07 participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

78
Participation, Voting, and Elections Chapters 8 and 10

Transcript of 07 participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Page 1: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Participation, Voting, and Elections

Chapters 8 and 10

Page 2: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

How many blog comments have you posted?

a. 10+ b. 7-9

c. 4-6d. 1-3

Page 3: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

New Blog Requirements:ONLY 10 POST NEEDED (NOT 20)10 posts = 100%

Up to 5 post = Extra Credit (1 pt each)ALL POSTS DUE: June 24th by 5pm

Page 4: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Do you believe it is right to participate in a political protest if you are dissatisfied with the policies of our government?

a. Yes b. No

Page 5: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Do you believe it is a problem that citizens with lower incomes and less education are significantly less likely to participate in politics?

a. Yesb. No

Page 6: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Do you think the policies enacted by our elected representatives would be different if EVERYONE voted?

a. Yesb. No

Page 7: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

The Constitution was amended to allow women the right to vote in all public elections in:

a. 1870b. 1885c. 1920d. 1948

Page 8: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Do you support women’s suffrage?

a. YESb. NO

Page 9: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Key Terms

Suffrage – The right to vote. USAGE: Women were extended suffrage in _____.

Franchise – ALSO, the right to vote…or the group of people who have the right to vote. USAGE: In America the franchise includes all adults _____ or older.

Page 10: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Political Participation

Political participation refers to a wide range of activities designed to

influence government.

Today, voting is the typical form of participation, although political participation also includes activities like petitioning, protesting, and campaigning.

Page 11: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Types of ParticipationVoting – Casting a vote, campaign contributions,

sign posting, etc.Lobbying - Exerting direct pressure on elected

officials.Public Relations – An effort to sway public opinion

on behalf of an issue or cause.Litigation – Using the courts to seek relief or effect

some type of changeProtest – Assembling crowds to confront a

government or other official organization.

Page 12: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Frequency of Participation

Page 13: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

The most recent expansion of the franchise in the United States took place in 1971, when the:

a. Motor Voter Act was passedb. poll tax was abolishedc. Supreme Court struck down white

primariesd. voting age was reduced from twenty-

one to eighteen

Page 14: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Historical Turnout

Page 15: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Which country has higher voter turnout than the United States?

a. Mexicob. Germanyc. Italyd. All of the above

Page 16: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Voter Turnout Around the World

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Bolivia

Brazil

Canada

Chile

Denmark

Domican Republic

Ecuador

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Luxembourg

Mexico

Netherlands

Norway

Peru

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Thailand

Turkey

United Kingdom

United States

Venezuela

Average = 70%

Page 17: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Would you be more likely to vote if election day were a holiday?

a. Yesb. No

Page 18: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Would you be more likely to vote if you could vote at any polling location?

a. Yesb. No

Page 19: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Would you be more likely to vote if we had more parties on the ballot?

a. Yesb. No

Page 20: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

The Calculus of Voting (Why is Turnout so HIGH?)

R = pB − C + D R = the reward gained from voting in a given election p = probability of vote “mattering” B = Benefit of voting--differential benefit of one candidate winning over the other C = Costs of voting (time/effort spent)D = citizen duty, goodwill feeling, psychological and civic benefit of voting

Page 21: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

The “Calculus of Voting” suggests that people will only vote if the ___________ outweigh the __________.

a. Democrats, Republicansb. Issues, Lazinessc. Benefits, Costsd. Costs, Benefits

Page 22: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Who Does Vote?Both the decision to vote and particular voting

behavior is associated with a number of demographic factors.

What factors predict voting behavior?IncomeEducationAgeRace/EthnicityGenderStrength of Partisanship

Page 23: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Voting and Demographics

Page 24: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Voting and Demographics

Page 25: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Why is Turnout So Low?Demographics – Expansion of groups traditionally associated

with low voting rates – Young, African Americans, Latinos.

Barriers to Voting – Only 2/3 of eligible voters were registered during the past 3 decades. (Motor Voter 1993)

Lack of Attractive Choices – Because we only have 2 parties it becomes an either/or situation.

Too Much Complexity – Too much time and effort is involved in being informed because we vote on almost everything.

