Political Participation:

Voter Turnout in the United States

&

How Citizens Arrive at the Vote

Three Puzzles About American Turnout

– Why is turnout in national elections lower than most other democracies?

– Why has turnout in the U.S. declined since 1960?

– What caused turnout to go up slightly in 1992? And go back down in 1996?

Political Participation

• Two Types of Political Participation:

– Conventional Participation

• Voting

• Letter writing

• Contact with Representatives

• Working on Campaigns

• Campaign Contributions

• Joining Groups (social capital)

• Running for Office

– Unconventional Participation

• Boycotts, Sit-ins, Marches, Demonstrations, Violence

Expanding Suffrage

Constitutional Amendments:

• 15 (1870) = Race

• 19 (1920) = Sex

• 23 (1961) = Residents of DC can vote for President but not Congress

• 24 (1964) = Poll tax

• 26 (1971) = 18 years old, changes from 21

Voting Trends

• Initially, suffrage changes resulted in increased participation

• Recently, voter turnout steadily on the decline = the vanishing electorate

• High of around 60% in Presidential elections -- 50% in midterm -- even lower in local elections

Various Explanations for Limited Participation

• Why Americans Still Don’t Vote

• Voter Registration

– Not automatic

– Requires foresight

– Residency requirements

• Mobile Electorate

• Voting Percentage of Registered Voters rivals the voter turnout in other countries

• Motor-Voter Legislation

Various Explanations for Limited Participation

• There are too many elections in the United States

– High information costs

• Election Day (Tuesday, work day)

• Voter apathy

• People believe they gain few personal benefits to themselves from voting

Various Explanations for Limited Participation

• Political parties are weaker

• Opportunity costs

• Civic duty has declined

• Irrational to vote

– Very little chance of affecting the outcome of an election

• Weather

Demographic Factors and Voter Turnout Graph

Increasing Voter Turnout

• How could we increase voter turnout?

• Should we increase voter turnout?

Three Puzzles About American Turnout

– Why is turnout in national elections lower than most other democracies?

• Institutional factors

– Why has turnout in the U.S. declined since 1960?

– What caused turnout to go up slightly in 1992? And go back down in 1996?

• Education levels have been rising

• Registration has become much easier

Determinants of the Vote

• Election specific factors

• Voting Cues

– PID, Endorsements, and Groups

• Retrospective voting

• Referendum voting

• On-line processing