Journal• You are putting together a time capsule that

will be buried in your backyard for 500years. The capsule is about the size of a large suitcase.

• What would you put inside the capsule? • What would you want future generations to know

about today’s world? • What items best represent who you are?• What items best represent your place in history?

Agenda

• Journal• Lecture: History of voting!• Looking at Data !

Objectives• Current Events • Vocabulary words

Objectives

• Students will be able to identify the different internal and external influences that determine how a person votes

Voters and Voter BehaviorUnit 3 day 2

The Right to

Chapter 6 section 1

A Quick History of Voting Rights

• Suffrage –the right to Vote• Framers left the power of suffrage

qualification to each state.

Expansion of the Electorate• Electorate-potential voting population • First election the right to vote was restricted

to white male property owners (less than1 in 15)

Expansion of Electorate cont.• Two trends in the expansion of electorates

1. elimination of restrictions2. Change of suffrage power from the states to the

federal government

Extending Suffrage• Growth of the electorate system in five stages

1. Elimination of religious qualifications2. Protect citizen from being discriminated because

of color3. Elimination of gender qualifications4. Protecting voters right to vote 5. Age restriction set to 18yr and older

The Power to Set Voting Qualifications• Constitution allots power to set suffrage

qualification to the states NOT the Federal government

• However constitution places 5 restriction on States

Voting Qualifications cont.

1. The State must allow the same voters to vote in all election within the state (including national elections)

2. NO state can deprive any person the right to vote based of race, or color (15th amendment)

3. No state can deprive a person the right to vote based of gender (19th Amendment)

Voting Qualifications cont.

4. No State can require a form of payment (taxes) in the election process (24th Amendment)

5. No state can deprive any person who is at least 18 years of age the right to vote because of age (26th amendment)

Voter Qualifications

Chapter 6 section 2

Universal Requirements

• Each state requires three basis qualifications to vote1. Citizenship2. Residence3. Age

Citizenship • Must be a United States citizen to vote.

Residence• Must be a legal residence of the state they

wish to vote in.

Residency cont.• State adopted residency requirement for two

reasons1. To stop parties/candidate from bribing enough

outsiders to affect the outcome of local elections2. To allow new residence to become familiar with

the issues

Age• Constitution states that no state may set the

min age for voting at 18

Other Qualifications• States have also added their own

requirements over the years– Literacy– Tax payment– Registration

Registration • States require voter to register to vote• Registration-is a procedure of voter

identification to prevent fraud

Literacy • No state has a literacy test

today

Tax payment• Property ownership proved by property taxes

was qualification of suffrage• States once also has a special tax for those

who wanted to vote – Poll taxNo longer constitutional

Voter Behavior

Nonvoter

• Typically more people vote during presidential elections years

• The number of voters declines as you move from federal elections to state elections to local elections. Called Ballot Fatigue.

Those Who don’t vote• Don’t meet residency requirements• Believe their vote doesn’t make a difference• Distrust government and politicians• Takes too long • Bad Weather• Time zone fallout• Lack of interest

Those who do vote• Regular voters usually have positive

attitudes towards government.– More Education– More income– Usually middle-aged citizens

Factors that Influences Voters• Personal background– Age– Education– Religion– Racial and ethnic background– Gender– Income– Occupation

Party Identification• Strong party identification

leads to straight ticket voting– voting only for party candidates

• Weak party identification leads to split ticket voting– voting for candidates from more

than one party and is increasing • Increase in independent

voters not tied to any political party

The Issues• Voters are more informed about the issues• TV and around the clock news channels have

brought the issues into homes• Voters are better educated today• Current problems seem to have a greater

impact on personal lives

Candidate’s image • Voters focus on the qualities they want in a

candidate• Mental picture of candidate is very important – candidate must look “presidential”