Module 5: Turnout & Participation in Elections Importance of Electoral Participation Voting in competitive elections is the key

democratic mechanism. It is the most accessible way of keeping elected officials accountable to the will of the people. Voter
turnout is a major strategic concern for candidates running for office. Elections can be won or lost by getting one’s supporters
to the polls and keeping the opponent’s supporters at home. Factors influencing electoral participation Socio-demographic
and socio-economic factors, Individual-level attitudes, Social Networks and Social Contexts, Institutional impediments to
voting, Get-out-the-vote efforts and Other Types of Political Mobilization strategies by campaigns. Voter Turnout The voting
turnout rate is the percentage of the eligible population that votes in a particular election. The number of voters is divided by
the number of eligible voters. Voting age population (VAP) versus voting-eligible population (VEP). Voting-eligible population
(VEP) must meet legal requirements to vote, for example: U.S. citizens, Fulfill residency requirements for House elections.
Historical trends in Voter Turnout Class Exercise Describe an individual who: 1. Votes in every election 2. Never votes 3.
Only votes in some elections. Class Exercise Describe these individuals in terms of: Opportunity, Resources to vote (skills,
knowledge, time etc.), Motivation – Interest in election, social pressure, etc. Based on: Socio-demographic and
socio-economic factors, Individual-level attitudes, Social Networks and Social Contexts, Institutional impediments to voting,
Get-out-the-vote efforts and Other Types of Political Mobilization strategies by campaigns. Noteworthy events – Regional
Drop in voter turnout in the South: The steep drop in the South from 1900 to 1916 is in part attributable to: 1. the restrictions
placed on African American voting 2. the increasing one-party domination of the region. In many Southern states, Winning
the Democratic primary → win the general election → turnout in the primary much more important than turnout in the general
election. Noteworthy events – Regional Drop in voter turnout in the Non-South: Republican Party became dominant in the
non-South → leading to less competition → less interest in general elections. Noteworthy events - US Progressive Era
reforms of the late 1800s and early 1900s likely affected turnout rates across the United States: Party organizations in the
latter part of the 1800s, “delivered” or “voted” substantial numbers of votes via party loyalists casting multiple votes, “voting
tombstones” (dead people), or vote buying → elevated voter turnout. Introduction of electoral reforms → The decline in voter
turnout in the early twentieth century. Reforms included: the introduction of the secret, or Australian, ballot, the imposition of
a system of voter registration. Noteworthy events – Australian ballot The Australian ballot provided for secret voting and an
official ballot with all candidates’ names appearing on it, thereby decreasing party control of voting. Without the color-coded
ballots, the parties couldn’t know for whom people voted, which meant they couldn’t reward or punish people according to
their vote. Noteworthy events – Voter Registration System Voter registration requirements: 1. limiting the opportunity for
fraudulent voting, 2. but also created an additional barrier to voting –> decreasing the turnout of less motivated potential
voters. Difference in turnout across types of election Elections vary in the amount of interest and attention they generate in
the electorate. High-salience presidential elections draw higher turnout. Low-salience elections, such as mid-term US House
elections, are characterized by turnout levels that are 10 to 20 percent lower. Even in a presidential election year, fewer
people vote for a candidate in U.S. House races than for president. Primaries and local elections elicit still lower turnout.
Institutional Impediments to Turnout Would turnout be higher if elections were held on a weekend instead of a Tuesday?
