex, age, property ownership, race, and tax payment have been relaxed or eliminated
b. Much of the states’ power to determine voter eligibility has been assumed by the federal government
c. Today approximately 220 million Americans are eligible to vote
2. In spite of this trend, many Americans choose not to exercise their right to vote
3. The success of a democracy can only be assured by the active participation of citizens
4. Voting in Early America
a. The Framers of the Constitution purposely left the power to control voting rights to the states
i. Only two suffrage provisions are in the Constitution
1. Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 – Each state must allow anyone qualified to vote for members of the “most numerous branch” of its own legislature to vote for members of the US House of Representatives
2. Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 – Presidential electors must be chosen in each state “in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.”
ii. The right to vote was essentially limited to white adult males who owned sufficient property
iii. Many states originally restricted voting to Christians
b. It has been estimated that only 1 in 15 adult white males qualified to vote in 1789
5. Extending Suffrage in Five Stages
a. Universal White Male Suffrage
i. Religious qualifications disappeared by 1810
ii. Property qualifications disappeared by the mid-1800s
b. Black Male Suffrage
i. Racial qualifications were eliminated by the 15th Amendment in 1870
ii. Many states continued to find ways to disqualify blacks without resorting to racial categories
c. Female Suffrage
i. Some states and territories began to let women vote as early as 1869
ii. Qualification by sex was eliminated by the 19th Amendment in 1920
d. Civil Rights Era
i. Federal legislation and court decisions in the 1960s helped extend voting rights
ii. Voting Rights Act of 1965 guaranteed equality for blacks in voting
iii. Residents of Washington DC were guaranteed the right to vote for president with the ratification of the 23rd Amendment in 1961
iv. The 24th Amendment, passed in 1964, eliminated taxes charged for voting
e. Youth Suffrage
i. The 26th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote at age 18
ii. This amendment was speedily adopted to answer critics of the Vietnam draft
6. The Constitution restricts the states’ power to set suffrage qualifications in many ways
a. States must allow anyone who can vote for the most numerous branch of its own legislature to vote in federal elections
b. No state can deprive any person of the right to vote on account of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (15th Amendment)
c. No state can deprive any person of the right to vote on account of sex (19th Amendment)
d. No state can require payment of a tax as a condition to vote in a federal election (24th Amendment)
e. No state can deprive any person of the right to vote because of age after their 18th birthday (26th Amendment)
f. States cannot violate any other provision of the Constitution (i.e. 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause) in setting suffrage requirements
II. Voter Qualifications
A. Every state demands that potential voters satisfy three requirements
1. Citizenship
a. Foreign-born residents (aliens) are denied the right to vote in the US
b. Nothing in the Constitution prohibits states from permitting aliens to vote
c. At one time nearly a fourth of the states permitted aliens to vote
d. Arkansas became the last state to require citizenship of voters in 1926
e. Local governments in some states permit aliens to vote in municipal elections
f. Two states distinguish between native-born and naturalized citizens
i. Minnesota requires a voter to have been a citizen for at least three months prior to the election
ii. Pennsylvania requires a voter to have been a citizen for at least one month prior to the election
g. The Federal Government dictates who is a citizen
i. Birthright Citizenship
1. Jus Soli – Right of Place, Born in American Territory
2. Jus Sanguinis – Right of Blood, Born of American Parents
ii. Naturalized Citizenship
1. Must meet age, residency, moral requirements
2. Must renounce the citizenship of your original country
3. Must pass a basic language and citizenship test
2. Residence
a. One must be a legal resident of the state in which he wishes to vote
b. In most states, you must have lived in the state for a certain period of time before voting
c. Residency requirements prevent politicians from importing supporters to affect local elections
d. Residency requirements allow voters to become familiar with local issues before voting
e. Residency requirements were once lengthy (i.e. a year) in many states
f. Residency requirements are now either unspecified (one day?) or a matter of days
g. In 1970 Congress prohibited any residency requirements longer than 30 days for presidential elections
h. In 1972, the Supreme Court case of Dunn v. Blumstein established that a requirement of one year was unnecessarily discriminatory against new residents in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment
i. Nearly every state requires the intention to establish permanent residence to vote
i. This prevents transients like salesmen and tourists from voting
ii. Some courts have allowed college students claiming campus residency to vote
3. Age
a. Until the 26th Amendment, 21 was the generally accepted minimum voting age
b. Only four states had put the voting age below 21 in 1970
i. Georgia was the first to do so, setting 18 years as the minimum in 1943
ii. Kentucky did the same in 1955
