voter behavior and participation/public opinion

• 14th amendment

  • 1868
  • granted citizenship to those born or naturalized in the US, including slaves
  • 3 parts: citizenship clause, due process, equal protection
• 15th amendment

  • 1870
  • granted african american men the right to vote
  • ability to vote cannot be based on race
  • after the ratification, states that had authority over voter eligibility passed laws that acted as barries toward african american voters: grandfather clause, poll taxes, literacy tests, and all white primaries
• voting rights act 1965

  • legislation that enforced the 15th amendment and outlawed the barriers set up by the states
  • eliminated literacy tests, all white primaries, and grandfather clause
  • poll taxes was only abolished by the 24th amendment
• 17th amendment

  • 1913
  • originally under the constitution, us senators were indirectly elected by the state legislatures
  • because of the 17th amendment, the 2 senators were directly elected by the people of the state
• 19th amendment

  • 1920
  • granted women the right to vote
• 26th amendment

  • 1971
  • lowered the voting age from 21 to 18
• motor voter act

  • 1993
  • official name was the national voter registration act
  • when applying or renewing a drivers license, you have the opportunity to register to vote
  • this makes it easier to register as well as maintain the registration
• voter id laws

  • require a person to provide some form of official indentification before they are permitted to register to vote, receive a ballot for an election, or actually vote
• generational effects

  • common experiences that are shared by a specific age group
• lifecycle effects

  • individual political views change with age and life stages
  • younger people tend to be more liberal but less politically engaged
• period effects

  • significant events or societal trends that affect society as a whole
• what makes a poll or a survey credible?

  • random sample
  • large population size
  • neutral and unbiased question
  • make the poll transparent to the public
  • small margin of error
• how do we measure public opinion?

  • mass survey
  • benchmark polls
  • entrance and exit polls
  • tracking polls (horserace journalism)
  • focus groups
• what influences your political ideologies

  • family
  • peers
  • school
  • media
  • education
  • demographics
• 24th amendment


  • 1964
  • abolished poll taxes