Citizenship and Voting

citizen

person….

• with privileges granted by the U.S.

• protected by the U.S.

• who owes allegiance to the U.S.

why did citizenship become so important?

Consideration whether or not former enslaved people would be considered citizens (yes, they would)

13th amendment

ended enslavement of people in the U.S.

14th amendment

defined citizenship + made newly freed people citizens

15th amendment

directed that all men who were citizens are allowed to vote

Jus Soli

of the soil; born in the U.S.

Jus Sanguinis

of the blood; one of their parents is a U.S. citizen when a person is born

naturalization

legal process where people who aren’t born citizens become citizens

expatriation

the process of leaving your native country to live in another country

ability to vote

suffrage and the franchise

the electorate

all the people within a population who can vote

who can vote at the beginning of the nation?

• white

• male

• property owner

could many people vote in the beginning of the nation?

no, only a few can

obstacles to african americans voting

literacy tests, grandfather clauses, white primaries, poll taxes

literary tests

tested read and write ability; very impossible to pass

grandfather clauses

if your grandfather could vote, then you automatically had the right to vote

white primaries

only white people voted in primaries

poll taxes

you have to pay to vote

19th amendment

gave right to women to vote

current qualifications for voting

• is a citizen of a state

• lives in that state

• is over 18

gerrymandering

when state leadership draws the lines for voting districts in such a way as to increase the power of their party

registration and restrictions on registration

• some states require more stringent ID requirements in order to register to vote

• some people believe that these laws have been put in place to keep marginalized people from voting

why do people vote for particular candidates?

they’re either a…

• republican

• democrat

• other party

simply voting against

• democrat

• republican

or they just simply dont vote

why don’t people turn out to vote?

they either

• don’t feel their voting makes a difference

• are generally happy with the way things are going

• don’t trust the system, cynical abt the very process of voting

• say they’re too busy to vote

voting blocks

group of people who vote in a similar way because they share common interests or characteristics, such as ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs

straight ticket voting

people go to polls and vote for all candidates of one party

split ticket voting

people go to polls and vote for candidates from multiple parties

coattail effect

when a candidate’s popularity leads to improved vote totals for fellow party candidates further down the ballot

ballots

what people use to vote

bedsheet ballots

a very long, involved paper ballot

early voting

process that allows voters to vote earlier (before election day)

absentee voting

a way for a U.S. citizen to cast a ballot in an election without voting in person at a polling place or vote center

interest groups

groups that are trying to push forward a certain public policy

lobby

the practice of advocating for a position with politicians

good things abt interest groups

they can…

• bring attention to important issues

• unite around issues

• give the government expert information

• provide a way for people to participate + have their voice heard

• provide another check on government

• provide a check on each other (the groups)

bad things abt interest groups

they can

• give a small group an outsized voice

• allow rich people to have an outsized voice

• become confusing in who they represent

• be controlled by a small group of people and can advocate for policies that their members don’t even support

• not act in moral ways

limits on lobbyists

• politicians cannot accept gifts from lobbyists

• senators cannot become lobbyists until 2 years after leaving office

• members of house of reps cannot lobby until 1 year after leaving office

• all lobbyists must register with the government and give an account of what they lobby about

how people lobby with congress

• meet with senators + representatives

• draft bills to become law

• donate to congress

how people lobby courts

• amicus curiae briefs

amicus curiae briefs

a document submitted to a court by someone who is not a party to the case but wants to offer their expertise, information, or perspective on the issues being considered.

how people lobby grass roots

getting ordinary citizens to contact their reps and ask them to do things