POLS 207 1st Edition Lecture 13 Outline of Last Lecture I The Individual in a Democratic Society Outline of Current Lecture II Voting Behavior A Texas Voting B Explanations for Non Voting C Why people vote D Declining Turnout III Political Socialization a Party Identification b Turnout Current Lecture Electoral Support for Governors Highest was for Bush with 18 and lowest was for Perry in 2006 with 14 Percent of Texas Voting Age Population Registered Hit 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 registration o Because mass turnout normally leads to a Democratic win o If you reduce registration you can reduce the turnout o This is why Republicans were against Motor Voter Registration because this would have increased turnout o 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 poor People 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 Voting Alienation o People feel alienated from society and the political process they don t see the point of voting o Policies will not be created for them because they do not vote No benefit for candidates to bring in these policies either Cost benefit o Rational choice theory for voter turnout Is it beneficial to vote For some and not for others When the costs are more than the benefits there is no reason to vote o For most people the cost of voting is higher than the benefits o Costs 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 o 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 o Therefore people who are better educated should vote more Satisfaction Voting 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 Turnout Party group linkages o Lack of sharp correspondence between party and major segment of society Major parties seek same potential voters Winner take all system Declining competition o Only one candidate safe seats o Incumbency gives a good amount of safety in positions o Some states are becoming one party systems due to this o Texas is always fairly faithful to one party First Democrats and now Republicans Voter exhaustion o Expect 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 too o Turnout of eligible not declining very much if prisoners and parolees who are not eligible to vote are excluded from eligible population o Other explanation Start at historical high point Why do Americans vote less Lack of party group linkage Registration restrictions o Some states have brought in Election Day Registration Same Day Registration o Other states have tried to make it harder Non compulsory voting o Countries such as Australia have this If you don t vote you will get a fine Voter exhaustion Turnout in America is low compared to most democracies in 2000 Initiative and Referendum Forms of direct democracy Found mostly in the mid West and Western states Initiative procedures are down to the states Examples of Voting Easy choice is to pick a candidate based on one major issue o Rational choice The difficult choice is choosing a candidate that is closest to you on most issues o Rational choice is that you pick the candidate whose issue preferences are closest to yours A more difficult choice o When you have one salient important issue This 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 issue A quite difficult choice o Some candidates will not clearly state their issues preferences and so you have to guess Political Socialization Definition The 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 Identification Transmission from parents Likely to participate Likely to be informed o Because of your attachment to a political party o Follow news etc to keep up with party Least likely to vote for the opposition o Even if you are only a moderate supporter you will still vote for that party Enduring Vote based on PID not issues Texas Turnout Texas turnout is below the national average Why Traditionalistic political culture Political Socialization o The institutions of socialization in Texas family schools churches mass media and others do not encourage the state s children to be politically active o Texans are taught to accept the political system not to participate in it The political party system o Voter turnout tends to be higher in those states where political parties are more competitive and better organized o 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 country Factors associated with Turnout Socioeconomic status o Higher this is the higher the chance you ll vote o Education matters If you take people from the same education level than blacks will vote more than whites