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Politics in the United States
∗
OpenStax
Based on Politics in the United States† by
OpenStax
This work is produced by OpenStax-CNX and licensed under the
‡
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
Abstract
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•
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Explain the signicance of one person, one vote in determining U.S. policy
Discuss how voter participation aects politics in the United States
Explore the inuence of race, gender, and class issues on the voting process
Figure 1:
Americans' voting rights are a fundamental element of the U.S. democratic structure. (Photo
courtesy of David Goehring/ickr)
When describing a nation's politics, we should dene the term. We may associated the term with freedom,
power, corruption, or rhetoric. Political science looks at politics as the interaction between citizens and their
Version 1.3: Mar 13, 2015 3:44 pm -0500
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‡ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
∗
†
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government. Sociology studies
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politics
as a means to understand the underlying social norms and values
of a group. A society's political structure and practices provide insight into the distribution of power and
wealth, as well as larger philosophical and cultural beliefs. A cursory sociological analysis of U.S. politics
might suggest that Americans' desire to promote equality and democracy on a theoretical level is at odds
with the nation's real-life capitalist orientation.
Lincoln's famous phrase of the people, by the people, for the people is at the heart of the U.S. system
and sums up its most essential aspect: that citizens willingly and freely elect representatives they believe
will look out for their best interests. Although many Americans take free elections for granted, it is a vital
foundation of any democracy.
When the U.S. government was formed, however, African Americans and
women were denied the right to vote. Each of these groups struggled to secure the same surage rights as
their white male counterparts, yet this history fails to inspire some Americans to show up at the polls and
cast their ballots. Problems with the democratic process, including limited voter turnout, require us to more
closely examine complex social issues that inuence political participation.
1 Voter Participation
Voter participation is essential to the success of the U.S. political system. Although many Americans are
quick to complain about laws and political leadership, in any given election year roughly half the population
does not vote (United States Elections Project 2010). Some years have seen even lower turnouts; in 2010, for
instance, only 37.8 percent of the population participated in the electoral process (United States Elections
Project 2011). Poor turnout can skew election results, particularly if one age or socioeconomic group is more
diligent in its eorts to make it to the polls.
Certain voting advocacy groups work to improve turnout. Rock the Vote, for example, targets and reaches
out to America's youngest potential voters to educate and equip them to share their voice at the polls. Public
service promos from celebrity musicians support their cause. Native Vote is an organization that strives to
inform American Indians about upcoming elections and encourages their participation. America's Hispanic
population is reached out to by the National Council of La Raza, which strives to improve voter turnout
among the Latino population. William Frey, author of Diversity Explosion, points out that Hispanics, Asians,
and multiracial populations is expected to double in the next forty years (Balz 2014).
1.1 Race, Gender, and Class Issues
Although recent records have shown more minorities voting now than ever before, this trend is still fairly
new. Historically, African Americans and other minorities have been underrepresented at the polls. Black
men were not allowed to vote at all until after the Civil War, and black women gained the right to vote
along with other women only with the ratication of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. For years, African
Americans who were brave enough to vote were discouraged by discriminatory legislation, passed in many
southern states, which required poll taxes and literacy tests of prospective voters. Literacy tests were not
outlawed until 1965, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.
The 1960s saw other important reforms in U.S. voting. Shortly before the Voting Rights Act was passed,
the 1964 U.S. Supreme Court case Reynolds v. Sims changed the nature of elections. This landmark decision
rearmed the notion of one person, one vote, a concept holding that all people's votes should be counted
equally. Before this decision, unequal distributions of population enabled small groups of people in sparsely
populated rural areas to have as much voting power as the denser populations of urban areas. After Reynolds
v. Sims, districts were redrawn so that they would include equal numbers of voters.
