I | INTRODUCTION |
Election, procedure that allows members of an
organization or community to choose representatives who will hold positions of
authority within it. The most important elections select the leaders of local,
state, and national governments. The chance to decide who will govern at these
levels serves as an opportunity for the public to make choices about the
policies, programs, and future directions of government action. At the same
time, elections promote accountability. The threat of defeat at the polls exerts
pressure on those in power to conduct themselves in a responsible manner and
take account of popular interests and wishes when they make their
decisions.
In the United States, elections are held at
regular intervals. National presidential elections take place every four years.
Congressional elections occur every two years. Elections for state and local
office usually coincide with national elections. The responsibility for
organizing elections rests largely with state and local governments. State laws
specify how elections are to be administered, determine the boundaries of
electoral districts, and specify the qualifications of candidates. State,
county, and municipal election boards administer elections. These boards
establish and staff polling places and verify the eligibility of individuals who
come to vote.
II | VOTING RIGHTS |
Native-born or naturalized (foreign-born)
U.S. citizens over the age of 18 possess the right to vote. Citizens can lose
their right to vote. All states prohibit felons (people convicted of serious
crimes) from voting during their imprisonment or parole, and 13 states bar
felons from voting for life. However, convicted felons who have regained their
right to vote cannot be denied the right to vote if they move to any of those 13
states.
During the early years of the nation’s
history, legislatures in the United States generally restricted the right to
vote to white males over the age of 21. In addition, many states also limited
voting rights to those who owned property or paid more than a specified annual
tax. State governments began to rescind property and tax requirements during the
1820s and 1830s. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, the majority of these
requirements had disappeared, at least as they affected voting by white males.
Women did not fully gain the right to vote in the United States until the 19th
Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1920.
At the time of the Civil War, black males had
won the right to vote in most Northern states. The 15th Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution, ratified in 1870, secured their right to vote throughout the
nation. Despite the 15th Amendment, the states of the former Confederacy
effectively rescinded the voting rights of blacks in the 1880s. During this
period, the Southern states created what was called the Jim Crow system of
racial segregation. As part of this system, a variety of devices, such as poll
taxes, literacy tests, and property qualifications, prevented virtually all
blacks from voting. During the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movement, led
by Martin Luther King, Jr., and other civil rights leaders, demanded the
restoration of black voting rights. Enactment of the 1965 federal Voting Rights
Act accomplished this goal. This law provided for the U.S. Department of Justice
to oversee registration of voters in states with histories of discrimination
against minority citizens.
Women won the right to vote in 1920, through
ratification of the 19th Amendment. This amendment resulted primarily from the
activities of the women’s voting rights, or suffrage, movement led by Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Carrie Chapman Catt. The suffragists held
rallies, demonstrations, and protest marches for nearly a half-century before
achieving their goal. The most recent expansion of voting rights in the United
States took place in 1971, with the ratification of the 26th Amendment. This
amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18.
III | VOTER PARTICIPATION |
Compared to voter participation rates of
citizens in other democracies, participation in U.S. elections is low. Slightly
more than 50 percent of those eligible participate in national presidential
elections. Barely 30 percent of eligible voters take part in congressional
elections during nonpresidential election years. Turnout plummets even further
in state and local races that do not coincide with national contests. In
European nations, by contrast, voter turnout consistently exceeds 80
percent.
During the 19th century, American political
party machines boosted voter participation rates by employing hundreds of
thousands of workers to organize and mobilize voters and bring them to the
polls. In some areas, turnout among those eligible to vote approached 90
percent. Political machines began to decline in strength in the early 20th
century and have since largely disappeared. Without party workers to encourage
them to go to the polls, and even to bring them there if necessary, many
eligible voters will not participate. In the absence of strong parties,
participation rates have dropped severely among poorer and less-educated
citizens. Voting rates are nearly twice as high among the wealthiest fifth of
the population as they are among the poorest fifth. A weakened party system has
contributed to the creation of an American electorate that is smaller and more
skewed toward upper income groups.
IV | VOTER REGISTRATION |
In addition to differences in political party
strength, these national differences in voter participation result from
variations in registration rules and the organization of elections. In Europe,
governments automatically register their citizens as voters. In the United
States, eligible voters must register with state election boards before they may
vote. Progressive Era reformers introduced registration requirements at the end
of the 19th century to make voting more difficult and thereby reduce voting
fraud and other forms of electoral abuse. In Southern states, these requirements
also provided an additional way to deprive both blacks and poor whites of the
opportunity to vote. In urban areas, registration rules discouraged immigrant
and working class voters from going to the polls.
Registration requirements have eased in most
states since the 1960s. An eligible individual may now register to vote by
simply mailing a postcard to the state election board. The 1993 federal
“Motor-Voter” Act required states to make such postcards available in motor
vehicle, public assistance, and military recruitment offices. Legislators hoped
that easing burdens on voters might reverse trends in voting participation.
V | ELECTORAL SYSTEMS |
The manner in which governments organize
elections and determine winners also affects participation rates. Majority
systems require that a victorious candidate receive more than 50 percent of
the vote. Under a plurality system, winning candidates need only receive
more votes than any opponent. Systems of proportional representation
award legislative seats to competing political parties in rough proportion to
their percentage of the popular votes cast. European nations commonly use this
electoral system. Virtually all national elections in the United States use the
plurality system, although the majority system survives in some primary, state,
and local elections, especially in Southern states.
