Voting and Political Participation in Texas PDF

Voting and Political Participation in Texas Chapter 9 Political Participation Political Efficacy: Political power: influence on government based on some combination of numbers of people, wealth, social norms, ideas, force and violence, and government act...

Voting and Political Participation in Texas Chapter 9 Political Participation Political Efficacy: Political power: influence on government based on some combination of numbers of people, wealth, social norms, ideas, force and violence, and government actions (including laws and regulations) Political Participation: all forms of involvement citizens can have that are related to governance. Voting in Texas: ❖ One of the most common forms of participation is voting in elections ❖ According to the US constitution, Voting cannot be denied based on race, color, sex, failure to pay a tax, or age (the voter must be at least 18 on election day) ❖ 15th, 19th, 24th, 26th amendments ❖ States still have considerable discretion in who is eligible and what election system will be used ❖ Online, paper, early voting, registration requirements Voters in Texas must be at least 18, citizens of the US, resident in the state, and registered to vote Convicted felons and the “mentally incompetent” are excluded Voter registration: is the act of qualifying by formally enrolling on an official list ❖ Voters must register at least 30 days before an election, either by paper for or when applying for or renewing a drivers license ❖ When registered, voters receive a voter registration card by mail, voters who move must re-register Political Participation: Levels and Types In actives: take no part in elections, campaigning Voting specialists: confine their efforts to voting Parochial participants: are active when an issue has a direct effect on them Campaigners: enjoy the nature of political campaigns Communalists: Active voter but avoids the combat of controversy of partisan campaigns Complete activists: get involved in all levels and kinds of political activity Unconventional Political Behavior: sit-ins, boycotts, threat Ongoing controversies with voting: Advocates of voter ID laws say they reduce voter fraud, opponents argue they restrict the right to vote. Voter Turnout: There are several ways to calculate voter turnout- the proportion of people who vote in an election Varying requirements make it difficult to compare turnout rates using the percentage of registered voters. Voting age population (VAP) is generally the preferred measure, but it includes a fair number of people who meet the age requirement but are unable to register and vote. A third measure, voting eligible population (VEP), is calculated by eliminating ineligible groups from VEP, but VEP is not universally available at this time. Voter Turnout in Texas: In general, Texans are not avid voters - Texas consistently falls below the national average in terms of percentage of the VEP in elections of the past 30 years - Texas’s voter turnout also ranks at or near the bottom when compared to other states Shivercrats movement (1950’s) - Pattern of presidential republicanism, they were conservative democrats voting for republicans in national elections John Tower was the 1st republican elected senator statewide in Texas. 1978: Bill Clements was the 1st republican governor in over 100 years!! Liberal Judges converted to conservative judges By 1994 Texas was a One- Party Republican State!!!!! 1994 George Bush and all state wide seats were won by republicans The Tea Party was replaced by MAGA (Make America Great Again) with Donald Trump's campaign Texas will continue to remain RED Since 1994 Texas all state-wide elections have been won by republicans Conservative Democrats (Blue Dog Democrats)- becoming an endangered species in the south Party Polarization- Sharp divisions between the 2 parties - Congress is most polarized today since 1956 - Progressive activists, illustrates base frustration with democratic party - The Tea Party, mostly identified as MAGA republicans illustrates base frustration with GOP elected officials. Ronald Reagan's election in 1980 marked a significant change in how Texans began to vote not only in presidential elections, but in state elections as well.