POLS 1101 Week 16: Political participation

Political participation

All of the various ways that that citizens can influence the government

Unconventional participation

Behavior that challenges the normal workings of government by disrupting it or by making people uncomfortable

Acts such as joining boycotts, attending demonstrations and sit-ins, and occupying government offices

Citizens resort to unconventional participation because normal democratic participation is closed to them, or because they believe unconventional tactics will be more effective than conventional ones

Conventional participation

Routine behavior that occurs within the formal governmental process of a democracy, such as voting in elections, working for a candidate or party, putting a bumper stick on your car, or contacting a member of Congress

Compared with other countries, conventional forms of participation (other than voting) are relatively common in the United States

Unconventional participation as a necessity

In many nondemocratic countries, citizens participate unconventionally because such means are the only avenue open to them

Sometimes, even in what are nominally democracies, large groups of people are shut off from the workings of the democratic process, and they may then turn to unconventional participation to make their voices heard

Unconventional participation as a tactic

Groups with few financial resources or without an established organization may choose unconventional participation to publicize their cause in a way that does not require either

Unless a group can build sympathy by appealing to a basic value such as fairness or equality, it may simply generate a backlash by those who are made uncomfortable by the confrontation

The "Boston Tea Party" was an exercise in unconventional participation

Americans have been at least as active in unconventional participation as citizens of other countries

The decline of voter turnout in the 20th century

Americans vote in smaller numbers than the citizens of many other countries

The right to vote was progressively extended to almost all adults during the 19th and 20th centuries, but actual voter turnout declined significantly in the early 20th century

One cause being a group that has newly received the right to vote

A second partial cause was the adoption of a number of devices by Southern states starting in the 1890s to discourage voting

The introduction of the Australian ballot in the late 19th century may have played a role

The ballot was now secret, and parties could not oversee how their supporters voted. This may have decreased their efforts at mobilization, thus contributing to the drop in turnout

Convenience as a factor affecting turnout

One obstacle to voting is the difficulty of getting out to vote. Voting is easier in most countries than it is in the United States, which is part of the reason for the relatively low turnout in the U.S.

All states in the U.S. require prior registration by voters before they can vote, which is not the case in most countries

Election day always falls on a Tuesday, which means that many people who work during the day must either vote during their lunch break or before or after work

Most other countries hold their elections on a Sunday or declare Election Day a national holiday so that few people are working and it is more convenient for them to go to the polls

United States elections are typified by the "long ballot" with many offices open to election

In Great Britain, in a national election, voters face a ballot with just one office

Registration

A requirement by almost all states that citizens who wish to vote enroll prior to the election

Automatic registration

Enrollment of voters done by the government automatically, without requiring the individual to take any particular action to be eligible to vote

Motivation as a factor affecting turnout

A few people only get out and vote if they think an election will be close. This is why turnout in Presidential elections is usually higher in close "battleground states" than in states that are safely in one candidate's column

A much more important motivating factor is an individual's sense that voting is part of his or her role and duty as a citizen

Paradox of voting

The fact that one person's vote is highly unlikely to change the outcome of an election, so there is no concrete benefit for an individual who chooses to vote

Age (who votes)

Young voters participate less in American elections than older voters.

A likely explanation for the lower participation of younger people is that they do not appear to engage fully in their role as citizens until they are older

Ethnicity (who votes)

Asians, Hispanics, and African Americans do not vote as regularly as non-Hispanic whites

Their lower participation may result from the difficulty of voting in minority neighborhoods, lower education levels, or the absence of specific organizations to mobilize them politically

Income (who votes)

The higher an individual's income, the more likely he or she is to vote

What difference does it make who votes

One reason nonvoting is a serious problem for democracy is that when different groups participate at different rates, the outcome of the election no longer mirrors the overall population's interest accurately

Group differences in participation can change the election outcome, and as a result, political officials will probably not consider all groups in the population equally when they frame policies

Because Democratic supporters tend to be poor and members of ethnic minorities, in general they are less likely to vote than supporters of the Republican Party

Turnout in congressional elections

There is almost always higher turnout for presidential elections than for so-called "midterm" elections

Midterm election

Elections held two years after a presidential election, in which all members of the House of Representatives and 1/3 of Senators are elected, and many states hold elections for governor and other state offices

Voting in referendums

During the Progressive era a number of states established provisions for citizens to vote directly on policies rather than just elect representatives to decide on policy

Turnout in referendums is surprisingly high, considering the challenge they pose to voters

Referendum

A provision of elections allowing citizens to vote directly on constitutional amendments or changes in law

Initiative

A procedure by which a sufficient number of voters, by petition, can place a proposition on the ballot to be decided in a referendum

How people make voting decisions

Four factors shape voters' decisions when they vote:

what they think personally of the candidates

how they view the state of the nation and the economy

the candidates' party

policy issues

Low levels of information

Voters in the U.S. are under-informed

The candidates

Voters look for two main qualities when they choose a candidate for office: they consider how well the candidate can perform the job and they seek a candidate who is honest

