The Vote

Suffrage

• Suffrage – right to vote • the Framers left it to each state to regulate • originally it was only white, male, property

owners.• the restrictions were taken away over time

(not always pleasantly) and a lot of the power to regulate this right was taken over by the federal government.

• Electorate – the potential voting population within the United States

• Today’s qualification to vote 18 yrs of age and a citizen.

Five stages of voting restrictions eliminations

• 1) Early 1800s, religious qualifications and property ownership disappeared

• 2) 15th Amendment (1870) any race or color could vote • 3) 19th Amendment (1920) any sex could vote • 4) 23rd , 24th Amendments (1961, 1964) Voting Rights Act of 1965 and

others – racial equality at the polls for all races in the country, the District of Columbia could vote in presidential elections, and the poll tax were eliminated.

• 5) 26th Amendment (1971) age 18 to vote minimum

The constitution gives the power of voting requirements to the states but

with the following restrictions1. Any person whom a State allows to vote for members of the “most numerous branch”

of its own legislature, must also be allowed to vote for representatives and senators in Congress.

2. No State can deny any person of the right to vote based on color, race, or previous condition of servitude.

3. No State can deprive the right to vote based on sex 4. No State can require the payment of any tax as a condition of taking part I the

nomination or election of any federal officeholder 5. No State can deny the right to vote to anyone over 18 yrs. of age.

Qualifications for voting

Citizen – All states require that you be a citizen of the United States to vote in elections.

• Naturalized or native born• There is nothing in the Constitution that says that legal Aliens cannot

vote.

Residence – that you live within a state for a certain period of time before being allowed to vote.

Why?• to keep outsiders from deciding the outcome of local elections• every states has accepted the view that every voter should have time to

become familiar with the candidates and issues of the election.

• Those with longer periods were for the most part struck down by the Supreme Court

• Those people who are mobile and only living in a state for a few months are usually unable to vote.

• Age – 26th Amendment made it 18, before then it was 21.

• 17 year olds can vote in primary elections in some states, provided that their birthdays fall before the National November elections.

Registration

Registration – all states (except for N.D.) require that you be registered with that state to vote.

• an aid in preventing voter fraud• usually need, Name, place of birth, present address, length of

residence, etc., to be registered with some form of county official.

Registration can be lost if:– convicted of a serious crime– moves away– doesn’t vote for a set number of elections– committed to the mental ward– dies

Motor Voter Law (1995) – federal law that requires all states to

• allow all eligible citizens to register to vote at the same time they apply or renew a driver’s license

• provide for voter registration by mail• make voter registration forms available at the local

offices of State employment, welfare and other social service agencies

All states, but Maine and Wisconsin, have a deadline

for registration• Usually within 30 days of the election

At one time a qualification to vote was based on the ability to read and write.

• used to show that the voter could cast an informed ballot• also used to make sure that certain groups didn’t get to vote• (ex. African Americans in the South)• Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970 eliminated it forever in America. Poll Tax – tax payment that some states required to be paid before a

person could vote.• found throughout the south, it was aimed at discouraging African

Americans from voting in elections• didn’t work too well• there was opposition to using it from within the South as well as from

outside. • ended with the 24 Amendment

Civil Right

Gerrymandering – drawing the lines of electoral district in such a fashion that the voting strength of a group or party is limited.

Based upon the civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King

Jr,. Congress began to enact civil rights laws in the late 1950s.Civil Rights Acts of 1957 – set up the civil rights commission.

– investigate voter discrimination and report to the President, Congress and the people (via the press).

– Injunctions – federal court orders, used to prevent interference with someone’s right to vote in federal elections. • The attorney general is the officer charged by this law with getting the

injunction.

• Civil Rights Act of 1960 – appointed federal voting referees. They were to serve in any place that had voter discrimination and to aid any qualified person to register and vote in federal elections.

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 – as far as voting it forbid the use of registration requirements in a way that is unfair or discriminates.– used the federal courts against racial discrimination– used injunctions and “contempt of court” punishment

for people who refused to obey those orders.• Didn't work that well

Voting Rights Act of 1965 - directs the attorney general to attack the constitutionality of the remaining State poll tax laws. – This law also suspended the use of any literacy test

or similar devices by the States or Counties where less than half of the electorate had been registered or had voted in the 1964 elections.

– Attorney General could appoint voting examiners to serve in these States or Counties• Could also register voters and oversee the conduct of

elections in these areas

– No new election laws without the approval of the dept. of Justice.

– Any State or County could be removed from the law's "bail-out" process• Prove in the U.S. District Court in D.C. that it hasn't

applied any voting procedures in a discriminatory way in past 10 years.• Applied to Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,

South Carolina, Virginia, and 40 counties in North Carolina.

• Counties in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, and Oregon were added to the list in 1970

– The 5 year ban originally put on literacy test became permanent in every state as of 1975.

– Since 1975 all counties with a language minority of at least 5% must have ballots printed in English and in the minority language of the area in question. • Changed in 1992 from 5% to a population of 10,000

people.

• Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1966)

• this law applies to ALL elections held anywhere in the country

Not Voting

The problem with nonvoters• Nonvoting Voters - voters that only vote in federal elections for

President or some other office/question, but do not vote on the rest of the ballot.

• Known as ballot fatigue• Voters "usually" vote for larger or more important elections such

as President or Governor but as the ballots continue, they decide for whatever reason not to finish the rest of the ballot and stop.

• One of the reasons given is that the offices not voted for are viewed as unimportant.

• Another thing that has to be watched for is the lack of voting in an "off year" election as viewed as unimportant.

• Cannot Voters – people that are either resident aliens, ill, traveling unexpectedly, jailed, religion, and voter discrimination.

• basically they can vote but these groups of people physically cannot get to the polls

Actual Nonvoters – those that choose not to vote• believe that their vote doesn’t count• things will go well for them and their country regardless of who wins• Political Efficacy – lack any sense of their own influence or effectiveness in

politics– they distrust politics and politicians– many of them believe that the people have been squeezed out of politics and it is

now controlled by the professional politicians, powerful special interest groups, and the media

• Throw into this group anything from long lines, bad weather, and long registration procedures, turns people away too.

• LACK OF INTEREST PERIOD!!!

WHAT AFFECTS TURNOUT

Who votes?• Higher income• Higher education• Higher occupational status• Usually integrated into their communities • They have lived for a while in their present area and enjoy life the way it is. • Are drawn to one particular party over the other(s)• Are not conflicted by other influences• Voting is felt to be important

Who doesn’t vote?• Usually people below the age of 35• unmarried• unskilled• more rural dwellers• more Southern areas