Voter Fatigue – Americans vote far more often than people in parliamentary regimes – The only country that votes more than the US is Switzerland.

Citizen Disaffection – Poor candidates and contentious or negative campaigning may have kept people away from the polling booths – Apathy, Cynicism, Alienation.

Page 26: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Would you support expanding the electorate to those between the ages of 16 and 18?

a. YESb. NO

Page 27: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Why or Why Not?

Reasons:Easily Persuaded by parents – not independentToo immature – May not understand the complexityWon’t take it seriously – no vested interestNot informed; Politics doesn’t affect themWon’t vote anyway

Page 28: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Reasons:-Can’t join the military; not legal adults-Not mature enough -Uneducated-Not sophisticated enough to make reasonable decisions-No jobs-They wouldn’t vote anyway-Would vote frivolously -Not enough “at stake” – Too dependent on parents

Page 29: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Do you believe that POOR/WORKING CLASS people are sometimes PURPOSEFULLY disenfranchised?

a. YESb. NO

Page 30: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Types of ElectionsPrimary Election – Elections held to select a party’s

candidate for the general election.

OPEN primary – A primary election in which the voter can wait until the day of the primary to choose which party to enroll in to select candidates for the general election.

CLOSED primary – A primary election in which voters can only participate in the nomination of candidates if they are formally enrolled as a member of that party for a period of time prior to the primary day.

Page 31: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Do you believe that OPEN PRIMARIES are FAIR?

a. YESb. NO

Page 32: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker QuestionJoe walks into his voting station and the

election judge asks him which party's ballot he would like to vote on today. Joe is in

a)a closed primary state. b)an open primary state. c)a caucus state. d)a dictatorship.

Page 33: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Except in rare occasions, boundaries for congressional and state legislative districts in the United States are redrawn by the states every _______ years.

a. twob. tenc. twentyd. twenty-five

Page 34: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Reapportionment and Redistricting

Reapportionment – Every 10 years the census is used to tell us where people have moved (within and across states).

Redistricting – Usually, in response to reapportionment (but not always), states redraw district lines so that their districts achieve basic equality.

Gerrymandering – Redistricting with PURPOSE. Partisan and Incumbent usually OKAY, racial is a NO.

Shaw v. Reno, 1993 – Districts based exclusively on racial criteria are unlawful.

Page 35: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Districts Gone WildIllinois’ 4th District

North Carolina’s 12th District

Page 36: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Gerrymandering Techniques• Packing: Places the opposing party's voters in the

fewest possible districts, to minimize their influence on other districts

• Cracking: Spreading voters of one type over many districts where they will comprise minorities that are unable to influence elections.

• Hijacking: Separating an incumbent candidate from his constituents and placing him or her in a district where he or she has no name recognition.

• Kidnapping: Drawing two incumbent candidates into the same district so they must run against each other.

Page 37: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Cracking and Packing

Fig. 4 portrays an example of cracking, where voters have been divided among a number of districts, so that the  RED party holds a 9-7 advantage in three districts and BLUE wins just a single district

Fig. 3 portrays an extreme example of packing, where a single district is composed solely of RED  voters, throwing the advantage to the  BLUE party in the remaining three districts.

Fig. 2 represents an incumbent protection or "sweetheart" gerrymandering plan, in which district boundaries are draw to split the number of seats evenly between the parties and to insure a strongly partisan voting base in every district.

Fig. 1 creates 4 competitive districts, where there are an equal number of voters from each party in every district.

Page 38: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Cracking2005 – Georgia’s 12th District• Oho

Columbus, Ohio

Page 39: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

PackingCalifornia’s 23rd District

DemocraticPacked District

Page 40: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Hijacking2005 – Georgia’s 12th District

John Barrowwas drawn out

of his districtAnd placed in

the 10th Dbut moved back

to the 12th andwon anyway.

Page 41: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

KidnappingGeorgia’s 7th and 11th Districts

Bob Barr and John Linder were placed in the same district…had to face off in the Republican primary.