iii. Alaska entered the US in 1959 with a voting age of 19
iv. Hawaii entered the US in 1959 with a voting age of 20
c. Some states feared allowing teenagers to vote since they could vote in school-district elections
d. 18 to 20 year olds are the lowest voting demographic in America (38% in 2004)
e. Some states allow 17 year olds to vote in primary elections, so long as they will be 18 in time to vote in the general election
B. Other Qualifications
1. Registration
a. Registration is an effort at voter identification designed to prevent fraudulent voting
b. Registration requirements became increasingly common in the 1900s
c. Every state except North Dakota requires voters to register before they vote
i. Some states only require registration for certain elections
ii. Wisconsin only requires registration in urban areas
iii. Maine and Wisconsin allow registration any time, including Election Day
iv. Most states require voters to register at least 20 or 30 days before an election
d. Election officials keep lists of eligible voters at the polls
i. Registered voters are identified by personal characteristics and details
1. Name
2. Date of Birth
3. Present Address
4. Length of Residency
ii. Registered voters are only purged (removed from the list) in a few instances
1. Death
2. Relocation away from the precinct
iii. Given the difficulty in tracking everyone in a precinct, many poll books include the names of many people who are no longer living or qualified to vote
e. Registration in some states also allows voters to declare a party preference to qualify for closed primaries
f. The USA is the only democratic country where individuals decide whether or not to register to vote
g. To ease the registration process, Congress passed the Motor Voter Law in 1993
i. The law went into effect in 1995
ii. The law required every state that registers voters to do three things
1. Allow voters to register when they apply for or renew their driver’s license
2. Allow registration by mail
3. Provide registration forms at employment, welfare, and social service agencies
iii. The law forbade states from purging their poll books on any basis except responses to quadrennial surveys
2. Literacy
a. Many states formerly required voters to prove their ability to read and/or write before they could vote
i. The hope was to ensure that voters were informed
ii. Many states used the laws in discriminatory ways
iii. Simple passages could be offered to “acceptable” voters while difficult passages were offered to “undesirables”
b. History of Voter Literacy Tests
i. The first tests were developed in New England to disenfranchise Irish immigrants
1. Connecticut passed the first literacy requirement in 1855
2. Massachusetts passed the second requirement in 1857
ii. Later tests were developed in the South to disenfranchise blacks
1. Mississippi adopted a literacy requirement in 1890
2. Most of the other Southern states followed Mississippi’s example
iii. “Grandfather” Clauses
1. To avoid disenfranchising illiterate whites, many Southern states made exceptions for those who could prove that their grandfathers had been eligible to vote prior to 1870
a. Louisiana created this exception in 1895
b. Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia also had grandfather clauses
iv. Literacy tests were also used outside the South
1. Some Western and Southwestern states used them to discriminate against Hispanics and Native Americans
2. Wyoming adopted its literacy requirement in 1889
3. California, 1894
4. Washington, 1896
5. New Hampshire, 1902
6. Arizona, 1913
7. New York, 1921
8. Oregon, 1924
9. Alaska, 1949
v. The end of the literacy tests
1. The Supreme Court ruled that Oklahoma’s literacy requirement violated the 15th Amendment in Guinn v. United States in 1915
2. Congress finally outlawed them in the Voting Rights Act Amendment of 1970
3. The Supreme Court supported Congress in Oregon v. Mitchell in 1970
4. Eighteen states were still using literacy requirements in 1970
3. Tax Payment
a. Owning property and paying property taxes was an extremely common requirement at one time
b. Many other states required voters to pay a poll tax
c. Beginning with Florida in 1889, every one of the Southern states used the poll tax to help discourage blacks from voting
d. Since the tax also hurt poor whites, most states abandoned its use voluntarily
e. The 24th Amendment prohibited states from taxing federal elections in 1964
f. By 1966 only Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama still had a poll tax
g. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that the poll tax violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment
4. No state permits mental patients or others found incompetent to vote
5. Moral Qualifications
a. A quarter of the states prevent felons from voting
b. A few states disenfranchise anyone dishonorably discharged from the military
III. Voter Behavior
A. Nonvoting among the Eligible
1. The word idiot is derived from the Greek word for citizens who refuse to take part in civic life
2. Most Americans believe that nonvoting is a problem for a democracy
3. A few commentators have observed that increasing turnout among the disinterested would not be much of a solution
4. The perceived problem is sizable
a. In 2004, only 122 million of the nearly 216 million adult Americans voted
b. Many of those who voted for President did not bother to vote for Congress or other offices (“undervoting”)
i. The longer the ballot, the larger the number of undervoters
ii. Many believe undervoting is a result of ballot fatigue
iii. Others believe that voters only turn out for races of special concern (president, governor, etc.)