Would it be higher if the government automatically registered its citizens instead of having citizens take the initiative to get
registered? Would it be higher if the United States had more competitive electoral districts? Institutions Requirements for
Voting are Political Decisions about the institutional arrangements used in elections are inherently political and often partisan
because they affect who can vote and how easily they can vote. After the Civil War, Republicans were eager to enfranchise
Blacks, figuring that this new group of voters would vote Republican. In the early 1970s, Democrats were eager to
enfranchise eighteen- to twenty-year-olds, figuring that they would vote Democratic. Restrictions of Suffrage Felon
disenfranchisement Sentencing Project estimates that: In 2016, over 6 million citizens were ineligible felons (approximately
2.5 percent of the VAP). In 1996, 3.34 million. In 1976, 1.17 million. Over 10 percent of the VAP was disenfranchised in
Florida, which had particularly strict laws until Florida voters passed an amendment in 2018 allowing most people who have
served their sentences to vote. Felon disenfranchisement: effect on voter turnout Matching felons and non-felons on such
characteristics as gender, race, age, and education, Christopher Uggen and Jeff Manza estimate that: Just over a third (35
percent) of disenfranchised felons would have voted in presidential elections in recent years. A large proportion of these
disenfranchised felons would vote for Democratic candidates. Felon disenfranchisement and Race Blacks remain the group
hardest hit by felon disenfranchisement laws because of their higher rates of incarceration and because they tend to live in
states that disenfranchise felons for life, even after they have served all of their sentence. The Sentencing Project study
estimates that: 6.2 percent of Black adults are disenfranchised because of felony convictions (down from 7.4 percent in
2016), Over 20 percent of Blacks in Tennessee and Wyoming are disenfranchised. The disenfranchisement rate of
non-Blacks is 1.7 percent. Requiring voter identification Restrictions on time to register to vote. Restrictions to how citizens
can vote. Socio-economic status People who are better educated, wealthier, and in more professional occupations
consistently turn out to vote at a higher rate than those from a lower socioeconomic status. Education the well-educated are
much more likely to view voting as very much a duty (62 percent) compared to the less well-educated (45 percent), who are
more likely to believe voting is a choice. Education is highly related to voting for a variety of reasons: having a better
understanding of the voter registration process, having greater interest in and knowledge about politics, and being part of a
more politically active social network. Psychological Determinants of Voter Turnout Political interest Interest in politics is
strongly correlated with voting. Those highly interested in politics tend to be: more likely to be knowledgeable about politics,
and feel strongly attached to a political party. They are more likely to vote, especially in midterm or local elections, largely
because they care more about who wins. Interpersonal trust More trusting individuals have greater trust in political
institutions. Electoral turnout is significantly and positively related to the level of trust in political institutions. Higher degree of
trust, intimacy, and social interactions with other voters are associated with a higher probability of voting. Civic duty increases
turnout because: people feel good when they have done what they know they ought to do, people experience social pressure
to vote. Genes influence which emotional and cognitive predispositions are expressed. These predispositions guide
response to the environment. Campaign Activity and Mobilization in American Elections Who is more likely to participate in
campaign activities? Those who care who wins the election, have higher education, think voting is a duty, who were
contacted by a Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign, who identified more strongly with their political party, older people,
whites compared to people of color, richer people. There is no significant difference between men and women.

