Voter Turnout and Influences

Unit 5: Political Participation for AP Government

Voter Turnout calculates…

# of who vote / # of who can vote

• Who can vote: eligibility

Factors Affecting Voter Turnout Variation

• Education

• Nationality

• Location

• Race/ethnicity

• Gender

• Age

Political Efficacy

• “Does my vote matter?”

• A voter’s motive to participate if their vote makes a difference in government

Influences to Political Efficacy

• Dominant political party in state

• Government’s actions based on voting

• Issues that affect voters personally

Engagement

• “How interested are you?”

• A voter’s interest to voting for a candidate/campaign

Influences to Engagement

• Significance of issues

• Alignment with a candidate/campaign’s ideals

State Laws

• “How accessible is voting?”

• A voter’s opportunity to participate in voting

Influences to State Laws

• Location

• State methods of implementing voting booths

• Restrictions to voting

Presidential Election

• Every 4 years

• Elect the president and vice-president

Midterm Election

• Every 2 years

• Elect who represents in Congress during a president’s term

Why is voter turnout higher in presidential elections than midterm elections?

• Greater impact

• Presidents matter more

• Increased media coverage and publicity