Chapter 8
vote.
A 2001 study found that motor-voter registrants were less likely than other new registrants to
Grandfather Clause
A clause in registration laws allowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote if they or their ancestors had voted before 1867.
Australian Ballot
A government-printed ballot of uniform dimensions to be cast in secret that many states adopted around 1890 to reduce voting fraud associated with party-printed ballots cast in public.
Motor-voter Bill
A law passed in 1993 that requires states to allow people to register to vote when applying for a driver's license and to provide registration through the mail and at some state offices that serve the disabled and provide public assistance.
Poll Tax
A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote.
Literacy Test
A requirement that citizens show that they can read before registering to vote.
Smith v. Allwright
A supreme court case in 1944 that ruled that it was unconstitutional to deny membership in political parties to African Americans as a way of excluding them from voting in primaries.
20
About ___ percent of the American population are completely inactive (they rarely discuss politics or vote and are not involved in organizations).
60 percent.
According to the VEP measure, what percentage of eligible voters participated in the 2004 presidential election?
in secret.
Adoption of the Australian ballot enabled United States citizens to vote
they had longer residency requirements. it became harder for African Americans to vote. educational qualifications were added in some states. voters were required to register far in advance of the election.
After the 1890s voter-registration regulations became more burdensome because
19th Amendment
Allowing women the right to vote
elderly
Americans that are ________ are not so likely to misreport voting?
voting-eligible population
An estimate that results from excluding prisoners, felons and aliens
property owners or taxpayers.
At the time the Constitution was ratified, voting was limited to
Voting-Age Population (VAP)
Citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching the minimum age requirement.
Voting-Eligible Population (VEP)
Citizens who have reached the minimum age to be eligible to vote, excluding those who are not legally permitted to cast a ballot.
Turnout has increased in the last two presidential elections, although it remains well below pre1960s levels.
Describe trends in turnout in the last two elections.
Turnout for blacks and Hispanics is lower than that of whites with Hispanics having the lowest rates for the three groups.
Describe voter turnout among blacks and Hispanics.
voting-age population
Estimate (based on the census) of the number of citizens who are eligible to vote after reaching a minimum age requirement
26th Amendment
Forbids any state to deny "on account of age" the right to vote to citizens who are age 18 or older.
15th Amendment
Guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of slavery.
It is about 25 percent lower in the twentieth century.
How does voter turnout in the twentieth century compare with that of the nineteenth?
1896 to 1920 / 1960 to 1988.
Identify two time periods of considerable length that are characterized by a steady, general decrease in voter turnout.
required states to have a system in place for counting disputed ballots. b. provided federal funds to upgrade voting equipment. provided federal funds for training election officials.
In 2002, Congress passed legislation which did all of the following
Four (1952, 1960, 1964, and 1968).
In how many years does the VAP reach 60 percent?
Seven (1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1992 and 2004).
In how many years does the VEP reach 60 percent?
8 to 10 percent
In surveys, about what percentage of respondents claim to have voted in an election when they did not do so?
40 percent.
In the first presidential election where those between eighteen and twenty-one could vote, the turnout rate for the new voters was about
two-thirds
In this country about _______ of the voting age population is registered to vote.
1972.
Individuals between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one could vote in a presidential election for the first time in
voted less often than men, but generally in the same manner.
Initially, following passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, women
Voter Identification Law
Laws requiring citizens to show a government-issued photo ID in order to vote.
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
conservative.
One explanation for the apparent decline in voter turnout suggests the political parties are no longer attempting to mobilize the mass of voters and are too
Democrats
Party supporters that generally favor efforts to make voting easier, suspecting that a higher turnout will benefit them
Parochial Participants
People who do not vote and stay out of election campaigns and civic associations, but who are willing to contact local officials about specific, often personal, problems.
Campaigners
People who not only vote but like to get involved in campaign activities as well.
Inactives
People who rarely vote, do not get involved in organizations, and do not even talk much about politics; accounts for approximately 22% of population.
Activists
People who tend to participate in all forms of politics.
Communalists
People who tend to reserve their energies for community activities; and avoid partisanship and conflicts that characterize campaigns.
23rd Amendment
Permits residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
the outcome of most elections would have been about the same.
Studies of non-voters suggest that, had they voted in recent presidential elections,
True
T F ) The Nineteenth Amendment nearly doubled the number of eligible voters in the United States.
True
T F ) The kinds of people who vote here are different from the kinds of people who vote abroad.
F VAP measures contain a lot people who cannot vote, not VEP measures.
T F) The problem with VEP measures is that they contain a lot of people who cannot vote.
True
T F) According to law, federal elections must be held in even numbered years and on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.
True
T F) At one time, Chinese Americans were widely denied the right to vote
F At that point in time, suffrage was extended to white, male property holders.
