Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behavior

● Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behavior → Elections - State governments are in charge of federal elections - The Constitution left states in control of elections, but the federal government has gotten more involved through constitutional amendments and legislation - 15th: race cannot be a barrier to voting (African Americans could vote) - 17th: direct election of Senators (gave people more power; the US is more Democratic) - 19th: women can vote - 24th: got rid of poll taxes - 26th: lowered the voting age to 18 → Voting Rights Act of 1965 - It banned literacy tests and other obstacles to vote - Along with the 24th Amendment, it increased the votes of minority groups 4 Models of Voting Behavior → Rational choice voting - A person votes for a candidate whose policies seem to benefit the voter → Retrospective voting (backward-looking) - Voting based on how the incumbent party has done - If they are doing good, the person will vote for them again → Prospective voting (forward-looking) - Voting based on who you believe will handle the most important issues better Party-line voting - Supporting a party by voting for candidates from the same party for all public offices across the ballot ● Voter Turnout - The US has a lower voter turnout compared to other Western democracies Why? → State-run elections - States make their own policies - There’s early voting, mail-in ballots, automatic registration, photo ID laws, etc Each state does differently - Registration requirement (most significant barrier to voting) Many elections Limited access to early voting Weekday elections No penalty for not voting → Political efficacy - A person’s belief that they can influence the government and politics - Some people have low political efficacy; they don’t believe their vote matters → Demographics most likely to vote - College-educated - Middle-aged/older (44+) - Higher-income - Religious → Voter choice - Party identification is the best indicator of how a person will vote (partisan identification and ideology) - Political ideology is a good indicator - Candidate characteristics - Contemporary political issues (depends on the issues happening in the country) → Demographics: Democrats - Younger - Minorities - Women - LGBTQ - Jewish, Muslim, secular - Post-graduate education - Urban/city → Demographics: Republicans - Middle-aged/older - White - Men - Evangelical/white Protestants - Higher-income - Rural ● Political Parties → Linkage institutions - Things that connect people to the government, and the government to the people - It allows people to communicate their preferences to the government The 4 Institutions: 1. Political parties - An organization that seeks to gain political power by electing officials to office - Primary purpose: gain power and win elections - Secondary: influence public policy → Functions of political parties - Get people that support them to the polling places to vote - Educate voters and show them how they are different from the other parties - Establish a party platform - Recruit and nominate candidates - Support campaigns: fundraising, media strategy - Committee and party leadership systems in the legislature → Parties in Congress - Committee system: chairs and a majority of the members - Party leadership roles are based on the party → Political caucuses - The political party meets together as a group to discuss and formulate their strategy - They set legislative agendas, select committee members and chairs, and choose leadership 2. Interest groups 3. Elections 3. News media ● Third-Party Politics → The US has a two-party system - Democrats and Republicans - It’s a result of tradition and election policies, not the Constitution → Structural barriers to third-party success - Winner-take-all voting districts - Plurality system - Single-member districts → Winner-take-all voting districts - When a district votes, whoever gets the most votes in that district goes to Congress and becomes that district’s member of the House of Representatives - No proportional representation (it discourages people from creating a third party and discourages people from voting for the third party) - Congressional seats are apportioned according to the % of votes won by each party → Informal barriers to third-party success - People feel like they are wasting their vote and their vote doesn’t count - Major parties (Dem & Rep) often incorporate the popular agenda/ideas from third-party platforms into their own party platforms (Ex. The Green Party) ● How and Why Political Parties Change and Adapt → Candidate-centered politics - The idea that voters now are more concerned with the candidate than they are with the party identification Political parties have had to adapt and change because of this - Ex. Donald Trump didn’t get much support from the Republicans, even though he was a Republican, but he did get a lot of support from the people because they approved of him - Ex. Bernie Sanders joined the Democratic Party so he could run for President as a Democrat. He didn’t have a long history of being a Democrat but many people support him anyways → Primary system - The role of political leaders in nominating candidates has been weakened as people are able to vote for their preferred candidate in primary elections - It gives more power to the people and weakens the political party leadership → Campaign finance law - It’s made it easier for candidates to raise money themselves - Candidates are less reliant on the party for money and therefore more independent to do as they wish → Critical election - An election that precedes a party realignment (dramatic, long-lasting shifts in party affiliation) - People that voted for one party switch and vote for a different one - Ex. (1932) A large portion of the country that had voted Republican switched and voted Democratic after the Great Depression. They voted for FDR and kept voting Democratic for the rest of their lives → Regional realignment - From the Jacksonian era to the mid-1960s, the South was Democratic. As the Democratic party started to support Civil Rights legislation that many Southerners opposed, they began switching to the Republican party. Now, the South is solidly Republican → Party dealignment - Both parties are losing supporters - People from both parties are leaving and becoming independent - A decline in party identification and loyalty ● Interest Groups Influencing Policy Making → Interest group - An organization that attempts to influence public policy, some for a specific purpose and others for a general purpose - Ex. National Rifle Association: gun rights - Ex. American Civil Liberties Union: anything having to do with civil rights and liberties How do they influence policy? → GOTV - Mobilize voters and get them to polls → Endorse candidates - Encourage members to vote for particular candidates → Mobilize membership - Applying pressure to legislators and civil servants - Social media, phone, mail, email, town halls, etc. → Educate voters and policyholders - Provide expert opinions to government officials - Give officeholders feedback from their constituents → Draft legislation - Suggest and support legislation - Testify at committee hearings on the formulation of legislation - Write bills that can be introduced in Congress by a Senator or Representative → Create PACs - Raise and spend unlimited independent expenditures - Corporations and labor unions can contribute to Super PACs → Lobbying - They put pressure on Congressmen or members of the executive branch to make policies that the interest group supports - Lobbyists are policy specialists, Congressmen are policy - Testify at committee hearings - Draft legislation - Pressure legislators/threaten fundraising support → Iron triangles and issue networks - Influence how policies are made and implemented - Committee/interest group/bureaucratic agency - Congress gets electoral support & policy implementation support - Agencies get funding & political support - Interest groups get friendly legislation & beneficial regulation → Inequality of political and economic resources - Some groups have larger memberships and are well-funded, increasing the influence they have - Unequal access to policymakers → Free rider problem - It’s difficult for interest groups to convince people to join - People who benefit from the group’s efforts without joining the group or paying dues