AP Gov: Topic 5.1 - Voting Rights and Models of Voting Behavior Study Guide

Civil Rights Act of 1964

addressed voting

electorate

large percentage of Americans

Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

not being denied the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

franchise

right to vote

grandfather clause

allowed states to recognize a registering voter as it would have recognized his grandfather, prevented scores of African Americans from voting, while it allowed illiterate and poor whites to circumvent the literacy test and poll tax requirements

literacy test

a test of reading skills required before one could vote

Nineteenth Amendment

not being denied the right to vote based on sex

party identification

acknowledging membership with a political party

party-line voting model

citizens who affiliate with a political party or hold a strong party loyalty will likely vote with that party at most opportunities

poll tax

fee required to vote

preclearance

put these states under federal supervision if they attempted to invent new, legal loopholes to diminish black suffrage, such as moving polling places or gerrymandering

prospective voting model

anticipate the future

rational-choice voting model

what matters most to one rational-choice voter might mean much less to another voter

retrospective voting model

look backward to consider candidate's track records

Seventeenth Amendment (1913)

popular elections for senators

suffrage

qualifications for voting

Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964)

not denying right to vote based on failure to pay taxes

Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971)

not being denied the right to vote when 18 or older

Twenty-third Amendment (1961)

the District constituting the seat of government shall appoint a number of electors in no event more than the least populous State

Voting Rights Act of 1965

outlawed literacy tests and put states with low voter turnout under the watchful eye of the Justice Department

white primary

popular method for southern states to keep African Americans from voting

1957 Civil Rights Act

addressed discrimination in voter registration and established the U.S. Office of Civil Rights

What is the legal right to vote called?

Franchise or Suffrage.

What term refers to the entire body of citizens who are eligible to vote in an election?

Electorate.

What constitutional amendment prohibited denying citizens the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude?

Fifteenth Amendment (1870).

What constitutional amendment established the direct popular election of U.S. Senators by the voters?

Seventeenth Amendment (1913).

What constitutional amendment granted voting rights to women by specifying that the right to vote shall not be denied based on sex?

Nineteenth Amendment (1920).

What constitutional amendment granted presidential electors to the District of Columbia?

Twenty-third Amendment (1961).

What constitutional amendment abolished poll taxes in federal elections?

Twenty-fourth Amendment (1964).

What constitutional amendment lowered the legal voting age across the United States to 18?

Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971).

Which major law outlawed literacy tests and placed states with low voter turnout under federal supervision?

Voting Rights Act of 1965.

What provision under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 required specific states to get federal approval before making changes to their voting laws?

Preclearance.

What 1964 legislation addressed discrimination in both voting procedures and public accommodations?

Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What post-Reconstruction federal legislation established the U.S. Office of Civil Rights to address voter registration discrimination?

Civil Rights Act of 1957.

What requirement forced prospective voters to demonstrate reading skills before being allowed to register?

Literacy Test.

What fee was required in some states prior to voting, which acted as a barrier to low-income voters?

Poll Tax.

What discriminatory practice allowed poor, illiterate white voters to bypass literacy tests while disenfranchising Black voters?

Grandfather Clause.

What tactic used in southern states limited primary election participation exclusively to white voters?

White Primary.

What term describes an individual's psychological or official affiliation with a political party?

Party Identification.

In what voting model do voters decide based on what they perceive to be in their own personal self-interest?

Rational-Choice Voting Model.

In what voting model do voters look back at a candidate's or party's past performance to decide their vote?

Retrospective Voting Model.

In what voting model do voters make decisions by anticipating how candidates will perform in the future?

Prospective Voting Model.

In what voting model do citizens vote for candidates based entirely on party affiliation?

Party-Line Voting Model.

Which section of the Constitution gives states the authority to determine the times, places, and manner of elections?

Article 1, Section 4.

Who were the only citizens eligible to vote under the original U.S. Constitution in 1789?

Wealthy, landed white men (a minority of the population).

By roughly what year were voting franchise requirements expanded to include nearly all white men?

1830.

Why were only wealthy, landed white men initially allowed to vote in 1789?

They were believed to be the only ones who knew the best interests of society well enough to make political decisions.