voting in recent elections release/www/releases/archives/voting/013995.ht ml 557.pdf
TRANSCRIPT
Voting in Recent Electionshttp://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/013995.html
http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p20-557.pdf
Where and how do you vote?
Where Precincts Polling Places
When Election Day
November, every even numbered year, Tuesday after the first Monday
Who (common state laws) Age, Residency, Citizenship IL must register 30 days before
How Absentee Voting
Vote without going to the poll 20 million people in 2004 Apply for absentee ballot
Straight-ticket voting Vote for all or most candidates associated with your
party
Split-ticket voting Vote for candidates of different parties
Coattail Effect Strong candidate can attract voters to their party
http://www.elections.il.gov/VotingInformation/welcome.aspx
Non-Voting
Why don’t people vote?
Why is voter turnout so low in the U.S.? “I don’t care”
“My vote doesn’t count…I’m only one person!”
“It takes too much time”
“Even if I vote, the representatives won’t respond.”
“Both of the candidates are idiots!”
“I don’t know anything about politics, the candidates, or the issues.”
“Registration is tough to do” (Only 2/3 of the voting age is registered)
Why people do not vote
“Cannot-Voters”: Those unable to vote
Actual non-voters: Those who…Believe it doesn’t make a differenceDistrust politicsHave no sense of political efficacy (own
influence or effectiveness in politics)
Voters vs. Non-Voters
Voters Higher income, education, & status Long-time residents Strong party affiliation
Non-Voters Younger than 35 Unmarried or unskilled Rural/low socio-economic status
Nominating Process and Candidates
Nomination- candidate selection
1. Self-Announcement2. The Caucus3. Convention4. Direct Primary
http://www.fairvote.org/?page=1801
Closed- only declared party members can vote, primary is closed to anyone else
Open- any qualified voter can cast a ballotIL- Must vote in primary of same party as last primary the voter participated
in. Loosely enforced. Voters may change party affiliation at polls or caucus.
5. Petition (local levels)
Electoral College
Need 270 to win election! Senators + Representatives= # of electoral votes
http://www.270towin.com/
Are you an “Idiot”?“Idiot” in Greek means those who didn’t vote
or take part in public lifehttp://www.rockthevote.com/home.php
Is voting equal opportunity?
Voting Article
Money and Campaigns
http://www.fec.gov/ http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/
mapApp.do http://www.fec.gov/ans/answers.shtml
Money $$$$
Soft v Hard MoneyBipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA)
PACs Private v. Public Contributions
http://www.opensecrets.org/states/election.asp?State=IL&Year=2006