5. Only rarely (typically in presidential elections) will turnout surpass 50%
B. Nonvoting among the Ineligible
1. In 2004, approximately 10 million of the 95 million non-voters were resident aliens
2. Another 5 or 6 million citizens were disabled or physically unable to vote
3. An estimated 2 to 3 million were traveling unexpectedly and could not vote
4. Approximately 500,000 were ineligible due to mental conditions
5. Approximately 2 million were in prison
6. Approximately 100,000 belong to religions that prohibit voting
C. Actual Nonvoters
1. In 2004, more than 80 million people who could have voted did not
2. Many excuses are offered to explain the decision not to vote
a. Many think their vote doesn’t matter
b. Many don’t think they know enough to make a good choice
c. Many feel uncomfortable with the registration and voting process
d. Many express a dislike for the political process
e. Many would be equally content with every outcome
f. Some voters in western states would not vote when early results from the East ensured the outcome
3. Comparing Voters and Nonvoters
a. Voters tend to have higher income, education, and occupational status
b. Voters tend to be better integrated into and active in community life
i. Long-time residents of their communities
ii. Strong political party identification
c. Nonvoters tend to be young (under 35), unmarried, and unskilled
d. More nonvoters live in the South and in rural areas
e. Women are more likely to vote than men
f. Areas with close competitions between the parties generate higher turnout
D. Patterns in Voting Behavior
1. Political scientists have tried to learn what factors influence voters (i.e. what makes someone decide to be a Republican?)
2. Studying Voting Behavior
a. The results of particular elections
i. Individual ballots can not be studied because they are secret
ii. Comparing demographic data from the census with voting results can reveal certain trends
b. The field of survey research
i. Scientific polls help measure public opinion before and after an election
ii. The Gallup Poll is one particularly well-known example
c. Studies of political socialization
i. Socialization involves all personal experiences since childhood
ii. Experiences and relationships help shape our attitudes and beliefs
3. Sociological Factors that Affect Voting
a. Sociology is the study of groups and people behave in them
b. Personal Characteristics
i. Age
a. Younger voters tend to favor Democrats
b. Older voters tend to favor Republicans
ii. Race
a. Minority voters tend to favor Democrats
b. Majority voters tend to favor Republicans
iii. Income
a. Voters with less income tend to favor Democrats
b. Voters with more income tend to favor Republicans
iv. Occupation
a. Professionals tend to favor Republicans
b. Unskilled and manual laborers tend to favor Democrats
v. Education
a. The least and most educated tend to favor Democrats
b. Those who are high school and college graduates favor Republicans
vi. Religion
a. Protestants tend to favor Republicans
b. Catholics, Jews, and others tend to favor Democrats
c. Whatever the faith in question, the most observant tend to be the most Republican
vii. Gender
a. Males tend to favor Republicans
b. Females tend to favor Democrats
c. This difference is called the “gender gap”
1. Attributed to issues like abortion and health care
2. The gap has been approximately 5-10% in most elections since 1980
viii. Geography
a. Urban voters tend to favor Democrats
b. Suburban and rural voters tend to favor Republicans
c. Group Affiliations
i. Family
a. Most people (2/3) associate with the party of their parents
b. Ninety percent of married couples share the same affiliation
ii. Co-Workers and friends often share many characteristics, including voting behavior
4. Psychological Factors that Affect Voting
a. Psychology is the study of the mind and individual behavior
b. Voter’s Perceptions
i. Party identification is the best predictor of how a person will vote
ii. The practice of supporting all of a party’s candidates in an election is called straight-ticket voting
iii. The pull of parties has been weakening over time, especially since the 1960s
a. More Americans will engage in split-ticket voting
b. More Americans are rejecting party identifications, preferring to remain Independent
c. An estimated 25 to 33% of American voters are truly independent
d. Historically, independents were less informed and less active than partisans, but that is not so true today
iv. Particular candidates can interrupt party identification (i.e. “Reagan Democrats”)
v. Elections dominated by special issues (i.e. war) may interrupt party identification
IV. Suffrage and Civil Rights
A. From the Civil War to the Civil Rights Era
1. Early efforts to secure the vote for African Americans began with the 15th Amendment
a. Ratified in 1870
b. The amendment is not self-executing
i. Courts could have enforced it
ii. Congress could have used its authority to enforce its implementation through legislation
2. From the close of Reconstruction until the 1960s, the rights of African Americans were generally suppressed through much of the South in spite of the 15th Amendment
