Unit 4 Voting and Elections
President Elections- electors (electoral college) originally cost 2 ballots. The most (majority) votes will be president. 2nd is vice president. Electors are chosen in each state based on popular vote.12th amendment- Split electoral votes, 1 for president; 1 for vice president (1796- VP Adams v. Sec. of State Jefferson; Results in two different parties from the President (Adams) and Vice President (Jefferson),1800, Pres Adams v. VP Jefferson. Tie between Jefferson and Burr, if nobody has the the majority of electoral voters the election goes to House of Representatives also happened in 1824). # of electors per state= # representative + # of senators.
# in TN is 11. The total number of electors in US= 435 representatives + 100 senators + 3 D.C= 538 electors. 270= needed to win president. Most states award electors on winner take all basis- winner of popular vote in each state gets all electoral votes in state. Election date for federal (president; congressional)- every even years;Nov., Tue. State and local governments can have elections the same time.
Suffrage- right to vote
Electorate- eligible voting population. Original electorate in the U.S very limited. Who is in the electorate? 18 & U.S Citizens
How many states? 11 not Rhode island and North Carolina
Stages increasing electorate-
1) Drops property owner and religious qualifications
2) 15th Amendment cant discriminate in voting based in race, color or if you have been a slave. Drop racial qualification
13th Amendment- Abolish Slavery (After 13th everyone had free rights, former slaves had some of the rights)
14th Amendment- Equal Protection Clause (All of us are guaranteed all rights)
3) 1920- 19th amendment- can’t discriminate voting based on gender. Drop gender qualification (TN last state needed to make it an amendment)
4)1950-1960s- multiple groups who should have already had voting rights, but they aren’t being allowed to vote. Civil Rights Act; Voting Right Act; 23rd amendment= gives DC 3 electoral votes (why three? Minimum number, 2 senators and 1 representative); 24th amendment= bans any tax payment as voting qualification
5) 1970’s- Vietnam war- 26th amend- states must allow anyone 18 or older voting rights.
Suffrage requirements set by the states BUT they can’t violate any amendments.
Universal (all states) Qualifications
1) U.S citizen- up to the states. Not always been true.
2) Residency- must live in the state. Live? States decide. How long? Supreme Court says 30 days is enough to establish residency for voting. 2 requirements; a) cuts down on voter fraud b) ensures that you have some knowledge of local and state politics
3) Age- most 18; some 17;Primary= Initial election; you run against your own party. (Nominate anytime between March-August) General= Final election; run against other party candidate. Winner is the office holder
4) Registration( sign up prior to something)- How long prior? The states get to decide but a bunch of states in 30 days. Why? We need to prepare for how many people are gonna vote.
How? Online,Mail, Registration Office. Does it keep people from voting?
Civil Rights and Suffrage
15th amendment-should solved any questions. After the 15th amendment, there was still discrimination, some legal?? Poll Taxes; Literacy Tests; Gerrymandering (drawing the district voting lines to gain an unfair advantage), Now illegal, hard to prove
Off year elections- any elections not including the president election (federal is every other year, presidential every 4 years)
Voter turnout- down on off year elections because we don’t vote for president
Gubernatorial- anything relating to the govern, each states get to decide when the elect
Nonvoters vs. Cannot voters- both are electorate. (Kinda like football- Am I playing offense or defense? None. I’m not on the team.) Cannot voters- eligible but not allowed. Fewer due to mail-in/drop-off. Ex. Out of town; in hospital/ill; in jail -misdemeaners or waiting for trial(not felons); religion reasons (no one put before God)
Non-voter- eligible but chose not to. Ex. Don’t care, don’t like the candidates; lazy; weather; no sense of political efficacy
Characteristics of likely voters—> 30-35; married; long time resident; high education; strong party identification.
Straight Ticket voting vs. split ticket voting-
A) Straight= you tend to vote on party lines (who’s from the best party) for all/most elections; Voting all the way down
B) Split= voting for who you believe is the best candidate
Transients= Anybody living somewhere temporarily like a college dorm
Wesberry v. Sanders- SC says that the voting districts should be as equal as possible, makes the “one man, one vote” principle
Political efficacy= believe your vote matters