POLS Chapter 5 Lecture Notes 10 1 12 o High voter turnout for young people and minorities Political Attitudes and participation Political Culture 2008 Election Demographics are not destiny Red states Blue states o Texas is a red state Political Culture and Elections Voting patterns Geographic patterns o Southern states are typically conservative o Northeast and California are liberal Voter turnout o of all blacks turnout Core issues Young voters o Don t change over time Highest among all minority turnout Voting age population Anyone over the age of 18 Participation is dropping Elections and Balloting Usually secretary of state s purview o Sets election dates o Qualifies candidates o Print ballots o Counts ballots Localities manage operations o Draw precinct boundaries o Set up and supervise polling places o Register voters o Report counts to usually secretary of state Ballots determined state by state o 1968 Robert Kennedy and 2008 Obama are the biggest turnouts Restricting Voters Property ownership Literacy tests and poll taxes Registration requirements Voting rights expansion o Exempt from this through Grandfather Clause o 15th Amendment 1868 African American males o 19th Amendment Women o 24th Amendment Elimination of poll taxes etc o 26th Amendment Lowers voting age to 18 Elections and Voter Turnout Political culture o Shows the interest of politics Election type o Voters vote for more popular elections presidency Demographics Party competition already been decided Statewide Elections Gubernatorial elections Plural executive systems o Lieutenant governor More powerful than governor o Attorney general o Vote for all of these at the same time State senators State representatives o AKA assemblymen or delegates Direct Democracy Popular vote people make decisions Citizens as lawmakers Variation across states o We like knowing our vote matters We won t vote in an election where we feel like it has o Texas holds these every four years 2 years after the presidential election Popular referendum o 25 states o Bring up a law revisit it Ballot initiative o 24 states Constitutional amendment by initiative o 18 states Recalls of state officials o 18 states o Ex CA before Arnold Pros of Direct Democracy Citizen access Citizen voice Policy responsiveness Cons of direct democracy Unwieldy public opinion Inefficient laws and contradictory legislation Public Opinion and Elections Public opinion and news media Public opinion and interest groups Public opinion and policy responsiveness
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