AP Gov - Voting Rights Terms

Cmoneys set

Suffrage

the right to vote

White Primary

a common practice in Southern states; only white males were allowed to vote in primary elections, excluding African Americans from party membership and voting in primarys

Literacy Test

had to pass to be able to vote (“proved “voter was literate enough); disenfranchised newly freed slaves, uneducated whites, and new immigrants.

Poll Tax

a tax someone has to pay in order to vote; usually was expensive, goal was to prevent poor whites + newly freed slaves from voting

Grandfather Clause

if one’s grandfather voted in elections prior to 1867, lineal descendants are considered voters; didn’t have to pay poll tax nor take literacy test

Disenfranchised

path to voting was made difficult or taken away

Forms of Disenfranchisement

Grandfather clause, Literacy test, White primary, Poll tax

Absentee Ballot

ballot one gets when they aren’t currently in their home state (military or college), so one can vote for their state; asked for from state

Mail-in Ballot

ballot sent to one’s home (has to be asked for + provide reason why one needs it), put in the mailbox or a secure drop-off; once one uses this, they CANNOT vote in-person

In-person Vote

travelling to the nearest booth and voting there; signature + I.D. required

Solutions to Voting Corruption

one has to register to vote, the ballot is private, only U.S. citizens are able to vote, bipartisan voting areas

Who decides who gets to vote, how they vote, or when they vote

the States

Suffrage Requirements

• Citizenship (must be a citizen),

• Age (18 or older),

• Residence (must be a resident of state you are voting in),

• Registration (must be registered w/ officials in your state to vote)

Possible Voting Limitations

• Mental Competency (some states deny people in mental institutions)

• Convicted Felons (past/convicted felons are sometimes denied)

• Voter I.D. (If someone can’t provide a form of ID, such as Driver’s License, a Passport, etc., sometimes denied)

Federal Elections Commission

makes sure campaigns and elections are done fairly

15th Amendment

formal change to Constitution; gives all men (including people of color) the right to vote

17th Amendment

Formal change to Constitution; the Senate will be elected by the people ( 2 senators from each state for 6 yrs, each senator has 1 vote)

19th Amendment

Formal change to Constitution; women are granted the right to vote

24th amendment

Formal change to Constitution; eliminated the poll tax

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Informal change to Constitution; outlawed discriminatory practices (literacy test, poll taxes); provided fed. oversight for voter registration in areas w/ history of discrimination (Sec. 4/5)

Smith v. Allwright

Informal change to Constitution; eliminated white primaries

Shelby County v. Holder

Took away sections 4/5 from the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

passed in 2002; imposes several requirements on states, mostly to create national standards for voting & election management (all states had to upgrade voting systems to electronic format, polling places must be accessible for those w/ disabilities, etc.)

Motor Voter Act

passed in 1993; increased citizen participation by expanding the number of eligible citizens who can register to vote; expanded the number of locations where voters can register

Political Efficacy

sense that one’s vote makes a difference, and being interested in participating effectively and understanding political issues + processes

Political Apathy

a lack of concern for the election outcome; lack of interest for political processes or issues

Linkage Institution

structures in a society that connect individuals to the government, allowing citizens’ concerns to become political issues on the government’s policy agenda

Retrospective Voting

citizens who look backward to consider candidate’s track records when deciding to vote for them

Prospective Voting

citizens who anticipate the future; they consider how candidates might affect their lives in the future

Rational-choice Voting

when a voter has examined an issue or a candidate & consciously decided to vote in the way that benefits themselves most (shaped by individual interests in one’s priority list)

26th Amendment

formal change to Constitution; the right to vote will not be denied to a citizen at least 18 years old

Voter Turnout

the number of voters who actually cast votes as a percentage of the voting-age population

Voting-age Population (VAP)

EVERYONE over the age of 18

Voting-eligible Population (VEP)

CITIZENS over the age of 18, even if they don’t have voter registration

Electorate

the people who are entitled to vote in an election