Electoral Support for GovernorsHighest was for Bush with 18% and lowest was for Perry in 2006 with 14%.Percent of Texas Voting Age Population RegisteredHit a peak in 2000 and has been declining since.For the past 10 years, every election cycle, the numbers have been declining.Due to the rules of the game – Republicans prefer to repress registrationBecause mass turnout normally leads to a Democratic winIf you reduce registration, you can reduce the turnout.This is why Republicans were against Motor Voter Registration because this would have increased turnout.Historically, the South have tried to suppress voting – not free and fair elections in that case.This is why the Supreme Court struck down the law that required ID to vote in Texas and Pennsylvania.Voter ID laws disadvantage the poorPeople who don’t drive won’t have a license etc.So until the state provides photo ID for citizens then it is unconstitutional to have a Voter ID law.Explanations of Non-VotingAlienationPeople feel alienated from society and the political process – they don’t see the point of voting.Policies will not be created for them because they do not voteNo benefit for candidates to bring in these policies either.Cost-benefitRational choice theory for voter turnoutIs it beneficial to vote?For some and not for othersWhen the costs are more than the benefits – there is no reason to vote.For most people the cost of voting is higher than the benefitsCosts include – having to take the time of work, costs that incur in getting to the polling station. Education costs – you need information on the candidate, cost of buying newspapers etc. Also there is a very small chance that your vote will be pivotal, so the outcome will be the same regardless of whether you vote or not.People vote due to civic duty – this is the error term. Civic duty is acquired through socialization – mainly through schools. You are taught that it is your responsibility as a citizen in a democracy to vote.Therefore, people who are better educated should vote more.SatisfactionVoting in years that do not have a presidential election has the lowest turnout.Gubernatorial elections has the lowest turnout amongst elections.Texas has their gubernatorial election during off-years so they can ‘focus on Texas issues rather than national issues.’ However, no one appears to care about this because it is the lowest turnout figure.House voter turnout is lowest during off-years and highest during presidential elections.Declining TurnoutParty-group linkagesLack of sharp correspondence between party and major segment of society. Major parties seek same potential voters; Winner take all systemDeclining competitionOnly one candidate – safe seatsIncumbency gives a good amount of safety in positionsSome states are becoming one party systems due to this.Texas is always fairly faithful to one partyFirst Democrats and now RepublicansVoter exhaustionExpect every 4 years to be asked to vote for as many as 100 officials in 4 general elections and 4 more primaries. In Texas, const. amendments, bond issues, tax levies tooTurnout of eligible not declining very much if prisoners and parolees, who are not eligible to vote, are excluded from eligible population.Other explanation: Start at historical high point.Why do Americans vote less?Lack of party-group linkageRegistration restrictionsSome states have brought in Election Day Registration/Same Day RegistrationOther states have tried to make it harderNon-compulsory votingCountries such as Australia have thisIf you don’t vote you will get a fineVoter exhaustionTurnout in America is low compared to most democracies in 2000.Initiative and ReferendumForms of direct democracyFound mostly in the mid-West and Western statesInitiative procedures are down to the statesExamples of VotingEasy choice is to pick a candidate based on one major issueRational choice.The difficult choice is choosing a candidate that is closest to you on most issues.Rational choice is that you pick the candidate whose issue preferences are closest to yoursA more difficult choiceWhen you have one salient (important) issueThis is likely to drive your vote choice even if the candidate that disagrees with this issue, agrees with you on most. You will still vote for the one that agrees with your salient issueA quite difficult choiceSome candidates will not clearly state their issues preferences and so you have to guessPolitical SocializationDefinitionThe process of political socialization explains how the attitudes and values of the conservative political culture that dominates Texas are transmitted from one generation to another.Political socialization is the process by which we teach and learn our political knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, values and habits of behavior.The basic agents of political socialization are family, schools, churches, and the media.Party IdentificationTransmission from parentsLikely to participateLikely to be informedBecause of your attachment to a political partyFollow news etc. to keep up with partyLeast likely to vote for the oppositionEven if you are only a moderate supporter you will still vote for that partyEnduringVote based on PID not issuesTexas TurnoutTexas turnout is below the national average.Why?Traditionalistic political culturePolitical SocializationThe institutions of socialization in Texas--family, schools, churches, mass media, and others--do not encourage the state’s children to be politically active.Texans are taught to accept the political system, not to participate in it.The political party systemVoter turnout tends to be higher in those states where political parties are more competitive and better organized.While party competition in the South, including Texas, has increased in recent years as the Republican party has become more active, parties in Texas remain weak and voting levels are still below the rates that prevail in the rest of the countryFactors associated with TurnoutSocioeconomic statusHigher this is, the higher the chance you’ll voteEducation mattersIf you take people from the same education level than blacks will vote more than whitesBecause previously they were not allowed to vote – this has increased their chances of turnoutInterparty competitionTradition/CultureLegal requirementsElection issuesPOLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 13Outline of Last Lecture I. The Individual in a Democratic SocietyOutline of Current Lecture II. Voting BehaviorA. Texas VotingB.