Protesters are equally likely to be of any sex or race. Protesters in the last year are more likely to be young 16% of those
younger than thirty versus 6% of those sixty-five and older. Protesters are more likely to Have a college education or higher
college students have strong social support networks, increased awareness that a protest will take place, Live in a city and
 have a higher household income, Rural people are more likely to say they might protest. Who protests? – 2020 ANES
Democrats and especially liberals are much more likely to have protested in the last year and in their lifetime compared to
Republicans and conservatives. Partly due to the issue goals of protests over the years. Liberals have been more likely to
turn to protests surrounding such issues as civil rights and opposing wars. Conservatives, however, have held many
antiabortion marches, Urban versus Rural, Over twice as many rural liberals (12 percent) as rural conservatives (5 percent)
joined in a rally or demonstration over the past year. Urban liberals participate at the highest rate (27 percent of urban
liberals compared to only 8 percent of urban conservatives). The size of the place matters for the opportunity to protest, but
political beliefs also significantly impact this type of political behavior. Explaining Unconventional Participation Costs of
engaging in protests, rallies, and acts of civil disobedience Extensive time and effort, Social disapproval, Risk of arrest for
acts that lead to injury of others, damage to property or otherwise break the law. Even peaceful protests can turn violent or
prompt law enforcement to arrest participants. Collective Action Dilemma Participation is potentially highly costly, Likelihood
of any one event succeeding in obtaining a group’s goals is uncertain at best. If the group obtains its goal, it is a collective
outcome shared by everyone in the society, not just those who worked to get the policy passed. It is perfectly rational for
people to be free riders. However, if everyone behaves rationally, everyone free rides, and the preferred outcome will not be
achieved. Why are people involved in unconventional protests, marches, demonstrations, and riots? Three major factors that
explain this type of unconventional behavior: opportunities, recruitment, and motivation. The nature of protests and
demonstrations Protests and demonstrations occur erratically, There is no set place or time for participation. People might
not be aware of an event in their area until it is too late, or a protest on an issue salient to a person might not take place
nearby. Protests and demonstrations are a social group event. Another defining feature of protest events is that they involve
more than one person. These forms of participation require a mass of people to be effective. Opportunities The more heavily
populated the state, the more opportunities there are to participate in protests or riots. Living in a city provides more
opportunities to participate. In January 2020, there were 1,144 protests and riots across the United States. 170 in California,
0 in North Dakota. Social Networks Social networks are the people with whom one interacts either face-to-face or via social
media. These social networks affect our political attitudes and behaviors in important ways. Homogenous social networks
People tend to have social networks that are politically homogeneous and that reinforce their political views. People’s
tendency not to like conflict or disagreement increases the likelihood that friends will hold the same views or that they will not
talk politics when they disagree. Democrats rarely have Republican discussion partners (only 16 percent of all discussion
partners). Republicans are reluctant to have Democratic discussion partners (only 22 percent of all discussion partners).
Social sorting & homogenous social networks Social sorting: Social sorting occurs when multiple social identities, such as
racial, religious, and ideological identities, coincide with partisanship (Mason, 2018). The more people’s identities are aligned
with partisanship, the less likely they wish to connect socially with members of the opposite party, whether that be via
marriage, friendships, or living side-by-side as neighbors. Recruitment and Social Networks Social networks are important in
explaining political behavior because of the role they play in recruitment. If people are asked to participate in a political
activity, they will likely say yes (Verba et al., 1995). ~50% of respondents had been asked to participate in a political activity.
about ~50% of those asked said yes. Recruitment works for several reasons. Make them aware of the opportunity to
participate. People like to feel wanted. Participating in the activity with friends, family members, or coworkers could make
participating more fun. Social Network Size & Recruitment People who have larger social networks are more likely to be
asked. The more people a person interacts with on a daily basis, the more likely it is that the person will be recruited to
engage in unconventional actions. Social Groups Primary groups, such as family, friends, and coworkers can directly
influence our actions through face-to-face interactions. Secondary groups can have an indirect influence on our actions.
Secondary groups are those organizations or collections of individuals with which one identifies, or is identified with, that
have some common interest or goal instead of personal contact as their major basis. Ascriptive versus voluntary identities
Two types of identities related to secondary social groups: Ascriptive identities: groups you are born into, such as race and
sex, and categorized based on their visually distinguishable traits. Strength of identity depends on context. Voluntary
identities: Individuals identify with groups based on their preferences and beliefs. Voluntary identities tend to be stronger than
ascriptive identities. Motivation and Social Group Identity when people feel like part of a group—feeling attached to the
group, thinking of themselves as members of the group, and evaluating the group as a positive part of who they are—they
shift their behavior and attitudes in ways that help out the group. simply being a member of a group leads participants to
discriminate in favor of their in-group and to do what they can to benefit the group, even at personal expense. prioritize their
in-group’s well-being and view the in-group members more positively. The more politics becomes contentious and polarized,
the more likely political opinions begin playing a role in activities and behaviors that have not been previously thought of as
political. Other social identities have become increasingly consistent with party identification