Chapter 6
Voters and Voting Behavior
Honors Classes, Sept. 26, 2016
Don’t forget about the upcoming
debates
Resolved: No person should be allowed to vote
unless he or she has passed a civics test that is
prepared by the state in which the person seeks to
vote. (Wednesday)
Resolved: The new Alabama Voter ID law is a good
idea. (Thursday)
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Why vote?
Does your vote matter?
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Why vote?
• The “slippery slope” argument
– What if everyone decides not to vote?
• The influence argument
– You’re one source (albeit of many) of influence over who gets elected to the
various offices.
– That, in turn, influences which policies are adopted.
• The “mandate” argument
– You’re providing more (or less) of a mandate to the candidate who wins
• Fewer votes makes it easier for politicians —
– to be less informed on issues.
– to agree on “solutions” that aren’t.
– to claim credit when they shouldn’t (since there is less time spent by voters
learning about the candidates).
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Why vote (cont.)
• The “engagement” argument
– You’re more likely to feel like you have a stake in the outcome and are
more likely to be engaged in helping shape policy after the election
• The “civic pride” argument
– Damn, it feels good to vote!
– You’re in the game, and goodonya.
• The “civic duty” argument
– People fought and died for this right. It is our duty to exercise it.
– Remember George Washington: “Gentlemen, you will permit me to
put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind
in the service of my country."
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Who decides who can vote?
• The states, thanks to federalism:
• Whoever can vote in a state election can vote
in a national election. Art. I, sec. 2
• This applies up to a point….
Federal limits on States’ powers
• The Constitution prohibits discrimination in
several ways (remember the “voting
amendments”? I.e., the 15th, 19th, 23rd,
24th, and 26th amendments).
• And Congress can pass laws like the
Voting Rights Act, using the “equal
protection” clause of the Constitution.
So who can vote in Alabama?
You must –
• Be a United States citizen
• Reside in Alabama
• Be at least 18 years old
• Have not been convicted of a “disqualifying felony” (or
if you were, then you’ve had your rights restored)
• Have not been legally declared "mentally incompetent"
by a court
To get a registration form…
…either see your teacher…
…or go to http://www.alabamavotes.gov.
• You also can register at any of the following:
– Driver's licensing office
– County and select municipal public libraries
– Department of Human Resources
– WIC Program, Department of Public Health
– Medicaid Agency
– Department of Rehabilitation Services
It’s so easy to vote b/c of the…
… “Motor Voter Law,” which became
effective in 1995.
• That law made it easier to register by
allowing you to do at DMV (hence the
name), by mail, at welfare and other social
services agencies, etc.
Should we require more?
• Second in-class debate:
Resolved: No person should be allowed to vote
unless he or she has passed a civics test that is
prepared by the state in which the person seeks
to vote.
Alright, so you cleared the first hurdle…
• Congratulations! You’re registered. Does
this automatically mean you can vote?
NO! You must also satisfy the Alabama
Voter ID requirements.
Voter ID requirements in AL
You must have one of the following:
• Alabama driver's license or non-driver ID card
• (To get the AL non-driver ID, go to http://www.dmv.org/alalabama/id-cards.php)
• Photo voter ID card or other valid ID card issued by any state or the
federal government, as long as it contains a photo.
• U.S. passport
• Government employee ID card with a photo
• Student or employee ID card issued by a college or university in the
state, provided it includes a photo
• U.S. military ID card containing a photo
• Tribal ID card containing a photo
Before: You could’ve voted in Alabama with one of the
following (bolded are no longer accepted)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gov’t-issued photo ID
U.S. passport
U.S. military ID
Employee ID card with
photo
Alabama college/university
ID with photo
Alabama hunting or
fishing license
Alabama gun permit
FAA-issued pilot's
license
Birth certificate
• Social security card
• Naturalization document
• Court record of adoption
or name change
• Medicaid or Medicare card
• Electronic benefits
transfer card
• Utility bill, bank
statement, government
check, paycheck or
government document
showing name and
address of voter
What if you don’t have a valid ID?
• Vote a provisional ballot, or
• vote a regular ballot if s/he is identified by
two election officials as an eligible voter on
the poll list, and both election workers sign
a sworn affidavit so stating.
What if you’re absent?
Alabama Absentee Voting Procedure
• http://www.alabamavotes.gov/
AbsenteeVotingInfo.aspx?m=voters
Is the photo ID requirement a new poll
tax?
• Sec. of State Beth Chapman:
“Voters can go to the Department of Public Safety office
in their county and get a free non-drivers identification card.
The secretary of state will reimburse Public Safety for the
cost. Voters can also go to their local Board of Registrars
office and get a free photo voter ID there. “In both places, people will have to submit proof of
identification and a form attesting that they do not possess
one of the accepted forms of ID required by the Alabama
law.” http://blog.al.com/wire/2013/06/state_to_provide_free_ids_unde.html
• But what if you lack to other acceptable forms of ID?
Third in-class debate
Resolved: The new Alabama Voter ID law
was needed to address voter fraud.
Attempts to disenfranchise through the
ages
• Note wording of 15th Amendment:
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United States or by
any State on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.”
• Some states got around this in several ways,
all of which could arguably be said to
disenfranchise on some basis other than
race, color, or prior status as a slave.