T F) At the time the Constitution was ratified, the only qualifications for voters were that they be white and male.
True
T F) Before 1961, residents of the District of Columbia could not vote in presidential elections.
True
T F) Blacks are more likely to be members of churches that stimulate political interests, activity, and mobilization than Latinos.
F Calls for reform were almost nonexistence in 2004 because the election was not a close as it was in 2000.
T F) Calls to overhaul the nation's voting system were even greater in 2004 than they were in 2000.
True
T F) Democrats usually suspect higher turnout would work to their advantage.
True
T F) Four states allow voters to register and vote all in the same day.
True
T F) In Australia and other countries, fines can be levied on nonvoters.
F In a typical survey 8-10 percent will misrepresent voting.
T F) In a typical survey, 20 to 25 percent of Americans misrepresent their voting habits.
True
T F) In the United States, voter turnout is heavily skewed toward higher status persons in professional, managerial and other white-collar occupations.
True
T F) Low rates of voter registration may indicate people are reasonably well satisfied with how the country is being governed.
True
T F) Men and women vote at about the same rate.
True
T F) Most scholars believe voter turnout did decrease somewhere around the 1890s.
F A 2001 study found they are less likely to vote.
T F) Motor-voter registrants are more likely to vote than other new registrants
True
T F) Nonvoters are more likely to be poor than voters.
F Younger persons are more likely to misreport
T F) Older persons are more likely than younger persons to misreport their voting habits.
F They do not vote, but feel free to contact officials about problems.
T F) Parochial participants vote frequently but participate very little in the political process otherwise.
True
T F) Political "activists" constitute about 11 percent of the population.
F They are much less effective than they used to be at this.
T F) Political parties are more effective at mobilizing voters than they once were.
F They have become much more common.
T F) Public demonstrations and sit-ins and protest marches are much less common in recent decades.
F Those who are actively involved in religion are much more likely to participate in politics than those who are not.
T F) Research has found little or no correlation between religious involvement and political participation.
F A 2004 study found the results of such efforts to be small, or nil.
T F) Research suggests get-out-the-vote drives are generally successful.
F States may not have such requirements longer than 30 days.
T F) States may not have a residency requirement of more than 60 days.
True
T F) The 1965 Civil Rights Act suspended the use of literacy tests.
True
T F) The Supreme Court declared grandfather clauses unconstitutional.
F About 1/3 are not registered.
T F) The percentage of the adult population in America that is registered to vote is remarkably high.
F It was very often about 70 percent in the 1800s.
T F) Turnout in U.S. presidential elections has never been above 70 percent.
F It started somewhat low and has, for the most part, declined since.
T F) Voter turnout for those 18 to 21 has steadily improved since 1972.
True
T F) Voting is by far the most common form of political participation.
True
T F) When the Voting Rights Act of 1970 extended the right of eighteen-year-olds to vote in state elections, the Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional.
was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
The Voting Rights Act of 1970, which gave eighteen-year-olds the right to vote in state and federal elections
voter apathy
The lack of interest among the citizenry in participating in elections
Political Participation
The many different ways that people take part in politics and government.
extension of suffrage to women. extension of suffrage to African Americans. extension of suffrage to eighteen-year-olds. direct popular election of Senators.
The most important changes in elections have included all of the following
White Primary
The practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states' primaries through arbitrary use of registration requirements and intimidation.
registered voters
Those citizens who have filled out the proper forms and are qualified to vote in an election
have lower levels of education. have lower levels of incomes. be relatively young.
Those who are inactive in politics tend to
voting specialists.
Those who cast ballots in elections but engage in no other form of political participation are called
voting specialists
Those who restrict their political participation to voting in elections
political parties.
Until about 1890 ballots were printed by the
VEP measures attempt to remove ineligible voters from the data.
VEP measures of turnout may have an advantage over VAP measures because
What is the second largest source of voter applications in this time period?
63.4 percent.
What percentage of registered voters in America voted in these elections?
47.2 percent
What percentage of the voting age population in America voted in these elections?
Motor vehicle offices.
What was the largest source of voter applications in this time period?
voter turnout has generally remained the same.
When one refocuses analyses of voter turnout in the last fourteen presidential elections to VEP measures, it is clear that
Belgium and Australia.
Where is the turnout of registered voters above 90 percent or higher?
Australia, Denmark and Belgium.
Where is the turnout of the voting age population above 80 percent or higher?
18 to 24.
Which age group is least likely to vote in a presidential election?
Less than high school.
Which group is least likely to vote according to their schooling, or level of education?
It requires states to allow people to register to vote when applying for driver's licenses.
Which of the following statements about the motor-voter law is accurate?
Literacy tests. Poll taxes. Grandfather clauses. White primaries.
Which of the following was employed to discriminate against African Americans who wanted to vote?
