AP Gov Chapter 8 Questions

Explain the different voting patterns within the following subcategories: Education, Religion, Gender, Ethnicity, Age

Education: Higher education makes you more likely to vote. Religion: Liberal protestants and Jewish people vote more than any other religious group affiliations. Those without religious affiliations vote less. Gender: Historically, women voted less than men since they didn't have the right to vote. Currently, women vote slightly more than men. Ethnicity: White people vote the most. Age: Older people are more likely to vote.

Since the birth of our country, the American electorate has grown tremendously due to addition of three groups of individuals who were not originally included in the election process. Identify all three of these groups and explain why and how they were added into the electorate population. Be sure to discuss any hardships they may have faced during this process: African Americans, Women & Youth

African Americans Added through the Voting Rights Act that suspended the use of literacy tests and penalized people if they interfered with others' right to vote. Hardships: Constant discrimination. Women: Added through the 19th amendment which gave women suffrage. Hardships: Amending the norm/status quo. Youth: Added through the 26th Amendment and Voting Rights Act of 1970 that gave 18 year olds the right to vote. Hardships: being sent to war and stripped the opportunity to vote.

Identify and explain all of the characteristics of the six forms of political participation: Completely Inactive, Voting Specialists, Campaigners, Commnalists, Parochial Participants & Activists

Completely Inactive: Rarely vote. Don't get involved in organizations. Most likely don't talk about politics much. Usually, they have little education. Low income. Relatively young. Most are African American. Voting Specialists: Vote, but don't do much else. Usually don't have much schooling or income. Much older than the average person. Campaigners: Vote. Enjoy being involved in campaign activities. More educated than the average voter. Have interests in the conflicts, passions, and struggle of politics. Their political party affiliation is clear. Willing to take strong positions. Communalists: Similar to campaigners in terms of social background, but don't like conflict and tension between partisan campaigns. Usually reserve energy for nonpartisan community activities; they form and join organizations to handle local problems and contact local officials about said problems. Parochial participants: Don't vote. Stays out of election campaigns and civic associations. Willing to contact local officials about specific, usually personal, problems. Activists: Make up about one-ninth of population (11%) Highly educated High incomes\ Usually middle-aged Usually participate in all forms of politics

Why can one argue that the numbers on non-voting in America are misleading? What is the real problem? How can we solve this problem?

One can argue that the numbers on non-voting in America are misleading because they use numbers of people out of the voting age. The real problem is low voter registration rates - more eligible people, but less people actually voting.It can be solved by overcoming voter apathy where people care about politics.

Explain the difference between the "voting-age population" and the "voting-eligible population." How has the difference changed in recent years?

The difference between the "voting-age population" and the "voting-eligible population" is the voting age population is citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching the minimum age requirement and voting-eligible population is citizens who have reached the minimum age to be eligible to vote, excluding those who are not legally permitted to cast a ballot. The difference has changed in recent years because the VAP has increased, but the VEP has decreased as fewer people are registered to vote.

Explain the differences between the voting registration process in America and process in most European nations.

The difference between the voting registration process in America and the process in most European nations is that in European nations it is automatically done for you by the government while in America the individual has to register themself; it takes more effort to register in America as they then must find out where and when to register.

Even with the expansion of the electorate, voter turnout is still low. List two reasons that scholars use to explain this issue.

Two reasons that scholars use to explain this issue include the decrease of popular interest in elections, the weaker competitiveness between the two major parties and voters back then compared to now may have been easier manipulated.

How has the growing distrust in our government affected voting patterns?

With growing distrust in the government, people vote less.