Page 42: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

2000 – Census gives GA +2 districts

Democratic controlled Assembly map

11th was an attempt to create a majority-minority district

2002 – Republicans win control of Gen. Assembly

Argue that 2001 map splits too many communities/counties; creates districts that are irregularly shaped; too partisan in nature

2005 – New Map…

Redistricting in Georgia

Page 43: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

2001 Map 2005 Map

Page 44: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

2010 Census

Page 45: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Seat Change

Page 46: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

District Size

Page 47: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Would you vote to change the redistricting process in Georgia?

a. Yesb. No

Page 48: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Campaigns - Median Voter Theory• Rather than differentiate themselves,

there are clear incentives for candidates to “go to the middle” because that’s where the voters are.

• Electoral competition drives parties together…

• So, the reason candidates appear to be so centrist is because they are both competing for “Bob’s” vote in order to win.

Page 49: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Median Voter Theory

BOB

Obama McCain

Page 50: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

How Do Voters Decide?Social Characteristics – SES, Religion,

Ethnicity

Party Loyalties – Strength of Partisan Identification

Candidates – experience, decisiveness, personal warmth, etc.

Issues

The Economy – Bush I vs. Clinton

(“It’s the Economy Stupid”)

Foreign Policy – Wars, International Crises

Page 51: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Which step comes last?

a. Reapportionmentb. Censusc. Redistricting

Page 52: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Which step comes first?

a. Reapportionmentb. Censusc. Redistricting

Page 53: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Which step comes second?

a. Reapportionmentb. Censusc. Redistricting

Page 54: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker QuestionThe number of a state’s electoral votes

is determined bya. Number of members in the House of

Representativesb. Percentage of registered voted that voted

during the last election.c. Number of members it has in both chambers

of Congress.d. state’s proportionate share of the overall

national population

Page 55: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question In the 2000 presidential race, George Bush

won Missouri 50 percent to 47 percent. How many of Missouri's eleven electoral votes did Bush get in 2000?

a)six b)seven c)nine d)eleven

Page 56: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Electoral College Important NumbersThe Electoral College

538

55House + Senate

+ 3

Article II

3

Page 57: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Why do we have the Electoral College?

Options for Electing a President1. Indirectly By “Experts” –

Let Congress or State Legislatures choose the President. REJECTED! – NOT ENOUGH DEMOCRACY

2. Directly by Citizens – Let citizens vote directly for the president. REJECTED! – NOT ENOUGH QUALITY

Solution: Involve both “Experts” and Citizens.

Legitimacy and Quality

The Electoral College

Page 58: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

How does the System Work? (OVERVIEW)1. Prior to election day, each party within a state chooses a slate of electors that are important figures within their political party.

2. On Election Day, we vote for a party’s slate of electors that have pledged to vote for the presidential candidate we prefer.

3. The Popular Vote is then CONVERTED into the Electoral Vote. (Maine and Nebraska are Different)

4. In December, the electors gather in their respective state capitols to cast ballots for president and vice president.

In January, Congress convenes, opens the ballots received from each state, and announces the official outcome.

Page 59: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

How does the System Work?

1. Prior to election day, each party within a state chooses a slate of electors that are important figures within their political party.

Required to Pledge? Not in Georgia…

26 States and the District of Columbia (3) have some form of law or binding pledge to vote for the candidate with which they are affiliated. Georgia, however, does not.

“Faithless Electors” • Electors who do not vote for their party’s designated candidate.

• Since the founding of the Electoral College, there have been 156 faithless Electors.

• 71 of these votes were changed because the original candidate died before the day on which the Electoral College cast their votes.

• Three of the votes were not cast at all as three Electors chose to abstain from casting their Electoral vote for any candidate.

• The other 82 Electoral votes were changed on the personal initiative of the Elector.

The Electoral College

Page 60: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

The Electors… Number Given to Each State = Size of Congressional Delegation

GEORGIA, with 14 House districts, has 16 Electoral College votes.

(Remember, you add 2 for the Senate)

Largest State = California with 55 electors

Smallest States = 7 states +D.C. have 3 electors

How are they Chosen?

•Electors are typically long-time party activists who are selected by their state party organization as a reward for their loyalty to the party.