Unfortunately, in June 2013 the Supreme Court repealed several important aspects of the 1965 Voting
Rights Act, ruling that southern states no longer need the stricter scrutiny that was once required to prohibit
racial discrimination in voting practices in the South. Following this decision, several states moved forward
with voter identication laws that had previously been banned by federal courts. Ocials in Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama claim that new identication (ID) laws are needed to reduce voter fraud. Opponents
point to the Department of Justice statics indicating that only twenty-six voters, of 197 million voters in
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federal elections, were found guilty of voter fraud between 2002 and 2005. "Contemporary voter identication laws are trying to solve a problem that hasn't existed in over a century (Campbell, 2012). Opponents
further note that new voter ID laws disproportionately aect minorities and the poor, potentially prohibiting
them from exercising their right to vote.
Evidence suggests that legal protection of voting rights does not directly translate into equal voting power.
Relative to their presence in the U.S. population, women and racial/ethnic minorities are underrepresented
in the U.S. Congress. White males still dominate both houses. For example, there is only a single Native
American legislator currently in Congress. And until the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009, all U.S.
presidents had been white men.
Like race and ethnicity, social class also has inuenced voting practices.
Voting rates among lower-
educated, lower-paid workers are lower than for people with higher socioeconomic status that fosters a system
in which people with more power and access to resources have the means to perpetuate their power. Several
explanations have been oered to account for this dierence (Raymond 2010). Workers in low-paying service
jobs might nd it harder to get to the polls because they lack exibility in their work hours and quality
daycare to look after children while they vote.
Because a larger share of racial and ethnic minorities is
employed in such positions, social class may be linked to race and ethnicity inuencing voting rates. New
requirements for specic types of voter identication in some states are likely to compound these issues,
because it may take additional time away from work, as well as additional child care or transportation, for
voters to get the needed IDs. The impact on minorities and the impoverished may cause a further decrease
in voter participation. Attitudes play a role as well. Some people of low socioeconomic status or minority
race/ethnicity doubt their vote will count or voice will be heard because they have seen no evidence of their
political power in their communities. Many believe that what they already have is all they can achieve.
As suggested earlier, money can carry a lot of inuence in U.S. democracy. But there are other means
to make one's voice heard.
Free speech can be inuential, and people can participate in the democratic
system through volunteering with political advocacy groups, writing to elected ocials, sharing views in a
public forum such as a blog or letter to the editor, forming or joining cause-related political organizations
and interest groups, participating in public demonstrations, and even running for a local oce.
2 The Judicial System
The third branch of the U.S. government is the judicial system, which consists of local, state, and federal
courts. The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States, and it has the nal say on decisions
about the constitutionality of laws that citizens challenge. As noted earlier, some rulings have a direct impact
on the political system, such as recent decisions about voter identication and campaign nancing. Other
Supreme Court decisions aect dierent aspects of society, and they are useful for sociological study because
they help us understand cultural changes. One example is a recent and highly controversial case that dealt
with the religious opposition of Hobby Lobby Stores Inc.
to providing employees with specic kinds of
insurance mandated by the Patient Protection and Aordable Care Act.
Another example is same-sex
marriage cases, which were expected to be heard by the Court; however, the Court denied review of these
cases in the fall of 2014. For now, the rulings of federal district courts stand, and states can continue to have
diering outcomes on same-sex marriage for their citizens.
3 Summary
The success and validity of U.S. democracy hinges on free, fair elections that are characterized by the
support and participation of diverse citizens. In spite of their importance, elections have low participation.
In the past, the voice of minority groups was nearly imperceptible in elections, but recent trends have shown
increased voter turnout across many minority races and ethnicities. In the past, the creation and sustenance
of a fair voting process has necessitated government intervention, particularly on the legislative level. The
Reynolds v.
Sims case, with its landmark one person, one vote ruling, is an excellent example of such
action.
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4 Section Quiz
Exercise 1
(Solution on p. 6.)
In the past, Southern states discouraged African Americans from voting by requiring them to take
a _____________________ test.
a. blood
b. literacy
c. lie detector
d. citizenship
Exercise 2
(Solution on p. 6.)
