Political Participation. Political Participation - Activities to Influence Public Policy. Voter Turnout

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Leslie Lane
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1 Political Participation Political Participation - Activities to Influence Public Policy 1. Voting 2. Joining Political Parties 3. Joining Interest Groups 4. Writing to Elected Officials 5. Demonstrating For Political Causes 6. Giving Money to Political Causes Voter Turnout Question: Why is voter turnout so low in the United States? Why is turnout lower in some states than in other states? Possible Explanations for Low Voter Turnout 1. Registration Requirements A. Early Closing of Registration 2. Frequency of Elections Does the United States have to many elections? 3. Party Differences Question: Is there a lot of difference between the two political parties. Explanations For Differences in Turnout

2 1. Civic Duty Part of being a responsible citizen 2. Apathy Non-interest or unconcern with politics 3. Alienation Belief that government does not care about people like oneself 4. Education More Educated the more likely you are to vote 5. Economic Class individuals for higher economic classes are more likely to vote Why is Voter Turnout So Low? (Some More Possible Explanations) 1. Registration requirements (Early Closing of Voting, Not Knowing where to register to vote) Election Day Registration Maine, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Idaho No Registration Requirement North Dakota Voter turnout is higher in these states with Election Day or no registration requirements. 2. Voters not aware of alternatives to voting in person such as early voting and absentee voting 3. Lack of Competition ( Many races are ran unopposed of only with token opposition) 4. Lack of high profile race (Turnout is greater when the president is running or there is another high profile race on the ballot)

3 5. Lack of personal contact by the candidates or parties. 6. Personal Reasons such as lack of knowledge of the candidates. 7. Socioeconomic factors such as education, income and so forth 8. Not feeling connected with the political system (All politicians are crooks and a belief that their vote will not make any difference anyway) 9. Media Coverage is inadequate. Low profile races get little coverage and little time spent on the discussion of the issues. 10.Lack of general knowledge of the political system. School do not provide basic information on how the political system works such as registration requirements and so forth. What characteristics exist of non-voters? 1. First generation immigrants, especially non-english speaking. 2. Those that seldom participate in religious activities 3. Newcomers in the community 4. People with little interest in politics, and do not believe there is a civic duty to vote. 5. Persons with physical disabilities 6. Blue collar workers 7. Asians and Latinos 8. Single parents living in poor neighbors 9. Independents 10. Persons not contacted by a party

4 11. Renters Question: Does voting matter? Is it rational to vote? Do the benefits of voting outweigh the cost of voting? What are the possible costs of voting? 1. Traveling to and from the polls. 2. Possible time off work. 3. Time involved in obtaining information on the candidates. What are the benefits from voting? 1. Electing the candidate closest to your personal preferences. Cost Benefit Analysis of Voting IF Benefits From Voting > Cost of Voting Then It is Rational To Vote The likelihood of affecting the outcome of an election by voting is very low and therefore the cost of voting likely outweigh the benefits from voting therefore it is not rational to voting given the simple cost benefit analysis. In order to deem it rational to vote the benefits derived from voting need to be greater than the cost and it is highly unlikely that the probability of affecting the election outcome will rise enough to make the benefits greater than the cost, therefore in order to make voting rational an additional term must be entered into the equation in terms of a civic duty variable. This variable recognizes that there is some

5 intangible benefits one derives from voting that results in the benefits derived as being greater than the cost incurred. Prospective versus Retrospective Voting Prospective what the candidate will do for me Retrospective what has the candidate done in the past Question: Is prospective or retrospective voting most retrospective of voting evaluation of candidates? Question: What reforms can be put in place to increase voter turnout? 1. Make absentee voting easier 2. Making it easier to vote on election day: provisional ballots 3. Make polling places more accessible 4. Better voting equipment 5. Design better ballots 6. Better trained polling officials 7. Better voter education programs 8. Easier registration requirements 9. Reforms to make elections more competitive Question: What are the possible implications of Internet voting? Will we see Internet voting in the future? What are potential problems of Internet voting? Women in State Politics

6 Women hold greater numbers of seats in state legislatures than in the US Congress. 22% of state legislatures are women in comparison with 14% at the national level. Are women concerned with different issues than men? Mixed evidence of the policy implications of women in office. Gender gap exists between the voting patterns of men and women. A generation gap also exists in the differences between old and young and how they view politics. Interest Groups A Group of Individuals organized to promote a shared political interest. Types of Interest Groups 1. Economic Interest Groups A. Business (Chamber of Commerce ) B. Labor (AFL-CIO) C. Agriculture (Farmers Union, Grange) D. Professional (American Medical Association) 2. Citizen Groups Organized to promote a cause, does not necessarily involve individual economic benefits A. Collective Public Goods ( Benefit society as a whole with or without membership) Free Rider Problem receive benefits without paying the cost

7 B. Public Interest Groups (Claim to represent the broad interest of society as a whole) Example: Common Cause C. Single Issue Groups (The Sierra Club) D. Ideological Groups (Broader the single issue take a more general ideological stance) NAACP and NOW 3. Private Interest gain benefits directly for an individual Often involves incentives to attract members Question: Are interest groups too powerful? Lobbying Process by which interest group members attempt to influence public policy. Direct versus Indirect Lobbying Direct interaction with lawmakers versus attempts to generate public opinion for a cause to influence member s votes. Question: What impact does lobbying have on congressional or state legislative votes? Question: Does interest group money buy votes of legislators? Question: What does a political contribution gain for the group making the donation?

8 Question: Who receives most of the money from interest groups? Question: Why do interest groups donate most of their money to incumbents? Question: What lobbying reforms do we need to enact? Question: What differences exist in lobbying in the states and in lobbying in Washington? Differences in interest group power in the states? 1. Economic diversity (In states that are economically diverse it is more difficult for one group to dominate. 2. The strength of political parties (If parties are stronger then interest groups are weaker). 3. Legislative professionalism (More professional less influence) 4. Fragmentation (States with more fragmented systems are likely to have stronger interest groups.)

Role of Political and Legal Systems. Unit 5

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