VQ #8

Australian Ballot

1) is printed and distributed at public expense, 2) must show all candidates' names, 3) It is available only at the polling places, and 4) is competed in private.

15th Amendment

guaranteed voting rights regardless of race or previous condition of servitude

franchise/suffrage

The right to vote

gender gap

A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates.

grandfather clause

allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.

literacy test

A method to deny blacks right to vote during the Jim Crow Era by requiring reading or civics test in order to vote. Could be selectively applied.

Motor Voter Law

allowed voters to register to vote when they applied for driver's licenses

19th Amendment

adopted in 1920 that guarantees women the right to vote.

political efficacy

The belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference

poll tax

a fixed amount per person and payable as a requirement for the right to vote

prospective voting

Considers candidates promises and future stands on issues when deciding among candidates.

rational choice voting

Assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives when deciding among choices of candidates.

retrospective voting

Places heavy emphasis on the past performances and voting records of candidates when deciding who to select.

17th Amendment

Instituted the direct election of senators by the people of each state

24th Amendment

declared poll taxes void in federal elections

26th Amendment

Changed the legal voting age from 21 to 18.

23rd Amendment

allowed the residents of Washington, D.C. to vote in presidential elections, bringing the total national electoral count to 538. Washington D.C. gets 3 electoral votes.

voting age population

The number of people of voting age living in the country at a given time, regardless of whether they have the right to vote.

Voting Rights Act

invalidated the use of any test or device to deny the vote and authorized federal examiners to register voters in states that had disenfranchised blacks

white primary

A state primary election that restricts voting to whites only; outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1944.