Voting and Political Participation
Political Participation timeline
As time progressed, the franchise (right to vote) expanded in the United States, and the national government began to exert control over the voting process at the expense of the states. The timeline below demonstrates these two trends.
Constitution and voting — 1789
The Constitution left it up to the states to make decisions on who can vote. Article I required popular elections of members of the House of Representatives. However, states could decide to have at-large elections (statewide election instead of by district) or single-member districts (one person represents a district). States could also decide whether a majority or plurality of votes was required to win elections. The voting process has been federalized throughout time.
Federal law eliminating at-large elections for HOR-1842
A federal law was passed that required all members of the House of Representatives beto elected by the districts.
15th Amendment — 1870
The Fifteenth Amendment was adopted in 1870 and stated that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The Amendment did not mean that blacks got the right to vote. In 1876, the Supreme Court interpreted the Amendment to say that a citizen could not be denied voting solely based on race which led to states passing laws such as the literacy tests (requirement that voters must first pass a literacy test before voting), poll tax (a requirement that people had to pay a fee before voting), and the grandfather clause (a law saying that people could vote if they did not meet the legal requirement as long as their ancestors had voted before 1867). These laws were intended to prevent blacks who were recently freed and mostly illiterate, and poor from voting. No blacks were also able to vote prior to 76. States were able to pass these laws after the Supreme Court’s interpretation since these laws did not explicitly ban blacks from voting.
Australian ballot — 1890s
Around 1890, the states started to adopt the Australian ballot, which was a government-printed ballot of uniform size and shape that got wasted in secret to lessen voting fraud that was associated with party-printed ballots cast in public. By 1910, every state except for three had adopted these ballots. It used to be that political parties designed or printed the ballots, so they were not all standard. The Australian ballot ensured that all ballots would be standard, and the requirement that people should vote in secret and privately.
Grandfather clause declared unconstitutional — 1915
The grandfather clause was a clause in registration laws that allowed people who did not meet the other voting requirements to still vote if their ancestors had voted before 1867. This was declared unconstitutional in 1915. While the overturning of this clause created some change, a sharp increase in African-American voting didn’t occur until after the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
19th Amendment — 1920
The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, and it officially allowed women to vote in all states. After this act was passed, the size of the voting population almost doubled. There were no sudden or drastic changes in the outcome of elections. Women initially tended to vote similarly to men.
White primary declared unconstitutional — 1944
The white primary was the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states’ primaries by only allowing white voters to vote in the primaries. The white primaries were finally declared unconstitutional in 1944.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The law suspended the use of literacy tests and allowed for the appointment of federal examiners who could make black citizens register to vote in states where less than fifty percent of the voting-age population was registered or had voted in the previous presidential election. It also made it a federal crime to interfere with the right to vote. The passage of this law helped to increase the number of African-American voters in the South. For example, in Mississippi, the lack of voter turnout increased from 6% in 1964 to 59% in 1969.
23rd Amendment — 1961
The 23rd Amendment made Washington, D.C., count as a state in presidential elections.
24th Amendment — 1964
The 24th Amendment made it illegal for the federal and state governments to impose taxes on voters before they could participate in an election. It outlawed poll taxes.
26th Amendment — 1971
This amendment, ratified in 1971, established that all citizens 18 years of age or older would be eligible to vote. Therefore, the VAP (Voting Age Population) substantially increased after the passage of this Amendment. Around 25 million additional people were now able to vote, but their turnout was lower than for the whole population. Before this amendment was passed, the voting age had been 21 years old.
Motor-voter Bill — 1993
This law was passed to make it easier to register to vote. It allows people in all 50 states to register to vote when applying for a driver’s license. It also required states to provide mail-based registration and to offer registration at some state offices, like those that help low-income families or the disabled. In the past few years, it has been the single most widely used method of registering, although there is not much evidence that it actually increased voter turnout.
Bush v. Gore — 2000
In the 2000 presidential election, the results in Florida were the most important for both candidates in this extremely close election, and due to the very close results, the votes were recounted. After an automatic machine recount, Bush was declared the winner. Al Gore, who was the Democratic candidate, wanted a manual recount in four Florida counties. The deadline for the hand recount was November 14. Then, the Florida Supreme Court extended the deadline to November 26, but only two counties could make the deadline. George Bush, the Republican candidate, challenged it. The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the recount violated the equal protection clause because different counties had different standards for counting votes. The Court decision stopped the recount. Al Gore conceded, and the Florida electoral votes were given to Bush, making him the winner of the election. As a result of the issues in this election and the court ruling, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002 pr, providing funding to states to upgrade their voting systems and standardize procedures such as requirements for voter ID, and statewide registration databases.
Demographic characteristics associated with non-voting
- Age: Younger people vote less than older people because older people are more educated and they realize that politics has a bigger effect (older people are more affected by policies) on them than the younger generation, so they are more motivated to vote.
- Education: More educated people are more likely to vote because they are more familiar with following deadlines and knowing how to register. They are also more exposed to issues and have a larger interest in politics.
- Race: Whites are the most likely to vote because, overall, minorities tend to have less income and are less educated, which are associated with non-voting. Also, there may be language barriers for Hispanic citizens, making it harder for them to vote.
- Religion: Issues are discussed in religious institutions, so you are more exposed to hearing about issues. You are also with people in your religious institution and possibly talking about issues.
Institutional characteristics associated with non-voting
- Registration: It can be hard to find a time nd a place to vote, and to keep track of the voting deadlines. People have to go out and register on their own, which is a time-consuming process.
- Election Day being on a Tuesday: Tuesday, which is election day, is not a holiday or on a weekend, so it makes it more difficult for workers to vote.
- Felony and citizenship laws: There are state laws restricting people convicted of a felony from voting, which lowers the voting turnout rates. There is also a federal law banning people from voting unless they are U.S. citizens. Therefore, people who are residents of the United States but are of legal age cannot vote. Therefore, the VEP (Voting Eligible Population) is different from the P (Voting Age Population). Many people are of legal age to vote in the United States, but are not eligible due to a lack of citizenship or felony convictions.
- Number of elections: In the United States, there are many different types of elections, so the level of enthusiasm and excitement is not the same as in countries with few elections.
Factors that have contributed to the decline of voter turnout in the latter half of the 20th century
- Efficacy: People trust the government less and do not feel like the government relates to them, so they are less likely to vote and engage in the voting process.
- Mobility: As society has become more mobile and people move around more often, it is more likely for people to miss registration deadlines and vote less often.
- Younger population: The population is getting younger and more diverse, which means our population is less likely to vote because younger people and minorities are less likely to vote.
Factors that contribute to voter turnout being higher for presidential elections than midterm elections
- Voters feel that presidential elections are more important than elections for other offices, since the leader of the country is chosen in a presidential election.
- There is much more media coverage of presidential elections than midterm elections due to their significance.
Factors that determine how people vote
- Political socialization or partisan identification.
People’s partisan identification is definitely a factor in how people vote. - Models of voting
- Prospective voting — People pay attention to candidates’ views on issues and what they are going to do in the future.
- Retrospective voting— People base their vote on how the candidates and, particularly, incumbents, have done in the past. If they are satisfied with the performance of the incumbent, they may choose to vote for the incumbent.
- Rational choice voting — Voters consider their own self-interest when voting. They will vote for candidates who they consider to be the best to serve their own needs. Moreover, they will show up to vote if they determine that the benefits of voting outweigh the cost of voting.
- Candidates and campaign: People may also factor in what they personally think of candidates and their likability as a factor in voting.