Voters judge competence from a candidate's track record when holding other positions, and also from how intelligent and well-informed the candidate appears to be in debates and interviews

Designers of attack ads seek out inconsistencies in the candidate's past behavior or statements, which may suggest to voter a lack of integrity

The state of the nation and the economy

If voters are satisfied with the state of the nation and believe the economy is doing well, they tend to reelect a sitting president or to vote for the nominee of a retiring president's party

Voters punish incumbents if bad things happen, even if the government could not have done anything about them

Retrospective voting allows voters who may not be familiar with public policy debates to select candidates who serve them well

Retrospective voting

Voting to reelect an official if your life and the lives of those around you have gone well over the years that the person has been in office; if not, voting to oust the official

Party identification

Party identification has a stabilizing impact on voter choice

Once people develop an identification with the Democratic or Republican Party, they begin to interpret events and evaluate candidates in a way that is consistent with that identity

The stability of voters' party identification affects campaign strategies

Policy issues

Particular policy issues such as lowering or raising taxes, abortion rights, gun control, or health care play some role in voters' decisions

Who votes for whom

Some groups have very distinctive party identifications. Candidates often have personal attributes that allow them to appeal to specific groups in the population

That the Democrats' demographic bases of support are all growing poses a potential problem for the Republican Party

Political campaign

The period during which candidates try to convince voters to support them

Political consultant

Professional political strategist who advises candidates on broad strategy as well as specific logistics

Technology and the tools of the campaign

The technology available to consultants—and their candidates—has exploded in recent years. Tools available to campaigns include the following:

Polls, focus groups, tv ads, free media, websites and social networking sites, and targeted marketing

Polls

Presidential candidates get daily tracking polls to follow every up-tick and down-tick of the campaign so that they can adjust quickly to shifts

Focus group

A small group of people who meet with campaign workers to discuss issues and a candidate

They may be shown trial ads to see how they would react to them

Offers a nuanced and in-depth look at what voters think, what they are feeling, and what appeals to them

Tv ads

"Introduce" ads: Upbeat tv ads, usually appearing early in a campaign, that are designed to create a positive first impression of a candidate

Attack ads: Tv ads criticizing the opponent, usually in terms of the opponent's positions on issues and his or her record in office

Free media

Specialized media consultants have developed many ways to get the public media to spread the word about a candidate, saving the candidate precious advertising dollars and possibly also adding credibility to the candidate's message

Websites and social networking sites

A website provides an incredibly efficient way to reach millions of people at once with a political message or fundraising pitch

The possibilities for social networking on the internet have also opened up new ways of reaching out to potential voters for campaigns

The advent of the internet and multiple forms of social media has significantly altered the way candidates run their campaigns

Targeted marketing

Using consumer research to divide voters into tiny segments based on a wide variety of indicators so that different messages can be sent to various groups of voters

Before the advent of targeted marketing, a party that wanted to get its supporters out to vote would target neighborhoods where, because of past election returns, it knew it had a lot of supporters

Targeted marketing allows a party to go into all neighborhoods, even those where its opponents are strong, and target just its supporters in each location

Retargeting identifies web-surfers interested in a candidate by the sites they click on, and then targets them for ads that follow them from site to site

Position papers

Documents prepared by candidates describing in detail their stands on various issues

Electoral mobilization

An election strategy that relies on getting a candidate's supporters to the polls

Electoral mobilization versus changing minds

Tv ads and political debates are effective for changing people's minds because an ad or a candidate's arguments in the debate can be persuasive

Targeted marketing is a great tool for mobilization but not a tool for changing minds

The internet allows the campaign to mobilize its supporters by writing instantaneously to a list of email addresses consisting only of supporters or likely supporters

Party polarization

Increased feelings among partisans that their party is right and the other is wrong

Party polarization promotes bad feelings about the candidates and those serving in government

New patterns of residential migration seem also to have reinforced party polarization over the last several decades

Removing voting barriers

Most white men could vote by 1840

14th Amendment: disenfranchisement can affect apportionment

15th Amendment granted African Americans voting rights in 1870

19th Amendment guaranteed women's suffrage in 1920

24th Amendment banned poll tax

26th Amendment granted voting rights to 18-21 year olds in 1971

Costs of voting

Voter registration

Closing date

Information gathering

Few Americans are well-informed about politics and government

Going to the polling place

Long lines

Mitigating costs of voting

Motor Voter Act (1993)- Register when renewing license/registration

Help America Vote Act of 2002- Replaced outdated voting technology

Early voting/voting by mail- Expands number of days one can vote

Joining boycotts, attending sit-ins and occupying government offices are all examples of:

Unconventional participation

Though the law left implementation up to the states, which of the following provided funds to replace punch-cards and paper ballots with electronic means of voting, such as touch screens?

Help America Vote Act of 2002