Voting and Elections 11/11-11/13

Voter registration

Varies state by state

In SC voters can register online with SC drivers license or by paper application in mail or in person

Voter turnout

The proportion of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election

In order from largest to smallest number:

Total population

Voting-age population

Voting-eligible population

Registered voters

Voters in 2020 election

What drives voter turnout?

Voting rates positively correlated with age

Better economic and education status means more likely to vote

Whites most likely to vote, hispanics least likely

Voting is costly, time consuming, and purely voluntary

Tradeoffs between ease of voting and election integrity

Voter ID laws are popular and concern over their impact is fading

Mail-in and early voting has expanded since 2020

How many people are registered to vote in SC

About 3.4 million people as of November 2024

Factors involved in deciding to run for office

• Goals if they win

• Family obligations

• Career obligations

• District and likely competition in primary and general elections

• Time, effort, intrusion into personal life

• Likelihood of victory

Campaign finance

Candidates spending and raising money on elections

Federal and state laws determine who is allowed to donate and how much and what campaign funds can be spent on

Nomination stage of elections

Most offices select candidates through single-party primary elections

• Closed member primaries only registered members of the party to vote

• Open primaries allow registered voters to chose what primary to vote in

• Top two (jungle) primaries put all candidates of all parties in one election

• Some states use caucuses instead of primary elections

May require majority or plurality winner

Presidential primaries

Determine delegates to the party conventions

Can be winner take all or proportional

Delegates officially vote at convention (usually)

Delegates also vote on party platforms

• Positions on various political and policy issues (planks)

General elections

• Plurality winners in most cases

• Campaigns between primary and general elections can vary by race

  • Length of time, district competitiveness, etc.

  • Primaries attract involved partisans; general elections attract broader voting pools

• Presidential race determines electors in Electoral College

  • Other races determined by election results

Direct democracy

Policy questions go directly to voters for a decision

Ballot measures only for state and local elections

Referendum

Citizens asked to confirm or reverse a decision made by government

• Tax changes, constitutional amendments passed by legislature, judicial retention, etc

Initiative

Proposed by the citizens via petition

• Organizers typically must file paperwork and collect enough signatures on petitionRe

Recall

Allows for voters to force an unscheduled election for an office

Pros and Cons of direct democracy

Pros: allows voter participation; bypass unresponsive representative democracy

Cons: voters may not know issue or understand effects; “excesses of democracy”