The poll tax
• Pay a tax in order to vote.
• A seemingly small sum (as little as $1 a year in some
states; worth about $28 today), but it was estimated to
reduce black turnout by 50% and overall turnout by
20-25%.
• Outlawed in federal elections by the 24th Amendment.
• Outlawed in state elections in 1966 (see Harper v.
Virginia Board of Elections). Violated “equal
protection” clause of the 14th Amendment.
Literacy tests
• Had to pass a test in order to vote.
• Can you pass Alabama’s? See http://www.ferris.edu/
htmls/news/jimcrow/origins/images/al_literacy.pdf
• Or check out this: http://www.crmvet.org/info/
litques.htm
• How about Louisiana’s? http://www.slate.com/blogs/
the_vault/2013/06/28/
voting_rights_and_the_supreme_court_the_impossib
le_literacy_test_louisiana.html
Literacy tests (cont.)
• And here’s the real kicker: depending on
who gave you the test, it didn’t matter how
well you did.
• Outlawed in 1970 amendments to Voting
Rights Act of 1965.
Grandfather clauses
• Typical clauses: those who (a) could vote, (b)
were in a foreign country, or (c) fought in the war
prior to 1867 (and their descendants) would be
exempt from educational, property, or tax
requirements for voting.
• The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870.
• Grandfather clauses were passed by 7 Southern
states between 1895 and 1910.
• Guinn v. Oklahoma struck them down in 1915.
White-only primaries
• The 1st Amendment gives us the right to associate with
whomever we want, right? (Actually, it gives us the
right “peaceably to assemble.”)
• Primaries are just a bunch of folks peaceably
assembling, right?
• So we should be able to exclude anyone we want,
right?
• Wrong! Smith v. Allwright (1944) said that all-white
primaries are unconstitutional.
Gerrymandering
• Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing political
boundaries to benefit a particular group.
• It comes from Elbridge Gerry’s efforts to redraw
Massachusetts boundaries. The district was said to
look like a salamander. Hence, Gerry + mander.
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Gerrymandering:
“Voters don’t choose their politicians.
Politicians choose their voters.”
Anonymous
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An example of gerrymandering
Gerrymandering (cont.)
• Can be done legally, as long as it’s not done to discriminate against
a racial minority.
• In fact, the lines are re-drawn frequently, usually to solidify the
power of the party that controls a given state.
• Districts are “cracked” or “packed.”
Gerrymandering (cont.)
• But if done to discriminate against a racial
minority, it’s illegal. See Gomillion v.
Lightfoot (1960) (redrew a square into a
28-sided something).
• Also, can’t have “malapportioned”
districts. See Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)
(one district with 3x the voters as another
is unconstitutional).
Government’s response (in addition to
USSC cases)
• Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended
(including pre-clearance)
– Applied to all elections – federal, state, and local.
– Note that pre-clearance is all but dead now.
• Plus the poll tax prohibitions we’ve already
discussed
– the 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes in all
federal elections.
– Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections (1965)
ruled poll taxes illegal in state elections
So we have the right; do we exercise it?
• Your text points out that “idiot” comes from
the Greek word meaning citizens who did
not vote.
• Are we idiots? Well…
Why don’t we vote?
• Some can’t.
–
–
–
–
–
–
Resident aliens.
Disabled.
Mentally incompetent.
Felons.
Unexpected travel.
Religious objections.
Why don’t we vote (cont.)
• Others won’t.
– Lack of interest.
– Low sense of political efficacy.
• “My vote doesn’t matter.”
• Or maybe they’re in a far-western time zone.
– Hurdles seem too high
• Registration requirements
• Waiting to vote
– Voter fatigue
Ideas for increasing voter
turnout
• Get in small groups (no more than 3).
• Think about ways to increase turnout.
• Report out your recommendations.
• The group whose idea receives the most
votes gets a trip to the Mystery Machine.
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Increasing voter turnout (cont.)
Some possibilities:
• “Blanket” primaries — Vote for candidates regardless
of party. Top 2 vote-getters then compete in the
general election.
• May make people more excited about quality of
candidates in general election.
• Change redistricting laws — Take the power away from
politicians and give it to an independent commission.
• May avoid feeling like system is rigged. Increase
bipartisan turnout.
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Increasing voter turnout (cont.)
• Open primaries — Let anyone vote in any
primary.
– Increase turnout for the primaries.
– Makes candidate who wins likelier to be more
mainstream.
• Same-day registration — Let someone
register and vote on same day.
– Removes registration obstacle.
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Increasing voter turnout (cont.)
• Multiple days of voting — Have a block of
days when people can vote.
– Greater convenience would presumably
result in more people voting.
• Weekend elections — Allow people to vote
when they’re not working
– Same benefit as multiple days.
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Increasing turnout (cont.)
• Ease voter ID laws — If the new laws are
disenfranchising people, perhaps they should be
revisited.
• Have fewer election days — Combine more
elections on one national voting day.
• Have a holiday for voting — Give people a day
off work to go vote.
• “Delegate” voting (a/k/a “proxy” voting) — Give
your right to vote to someone else.
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Jeopardy review
http://jeopardylabs.com/play/honors-govtchapters-5-6-review