Download Participation in State Politics

Politics in States and Communities
(15 Ed.)
Thomas Dye and Susan MacManus
Edited by Bob Botsch for POLI 458
Chapter 4
Participation in State Politics
Learning Objectives
•
Enumerate the different types of political participation, and understand the frequency with which
Americans participate in politics.
•
Evaluate whether it is rational to vote, and identify the various factors that influence voter turnout.
•
Explain how differences in election laws between the states may influence both voter turnout and
which candidates will be victorious.
•
Compare patterns in voter turnout among whites, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.
•
Explain the methods the federal government has employed to gradually expand the right to vote,
tracing this expansion from creation of the Constitution through the adoption of the Twenty-Sixth
Amendment.
•
Describe how states have drawn political districts to increase the number of racial and ethnic
minorities elected to public office and what the Supreme Court has said about these efforts.
•
Compare the participation of men and women in state politics, and assess the significance of the
recent influx of women in state and local political office.
•
Describe how political views and clout differ at different levels of government.
•
Describe the various interest groups that attempt to influence state politics and the role that
lobbyists play in the process.
•
Describe the tactics used by lobbyists to promote group interests, and compare these tactics to
those employed at the national level.
•
Explain why interest groups are more powerful in some states than in others.
•
Describe the differences between protests, political disobedience, and violence; and outline how
state and local governments respond to these types of political participation.
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Political Participation
• Necessary for a democratic republic.
• Includes voting, running for office, participating in marches or
demonstrations, giving money or time to efforts, attending rallies or
events, writing letters or emails, wearing a button, discussing issues
with friends, or belonging to an organization that does public service.
• Not always sustained over time
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Political Participation
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Voting and Voter Turnout
• Voting a common method of political involvement, a right in a
democracy, yet many people do not vote
• Voter turnout measured several ways:
– % of the voting age population that votes
– % of the voting eligible population that votes
– % of registered voters that votes
• Turnout is the lowest in local elections.
• Voting is not “rational” on cost-benefit basis
• but most people vote for psychological/solidarity reasons
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The Trend in Voter Turnout—note the
difference between the two lines!
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Who Fails to Vote?
• The young, the poor, the unemployed, and the least educated are
the least likely to vote.
• Nonvoters are predominantly:
– First-generation immigrants, especially non-English speaking
– Those who seldom participate in organized religious activities
– Newcomers to a community
– People with little or no interest in politics, little trust in government, no
belief that voting is a civic duty, and no belief they can make a difference
by voting
– Persons with physical disabilities
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Who Fails to Vote?
and…
– Blue-collar and service-sector workers
– Asians and Latinos
– Independents
– Single parents living in poor neighborhoods
– Persons who have not been contacted by a candidate or party
– Renters (vs. homeowners)
– Residents of solidly one-party dominated states (nonswing states)
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Voter Turnout Rate: 2012 Presidential Election
Reasons for Variations in Voter Turnout
• Socioeconomic explanations: High education/income means more
likely to vote
• Partisan competition-related explanations: High turnout in swing
states
• Media predicting winners early explanation: Discourages later voters
• Legal and procedural explanations
– Differences in registration procedures
– Federally mandated “motor voter” registration law
– Differences in time, place, equipment, ballots, and poll workers
– Intimidation by or anger at voter id laws
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Who Votes?
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Continuing Election Controversies
• Effects of certain election reforms are still being debated
• Election reform efforts have also become considerably more
partisan and are particularly intense in states with high levels of
party competition
• The prevalent controversial issues include:
– Voter eligibility and verification (IDs)
– Voting locations and ease of voting
– Online (Internet) registration, ballot requests, and voting
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Voter ID Requirements
Race, Ethnicity, and Political Participation
• Racial and ethnic minorities growing in # and % and in political
power
• African Americans: Surpassed white voter turnout for first time in
history in 2012 presidential election
• Hispanics: Like blacks are likely to practice “co-ethnic voting”
• Asians: Relatively low turnouts may be related to tendency to
register as independents
• Jews and Cubans: important in areas where more concentrated
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Minority Voting Trends
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Securing the Right to Vote
• Elimination of property qualifications: by early 1800s
• Fifteenth Amendment: In 1870, banned race discrimination
• Nineteenth Amendment: In 1920, banned gender discrimination
• The “White Primary”: Deemed unconstitutional in 1944
• Discrimination: An ongoing problem even into twentieth century
• Civil Rights Act of 1964: Banned unequal standards
• Twenty-Fourth Amendment: In 1964, banned poll taxes
• Voting Rights Act of 1965: Largely eliminated discrimination in voting
• Eighteen-year-old voting: Achieved in 1971 with Twenty-Sixth
Amendment
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Affirmative Racial Gerrymandering
Women In State Politics
• Traditionally have not participated at rate of men but rapidly
changing
• Women in state offices: Now make up almost one-fourth of state
legislators
• Image challenges: May be tagged as soft on drugs and crime
• The political gender gap: Women more likely to vote Democratic
• Women and policymaking: May give higher priority to women’s and
children’s issues when reach a critical mass in legislatures (>25%)
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Elected Women—see the Center for
American Women and Politics
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Young and Old in State Politics
• Generational conflict intensifying across nation
–
Seniors have lowest poverty level
–
Children have highest poverty level
• Generational clout differs in presidential and nonpresidential
elections:
–
Young voters more important in national, esp presidential elections
–
Seniors still much more influential in state and local elections
• Generational policy agendas: Young and old often agree on what
the big problems are, though not necessarily on priorities, causes, or
cures—e.g. Social Security and Medicare and Education
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Generation Gap and the Partisan Divide
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Interest Groups in State Politics
• Different than parties: Interest groups seek to influence specific
policies rather than achieve total control over the government
• Organized interests: May relate to occupation/economy, race or
religion, ideology, labor union, government official, or recipient of
government service
• Professional lobbyists: Many are former legislators hired because
they “know their way around”
• Lobby registration: Often only professional lobbyists officially register
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Registered Lobbyists
Functions and Tactics of Interest Groups
• Techniques vary widely, depending on groups and their leaders
• Typical tactics: Testifying, contacting lawmakers, drafting legislation
• Bill monitoring: Much time spent keeping tabs on bills affecting client
• Lobbying: Involves persuasion but also providing technical info
• Bribery and corruption: More common at state than national level
• Grassroots lobbying: media campaigns, and public relations—focus
is not exclusively on lawmakers—on public opinion
• PAC money in the states: Reliance on PACs is increasing for state
office
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Comparing Interest Group Power in the States
• States have been categorized as having either a dominant,
complementary, or subordinate interest group system
• Pluralism—the economic diversity explanation: Influence of interest
groups greater when one industry dominates political life
• The party explanation: Strong parties make for weak interest groups
• The professionalism explanation: Interest groups more influential
when legislatures are less professional
• The governmental fragmentation explanation: States with weak
governors often face strong interest group systems
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Protest as Political Participation
• Growing at state/local level, e.g. protests against union busting
actions by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
• Protest: Direct, collective activity to obtain concessions
• Civil disobedience: Break “unjust” laws, and accept the punishment
• Violence: Criminal, generally irrational, and self-defeating
• News media response often the key to success
• Effectiveness: Highest when goal is clear and have strong organ.
• Official responses: May be genuine, symbolic, or token
• State and local governments bear costs of protests: Busted budgets
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On the Web
• www.politico.com
A web-based newspaper
• www.lwv.org
The League of Women Voters
• www.votesmart.org
Project Vote Smart
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