a. Racial intimidation discouraged blacks from registering to vote
b. Whites used their economic power to punish black workers who attempted to register
c. Literacy tests were administered in discriminatory fashion to disenfranchise blacks
d. Legislative districts were drawn to diffuse the potential effect of the black vote
i. Manipulating districts to guarantee an electoral outcome is called gerrymandering
ii. Gerrymandering for the purpose of racial discrimination was outlawed by the Supreme Court in
Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960)
e. Poll taxes prevented poor minorities from voting
f. The Democratic Party in southern states refused to allow black members
i. This ensured that the primaries always produced white nominees
ii. These “White Primaries” were outlawed by the Supreme Court in Smith v. Allwright (1944)
B. The Civil Rights Era
1. Early Civil Rights Legislation
a. The Civil Rights Act of 1957
i. Created the United States Civil Rights Commission to inquire into claims of discrimination
ii. The Commission shares its findings with the public and the government
iii. The Act also empowered the Attorney General to petition a federal court for orders to prevent
interference with the right to vote in a federal election
b. The Civil Rights Act of 1960
i. Authorized the appointment of federal voting referees to help qualified voters register to vote in
federal elections
ii. These referees could serve anywhere a federal court found voter discrimination
2. The Civil Rights Act of 1964
a. This legislation was the broadest and most effective civil rights act to date
b. It outlawed discrimination in several areas, including job-related matters
c. It forbade the use of any discriminatory voter registration or literacy test requirements
d. The law relied on judicial action to overcome racial barriers
3. The Voting Rights Act of 1965
a. President Johnson called for this legislation after witnessing the outrageous racism suffered by Martin
Luther King, Jr. and his followers in Alabama
b. This act applied to all elections held in the country, not just federal elections
c. The law was set for five years, but it has been extended multiple times and is still in effect
d. The law directed the Attorney General to challenge all remaining poll tax laws
e. The law suspended the use of any literacy test in any state or county were less than half the electorate
had voted in the 1964 presidential election
f. The law empowered the President to appoint voting examiners to serve in any of those counties
g. These federal examiners had he power to register voters and oversee the conduct of elections
h. The law also prevented any of the designated states from passing any new election laws without getting
preclearance from the Justice Department
i. Only those laws that don’t dilute the power of minorities are approved
ii. This provision has resulted in a large number of legal challenges over various issues
1. Changing polling places
2. Changing the borders of election districts
3. Changing the deadlines in the election process
4. Changing from district election to at-large elections
5. Changing the qualifications for candidates to run for office
iii. Originally seven states were affected
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Louisiana
4. Mississippi
5. South Carolina
6. Virginia
7. Forty counties in North Carolina
iv. States could be removed from the list by proving in court that they hadn’t applied any election
laws in a discriminatory way for the preceding ten years
i. The Voting Rights Act was held to be constitutional in South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966) 4. 1970 Amendments to the Voting Rights Act
a. Extended the law for five years
b. It added the 1968 election to its formula, adding parts of six additional counties to the law’s coverage
i. Alaska
ii. Arizona
iii. California
iv. Idaho
v. New Mexico
vi. Oregon
c. It completely banned literacy tests for five years (upheld in Oregon v. Mitchell (1970))
5. 1975 Amendments to the Voting Rights Act
a. Extended the law for seven years
b. Made the ban on literacy tests permanent
c. Expanded the voter-examiner and pre-clearance provisions to cover areas where more than five percent
of the population belonged to certain language minorities
i. Hispanics
ii. Native Americans
iii. Asian Americans
d. The language expansion added the rest of Alaska, all of Texas, and parts of 24 other states to the law
e. It required these affected areas to print election ballots in both English and the language of the minorities
involved
6. 1982 Amendments to the Voting Rights Act extended the law for 25 years
7. 1992 Amendment applied the language test to any group with more than 10,000 persons
8. Today, 16 states are at least partly subject to federal oversight
a. Eight Entire States – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas
b. Eight Partial States – California, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, South
Dakota, Virginia
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