Political Participation

Forms of Political Participation (Besides Voting)

• Litigation• Protest/public demonstrations• Contacting media or public officials• Campaign work, voter registration• Campaign contributions• Running for/holding political office • Political discussion (Way to go, AP Government!)

• Membership in a political organization

Verba and Nie’s Six Kinds of Citizens

• Inactives- rarely vote, participate, or even discuss politics. 22% of pop.

• Voting Specialists- vote, but do little else• Campaigners- vote and get involved in campaigns• Communalists- non-partisan community activist with a

local focus • Parochial Participants- like inactives, but will contact

politicians about specific problems • Activists – participate in all forms of politics

Causes of Participation

• Education- more=more• Religion- involvement develops skills

associated with political participation • Gender- equal• Race – Black participation is lower, BUT

controlling for socioeconomic status, they actually participate at a higher rate

Factors that Decrease Turnout

• Youths, minorities pushing down percentage of eligible adults who are registered and vote

(Ya darn kids!)

• Parties less effective in mobilization • Remaining registration impediments have

negative effects• Voting not compulsory• Feelings that elections don’t matter

What Should We Do?

• No one really knows who would be helped by increased voter turnout–Perhaps Democrats, since nonvoters tend to

be poor, minorities, or uneducated–Perhaps Republicans, since an increasing

percentage of college graduates and white-collar adults are not voting

Essentially….

• Americans vote less but participate more• Other forms of activity are becoming more

common

• Political Participation: Just Do It!