Page 61: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

The Electoral CollegeAll the electors from ALL of the states make up the Electoral College

•The Electoral College consists of 538 members

435 (House) + 100 (Senate) + 3 (D.C.)

= 538

CONSTITUTIONALLY, to win a presidential election, a candidate               must receive a MAJORITY  of the Electoral Vote. 

538/2 = 269 (Majority = 270)

The Electoral College

Page 62: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

2. On Election Day, we vote for a party’s slate of electors that have pledged to vote for the presidential candidate we prefer.

This is the

POPULAR

VOTE

Page 63: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

3. The Popular Vote is then CONVERTED into the Electoral Vote.

The Electoral College

How’d that happen?

Page 64: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

From Popular Vote to Electoral Vote48 states award electors based on the                               

       Winner-Take-All System.  

Thus, 50% +1 Vote = 100% of Electors

Popular Vote (National = 53% to 46% Obama)

In the 2008 election, 52% of Georgia voters chose McCain while 47% of Georgia voters chose Obama.

Electoral Vote (National = 68% to 32% Obama)

ALL 15 of Georgia’s electoral college seats were then awarded to John McCain.

The Electoral College

Page 65: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Maine (4) and Nebraska (5)

Maine and Nebraska                                              award electors through a more                                                       proportional process.

HOW? Each state selects electors at the congressional district level and then awards the 2 “extra” electors to the statewide popular vote winner. 

The Electoral College

Page 66: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker QuestionWhat do you think about the Nebraska/

Maine system? a)I love it, lets do it!b)Might Work here.c)No way, never!

Page 67: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

2008 Electoral College Vote

 What’s misleading about this map? Hint: Should McCain have won?

The Electoral College

Page 68: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

2008 Electoral College Vote                                                                                       (Scaled to # of Electoral College Votes)

Page 69: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

2000 – Bush vs. GoreSo, how is it possible that Al Gore                           won the popular vote                                              (by almost 544k votes) and yet lost the                                           electoral college vote  (271 to 266)?

A Winner-Take-All system means that any                                                extra votes (those beyond what is necessary to win) are “SURPLUS” in the sense that they do not affect the winner’s electoral vote result for that state.

Example: Gore only needed 3.2M votes to win New York but he received 4.1M…That’s 900,000 “extra” votes that increased his popular vote total but did not change his electoral vote total.

The Electoral College

Page 70: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

Had the entire country used the Nebraska/ Maine system in 2000, Al Gore would have been president.

a) TRUEb) FALSE

Page 71: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Concerns about the Electoral College

1. Does everyone’s vote count the same?

Wyoming – 71,242 votes per elector

California – 199,378 votes per elector

2. How does this process affect voter turnout?

Battleground States vs. Safe States

3. Reinforces 2-party system

Democracy = Choice

The Electoral College

Page 72: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Number of Presidential Candidate Visits (September 26th to November 2nd, 2004)

Page 73: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Advertising Money Spent ($ =1 million)(September 26th to November 2nd, 2004)

Page 74: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Other Ways?Congressional District Approach? 

We could all change to the Maine/Nebraska model – Strangely, if this had been done in 2000, Bush would have won by a larger electoral margin (Small states tend to be Republican + large states like CA and NY would be split)

Proportional Voting?

In 2008, Georgia would have awarded 8 electors to McCain and 7 electors to Obama.

Had this been used in 2008 (in TX, CA, GA, FL, OH, PA, and WI), McCain would have picked up an additional 45 electoral college votes.

The Electoral College

Page 76: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker Question

What does the Constitution require to be elected President?

a. A Plurality of the Popular Voteb. A Majority of the Electoral Votec. A Plurality of the Electoral Voted. A Majority of the Popular Vote

Page 77: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Clicker QuestionWould you approve or disapprove of an amendment to the Constitution which would do away with the electoral college and base the election of a President on the total vote cast throughout the nation?

a. YESb. NO

Page 78: 07   participation, voting, and elections(clicker)

Historical Support

APPROVE DISAPPROVE NO OPINIONJune 1944 65% 23% 13%

January 1977 73% 15% 12%Nov. 1980 67% 19% 15%June 2008 74% 21% 5%