November 21, 2013

Elections and Voting Behavior

Why dont people vote?

or

Why is voter turnout low in America?

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November 21, 2013

2. In the United States political system, there are several linkage institutions that can connect citizens to

government. Elections constitute one such institution. Because of low voter turnout, elections represent an

imperfect method of linking citizens to their government. Even when there is low voter turnout, however, other

linkage institutions can connect citizens to government.

(a) Describe how each of the following is related to the likelihood of voting.

• Age

• Education

(b) Identify one current government electoral requirement that decreases voter turnout. Explain how it decreases

voter turnout.

(c) Identify one linkage institution other than elections and explain two ways it connects citizens to government.

November 21, 2013

Elections and Voting Behavior

1. In what different ways do Americans participate in the political process? (other than being politicians)

2. What factors determine if someone will vote or not?

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Voting Behavior - Political Participation

Conventional - VOTING!!!

- donating $$$

- Participating in a campaign

- email / letters

- lobbying

- Town Hall mtgs

- initiative / recall/ referendum

Unconventional - rallies and protests

- boycotts

- rioting

- Third Parties

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Types of ElectionsPrimary Election: • Election in which voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent that party in the general electionGeneral Election: • Elections in which voters actually decide which candidate will fill the elected officeReferendum:• An election by whereby the state legislature submits proposed legislation to the state’s voters for approvalInitiative: • An election that allows citizens to propose legislation and submit it to the state electorate for a popular vote

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PrimariesOpen Primary:• A primary in which party members, independents and sometimes members of the other party are allowed to vote.Closed Primary:• A primary in which only the party’s registered voters are allowed to vote

• The candidates in primaries tend to portray themselves as more extreme, since it is the party loyalist that actually show up to vote

Usually lower turn out than the general electionMassachusetts 2008 – 39% voter turn out

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Voter Turn Out

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Why So Low?

Why do you think voter turnout is so low? - Top 5 Reasons people give???

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No, Really!Too Busy 35%Not Interested 13%Illness 11%Did Not Like Candidates 6%Out-of-Town 8%Forgot 5%Transportation 2%Inconvenient Polling Place 1%Registration Problems 1%Refused to Answer / Didn’t Know 18%

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Voter Turn Out: Age

Why the Increase?

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Voter Turn Out: Age

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Voter Turn Out: Region

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How Do We Fix This?

Or do we need to fix this?• Is low voter turnout a problem?

• Isn’t choosing NOT to Vote a valid choice?

• Do we really want the poor and uneducated voting?

November 21, 2013

Vote Choice - I am going to vote, but who will I vote for?

Prospective vs. Retrospective judgement