Chapter 8
Verba and Nie's six types of participants (6)
(1) Inactives (2) Voting specialists (3) Campaigners (4) Communalists (5) Parochial participants (6) Complete activists
Equality of race amendment
15th
Women's voting rights ammendment
19th
In this country about _______ of the voting age population is registered to vote.
2/3
About ____ percent of the American population is completely inactive (they rarely discuss politics or vote and are not involved in organizations)
20
Amendment that lowered voting age to 18
26th
In the first presidential election where those between 18 and 21 could vote, the turnout rate for the new voters was about
40%
What's the voter turnout in European countries?
80%
white primaries
A southern expedient to keep blacks from participating in primary elections
voting-eligible population
An estimate that results from excluding prisoners, felons and aliens
How are senate members elected?
By direct popular elections
How are House members elected?
By district
What law accounted for almost 40% of voter applications in 2001?
Motor-voter law
democrats
Party supporters that generally favor efforts to make voting easier, suspecting that a higher turnout will benefit them
True or False: 4 states allow voters to register and vote all in the same day
True
True or False: In Australia and other countries, fines can be levied on nonvoters
True
True or False: In the U.S., voter turnout is heavily skewed toward higher status persons in professional, managerial, and other white-collar occupations
True
True or False: Men and women vote at about the same rate.
True
True or False: Most scholars believe voter turnout did decrease somewhere around the 1890s
True
True or False: The 1965 Civil Rights Act suspended the use of literacy tests
True
True or False: Voter registration is automatic in most European countries
True
True or False: When the Voting Rights Act of 1970 extended the right of 18-yr olds to vote in state elections, the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional
True
In states that have instituted same-day voter registration, the effect on voter turnout has been
a slight increase
activist
an individual who actively promotes a political party, issue, or philosophy he or she personally cares about
The best evidence suggests that Americans
are voting less and participating in politics more
In 2002, Congress passed legislation which did all of the following except
created a uniform national voting system.
Compared with European turnout, American turnout is more skewed toward _________ persons.
higher-status
Studies show that feelings of distrust toward political leaders have _____ effect on voter turnout
no
At the time the Constitution was ratified, voting was limited to
property-owners or taxpayers
When Jesse Jackson ran for the presidency in 1984,
registration of southern blacks and whites increased
Two careful studies of voter turnout in twenty-four democratic nations found that almost all of the difference in voter turnout could be explained by
the degree of party strength, the presence or absence of automatic registration, and the presence or absence of compulsory voting laws
Studies of nonvoters suggest that, had they voted in recent presidential elections,
the outcome of most elections would have been about the same
After the 1980s, voter-registration regulations became more burdensome because
they had longer residency requirements, it became harder for African Americans to vote, educational qualifications were added in some states, and voters were required to register far in advance of elections
Initially, following passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, women
voted less often than men, but generally in the same manner
When one refocuses analyses of voter turnout in the last fourteen presidential elections to VEP measures, it is clear that
voter turnout has generally remained the same
voting-age population
Estimate (based on the census) of the number of citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching a minimum age requirement
True or False: Calls to overhaul the nation's voting system were even greater in 2004 than they were in 2000
False. Calls were almost nonexistent because the election was not as close
True or False: Voter turnout for those 18 to 21 has steadily improved since 1972.
False. It has declined
True or False: In a typical survey, 20-25% of Americans misrepresent their voting habits
False. It is 8-10%
True or False: States may not have a residency requirement for more than 60 days
False. It is for more than 30 days
True or False: Turnout in U.S. Presidential elections has never been above 70%
False. It was around 70% in the 1800s
True or False: Older persons are more likely than younger persons to misreport their voting habits.
False. Less likely
True or False: At the time the Constitution was ratified, the only qualifications for voters were that they be white and male.
False. Property owners
True or False: Research suggests get-out-the-vote drives are generally successful
False. They are generally not
True or False: Public demonstrations and sit-ins and protest marches are much less common than in recent decades
False. They are more common
Twenty-sixth Amendment
Legislation that gave eighteen-year-olds the right to vote in all U.S. elections
Voting Rights Act of 1970
Legislation that gave eighteen-year-olds the right to vote in federal elections
registered voters
Those citizens who have filled out the proper forms and are qualified to vote in an election
voting specialists
Those who restrict their political participation to voting in elections
complete activists
Those who take part in all forms of political activity
Before 1961, residents of the District of Columbia could not vote in presidential elections
True