Download Voting Rights Act (VRA)

Chapter 21
Political Participation in Texas
American and Texas Government: Policy and Politics, 10/e
Neal Tannahill
Case Study: Initiative and Referendum
• Should Texans have the right to propose the adoption of a policy
measure?
• Should Texas voters have the power to approve such ballot measures?
• Nearly half of the states in the United States allow this process known
as initiative and referendum, but not the state of Texas.
• Consider some of the politics involved:
– Advocates argue that it allows voters to overcome the opposition of their
elected representatives to adopt policy proposals they favor, enhances
participation by more closely linking citizens to their government,
increases public interest in and knowledge about political issues, and
reduces the role of special interests.
– Critics contend that it diminishes the quality of democracy, the process
works against the interests of minority groups, interest group activity
increases rather than decreases, and it produces bad public policy.
– Initiative and referendum has been used in various states to deal with
policy areas such as the establishment of English as a state’s official
language, bilingual education, the provision of social services to illegal
immigrants, affirmative action, and gay and lesbian rights.
Voting Rights and Minority Participation
• When it joined the Union in 1845, Texas limited
the right to vote to white males.
• Much of the history of the Lone Star State is the
story of the efforts of women and minority group
members to gain the right to vote and participate
meaningfully in Texas politics.
• Women’s Suffrage
– Women won the right to vote in 1920 with the
ratification of the women’s suffrage amendment to
the U.S. Constitution.
Voting Rights and Minority Participation
• Minority Voting Rights
– Winning the right to vote and having that vote counted
was a more elusive goal for Texans of African and
Hispanic descent than it was for women.
– Before the Civil War, nearly all African Americans in
Texas were slaves; none could vote or hold public
office. African Americans registered to vote for the first
time in Texas in 1867, after the Civil War.
– After the early 1870s, Texas politics began to return to
the pattern in place before the Civil War.
– Nonetheless, African Americans continued to
participate in Texas politics.
Voting Rights and Minority Participation
• Minority Voting Rights (cont.)
– In the early twentieth century, the white economic
establishment in Texas restricted minority voting rights
in order to maintain political power.
– Disfranchisement, the denial of voting rights, was the
response of economic elites to the attempt of the
Populist Party to win power by uniting lower-income
voters of all races against the wealthy economic
interests who controlled state politics.
– The poll tax and the white primary were the main
instruments of disfranchisement for African Americans.
Hispanics were discouraged from voting by the poll tax.
– In many areas in South Texas, political bosses dictated
the Hispanic vote.
Voting Rights and Minority Participation
• Minority Voting Rights (cont.)
– African Americans in Texas turned to the federal courts for
help in regaining the right to vote.
– Nonetheless, the white primary survived until 1944 when
the U.S. Supreme Court decided Smith v. Allwright.
– A constitutional amendment (the Twenty-Fourth
Amendment) eliminated the poll tax for federal elections;
the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for state
elections as well.
Voting Rights and Minority Participation
• Minority Voting Rights (cont.)
– Even after the demise of the white primary and the
poll tax, the opponents of minority voting rights
continued to devise methods to reduce the political
influence of African Americans and Hispanics in Texas
politics, including the use of at-large elections and
racial gerrymandering of election district boundaries.
– The Voting Rights Act (VRA) eventually eliminated
most legal barriers to minority participation in the Lone
Star State.
– In Texas, the VRA has been instrumental in eliminating
a number of at-large election systems and invalidating
other electoral procedures that were discriminatory to
minority voters.
Participation in Texas Politics Today
• Forms of Participation
– In order to vote in Texas, individuals must be 18 years of age (as of
the next election), American citizens (either native-born or
naturalized), and residents of Texas.
• Individuals must register before they can vote.
• Voters cast their ballots in election precincts near their homes.
• Texans can vote early or vote by mail.
– Another way to participate in politics is by working in election
campaigns.
• Under-financed campaigns can often compensate for a lack of money
with a well-organized volunteer effort.
• Volunteers stuff envelopes, telephone registered voters, and put up
yard signs.
– Another way to participate is by working through political
organizations known as interest groups.
• People also participate in the policy process by contacting
government officials through letters, phone calls, and the like.
• Finally, some Americans participate through unconventional political
acts, such as protest demonstrations, sit-ins, or even violence.
Participation in Texas Politics Today
• Participation Rates in Texas
– Compared to other states, the level of political participation in
Texas is relatively low, at least in terms of voter turnout.
• In 2002 only 29 percent of the voting age population participated in
the election of the state’s governor, and only 46 percent of votingage Texans participated in the 2004 presidential election.
– Political scientists identify a number of factors that may account
for the relatively low rate of political participation in the Lone Star
State.
• First, compared to the rest of the country, the population of Texas is
relatively young, with a relatively large number of poor and
undereducated citizens. High levels of participation are associated
with older, better-educated populations with relatively high incomes.
• A second factor affecting participation rates is the strength of
political parties and organizations such as labor unions.
• Third, the relatively high percentage of recent immigrants to Texas
may help account for the state’s low participation rates.
• Finally, some political scientists believe that election frequency and
ballot complexity reduce election turnout.
Participation in Texas Politics Today
Participation in Texas Politics Today
Copyright @ 2010, 2008, 2006 Pearson Education, Inc.
Participation in Texas Politics Today
• Patterns of Participation
– Participation rates vary among individuals based on
income, age, race/ethnicity, and gender.
– Generally speaking, the following patterns of
participation have been observed in Texas politics:
• Middle- and upper-income groups are more likely to
participate in politics than lower-income earners.
• Political participation increases with age until advanced age
and ill health force the elderly to cut back on their political
involvement.
• The overall participation rates for African Americans and nonHispanic whites are similar, while participation rates for
Hispanics are significantly lower.
• Men and women are equally likely to vote, but men are more
likely to engage in other forms of political participation.