In general, proportional representation works
to the advantage of smaller or weaker groups in society, while plurality and
majority rules tend to help larger and more powerful forces. In Europe, for
example, a party that wins 10 percent of the national vote might win 10 percent
of the parliamentary seats. In the United States, by contrast, a party that wins
10 percent of the vote will probably win no seats in Congress. Proportional
representation tends to increase the number of competitive political parties
within an electoral system—for example, the multiparty systems in Europe.
Because they offer smaller parties little chance of success, plurality and
majority systems usually reduce the number of competitive political parties—for
example, the mostly two-party system in the United States.
Proportional representation systems boost
participation by increasing the value of a vote to smaller or more marginal
portions of a national population. In the United States, plurality or majority
systems have reduced the incentive to vote of citizens who do not identify
closely with the Democratic or Republican Party. Disillusionment with the major
parties and their candidates for office has led not only to declining rates of
voter participation, but to an increase in the percentage of voters who identify
themselves as “independent.”
VI | TYPES OF ELECTIONS |
In most nations, political party leaders
select candidates for office in a general election. The United States is one of
the few nations to hold primary elections prior to the general election
campaign. In these elections, voters select the party’s candidates for office.
Progressive Era reformers introduced the primary at the beginning of the 20th
century as another way to weaken the influence of political party machines in
general elections.
The primary is followed by the general
election, which normally is the decisive electoral contest. In some states,
however, a runoff election between the two candidates receiving the largest
number of primary votes may precede the general election.
Some states also provide for referendum
voting. The referendum is a process that allows citizens to vote directly on
proposed laws or other governmental actions. Voters in several states have voted
to set limits on tax rates, to block state and local spending proposals, to
prohibit social services for illegal immigrants, and to deny special legal
protection for homosexuals.
Although it involves voting, the referendum
is not an election. The election is an institution of representative government.
In an election, voters choose officials to act for them. The referendum, by
contrast, is an institution of direct democracy. In a referendum, voters govern
directly without intervention by government officials. The validity of
referendums, however, is subject to judicial review. If a court finds that a
referendum outcome violates the state or federal constitution, it can overturn
the result. For example, federal court judges set aside most of the provisions
of the 1994 California referendum curtailing social services to illegal
aliens.
VII | REDISTRICTING |
State legislatures redraw the boundaries of
congressional districts every ten years in response to population changes
determined by the national census. The purpose of redistricting is to ensure
that congressional seats are fairly apportioned among the citizens of a state.
However, some legislators manipulate the boundaries of electoral districts to
influence electoral outcomes. The majority political party may “pack” a district
with supporters so that it becomes “safe,” or “crack” the district by diffusing
or entirely zoning out supporters of the opposing party. This process is often
called gerrymandering, a term coined in 1812. At that time, Massachusetts
governor Elbridge Gerry persuaded the state legislature to create a strangely
shaped district, which to many resembled a salamander—thus the term
gerrymander—to advance the electoral prospects of a supporter.
In the past, one common purpose of
gerrymandering was to reduce the electoral strength of racial minorities in
congressional districts. The 1982 extension of the Voting Rights Act, however,
directed Southern states to redraw congressional districts to secure stronger
minority representation. At that time, 50 percent of American blacks lived in
the South, comprising about 20 percent of the Southern population. However, only
2 of 108 Southern members of the House of Representatives were black.
Redistricting in the South has since led to the election of 17 African American
Democratic representatives in the South, all from districts with black
majorities.
While redistricting along racial lines may
have strengthened black Americans politically, the Republican Party in the South
also has benefited from such redistricting. One effect of fencing black voters
into designated “minority-majority” districts has been to create adjoining
districts that are predominantly white and conservative. Critics of the policy
argue that demographically balanced districts offer opportunities for governance
through coalition building and compromise. Redistricting along racial lines, by
contrast, only serves to polarize the races and place ceilings on the careers of
minority politicians by limiting their exposure to broadly based constituencies.
Federal courts also have challenged the constitutionality of such redistricting.
In 1995 the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a black-majority
district in Georgia, which consisted of 22 counties. In rendering this decision,
the Court stated that race may not be the “predominant factor” in the creation
of electoral districts. Subsequent Supreme Court decisions in 1996 and 2003 made
similar points.
VIII | HOW VOTERS DECIDE |
Many Americans identify personally with
and maintain a sense of loyalty to either the Democratic or Republican Party.
Voters often acquire partisan identification in childhood as a result of
parental influence. Issues and policy preferences also influence voters’
choices. For example, concerns about crime may encourage voters to elect the
candidate with the strongest platform against it. In addition, the character of
a candidate influences voters. Perceptions of honesty, morality, and the ability
to lead matter to most voters. Many voters also prefer candidates who share
their own racial, religious, or ethnic background.
IX | ELECTORAL REALIGNMENTS |
The outcomes of elections often have
important consequences for governmental programs and policies. In the United
States, elections have had their greatest impact during times of “critical
realignment”—periods when the balance of power between the major parties shifts.
Two of the most important realignments in American history took place in 1860
and 1932. In 1860 the newly formed Republican Party elected Abraham Lincoln and
won control of the government on a platform calling for the abolition of slavery
in the territories. This precipitated the secession of the Southern states and
the Civil War, followed by a period of consolidation of national power over the
states. In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt led the Democrats to victory during the
Great Depression. The Democrats remained in power for many years and greatly
expanded the social service and regulatory functions of the American government.
Republicans hoped the election of presidents Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984,
George H. W. Bush in 1988, and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 indicated a
realignment of political forces in favor of the Republican Party and its
conservative political agenda.
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