Lesson 5.1 and 2: Voting Behavior and Turnout
Enduring Understanding:
Factors associated with political ideology, efficacy, structural barriers, and demographics influence the nature and degree of political participation.Learning Objectives:
Describe the voting rights protections in the Constitution and in legislation.Describe different models of voting behavior
Explain the roles that individual choice and state laws play in voter turnout in elections.
Essential Knowledge:
Legal protections found in federal legislation and the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments relate to the expansion of opportunities for political participation.Examples of political models explaining voting behavior include:
- Rational-choice voting–Voting based on what is perceived to be in the citizen’s individual interest
- Retrospective voting–Voting to decide whether the party or candidate in power should be re-elected based on the recent past
- Prospective voting–Voting based on predictions of how a party or candidate will perform in the future
- Party-line voting–Supporting a party by voting for candidates from one political party for all public offices across the ballot
- State voter registration laws
- Procedures on how, when, and where to vote
- Mid-term (congressional) or general presidential elections
Factors influencing voter choice include:
- Party identification and ideological orientation
- Candidate characteristics
- Contemporary political issues
- Religious beliefs or affiliation, gender, race and ethnicity, and other demographic characteristics
Debrief 4.5:
Prompt: List 3 possible causes for low voter turnout. How could we increase voter turnout in the US? What would be the advantages and disadvantages of a higher turnout?Activity #1: Test Corrections
For the first 45, we will complete some test corrections. To do this, go to the Illuminate Dashboard. Then click on the test results, then review test. To do a test correction, re-write the question and answer in a complete sentence.
Activity #2: TIP-C
Takeaways for our notebooks
Election laws generally fall into seven different categories that can influence turnout:
- voter-registration deadlines
- restrictions on registrations and registration drives
- preregistration laws that allow people under 18 to register in advance of their first elections
- laws governing ease of voting (like early and absentee voting)
- voter ID requirements and
- polling hours.