Which president signed the Voting Rights Act?
a. Lyndon Johnson
b. John F. Kennedy Jr.
c. Barack Obama
d. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Exercise 3
(Solution on p. 6.)
Which factor does not inuence voting practices?
a. Race
b. Social class
c. Ethnicity
d. Voting booths
Exercise 4
(Solution on p. 6.)
The U.S. Supreme Court case _________________ led to the revision of voting districts
to account for dierences in population density.
a. Roe v. Wade
b. Reynolds v. Sims
c. Brown v. Board of Education
d. Marbury v. Madison
Exercise 5
Which statement best explains the meaning of one person, one vote?
a. One person should not be allowed to vote twice.
b. A voter deserves one chance to vote.
c. A voter should vote only once a year.
d. All people's votes should count equally.
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(Solution on p. 6.)
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5 Short Answer
Exercise 6
If the percentage of Asian Americans in Congress is far below the percentage of Asian Americans
in the United States, does that mean Asian Americans lack political power? Why or why not?
Exercise 7
Explain how a voter's social class can aect his or her voting practices.
Exercise 8
Besides voting, how can U.S. citizens inuence political processes and outcomes? Which of these
strategies have you personally used?
6 Further Research
The 1965 Voting Rights Act was preceded by Lyndon Johnson's signing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Both
articles were instrumental in establishing equal rights for African Americans. Check out Cornell University's
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website on this topic to learn more about this civil rights legislation: http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Cornell_civil_rights
7 References
Bingham, Amy.
2012.
Voter Fraud:
Non-Existent Problem or Election-Threatening Epidemic?
ABC
News, September 12. Retrieved October 2, 2014 (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/voter-fraud-realrare/story?id=17213376
2
)
Cooper, Michael. 2013. After Ruling, States Rush to Enact Voting Laws The New York Times, July 5.
Retrieved October 1, 2014 (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/06/us/politics/after-Supreme-Court-rulingstates-rush-to-enact-voting-laws.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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)
Dinan, Stephen. 2013. Supreme Court Says Voting Rights Act of 1965 is No Longer Relevant The Washington Times, June 25. Retrieved October 1, 2014 (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/25/court4
past-voting-discrimination-no-longer-held/?page=all
)
IT Chicago-Kent School of Law. 2014. U.S. Supreme Court Media OYEZ. Retrieved October 7, 2014
5
(http://www.oyez.org/
)
Lopez, Mark Hugo and Paul Taylor. 2009. Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: the Most Diverse in U.S. History. Pew Research Center. April 30. Retrieved April 24, 2012 (http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/dissecting2008-electorate.pdf
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Raymond, Jose.
).
2010.
Why Poor People Don't Vote.
Change.org, June 6.
Retrieved February 17,
2012.
United States Elections Project. 2010. 2008 General Election Turnout Rates.
February 14, 2012 (http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html
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October 6. Retrieved
).
United States Elections Project. 2011. 2010 General Election Turnout Rates. December 12. Retrieved
February 14, 2012 (http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2010G.html
8
).
http://openstaxcollege.org/l/Cornell_civil_rights
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/voter-fraud-real-rare/story?id=17213376
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/06/us/politics/after-Supreme-Court-ruling-states-rush-to-enact-votinglaws.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
4 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jun/25/court-past-voting-discrimination-no-longer-held/?page=all
5 http://www.oyez.org/
6 http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/dissecting-2008-electorate.pdf
7 http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2008G.html
8 http://elections.gmu.edu/Turnout_2010G.html
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Solutions to Exercises in this Module
to Exercise (p. 4): Answer
B
to Exercise (p. 4): Answer
A
to Exercise (p. 4): Answer
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to Exercise (p. 4): Answer
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to Exercise (p. 4): Answer
D
Glossary
Denition 1: one person, one vote
a concept holding that each person's vote should be counted equally
Denition 2: politics
a means of studying a nation's or group's underlying social norms as values as evidenced through
its political structure and practices
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