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Course: AP®︎/College US Government and Politics > Unit 5
Lesson 1: Voting rights and models of voter behaviorVoting rights and models of voting behavior: lesson overview
A high-level overview of how people get involved in the political process through voting.
A number of factors influence political participation—defined as the ways that voters get involved in the political process—including political ideology, efficacy, structural barriers, and demographics. Political scientists also use models of voter behavior to describe different motivations driving candidate choice.
Key terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Fifteenth Amendment | Extended suffrage to African American men. |
| Seventeenth Amendment | Established the popular election of US senators. |
| Nineteenth Amendment | Extended suffrage to women. |
| Twenty-fourth Amendment | Declared poll taxes void in federal elections. |
| Twenty-sixth Amendment | Extended suffrage to people aged 18-20 years old by lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | Legislation designed to help end formal and informal barriers to African American suffrage. |
| National Voter Registration Act of 1993 | Also called the "Motor Voter Act." Makes it easier for voters to register to vote by requiring states to allow citizens to register when applying for or renewing their driver's license. |
| 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 at the same level of government. |
| Poll tax | A fixed-sum tax payable by all relevant individuals, such as all residents of a state; used historically by some US states as a precondition to registering to vote in order to discourage certain groups from participation (for example, African Americans). |
Key takeaways
Voting rights protections eliminating structural barriers to voting: When the Constitution took effect in 1789, senators were not directly elected (instead, state legislatures chose them) and only white, land-owning men could vote.
Over time, the Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-sixth Amendments to the Constitution, respectively, extended voting rights to people of all races and colors; women; and 18-20-year-olds. The Seventeenth Amendment allowed for the direct election of senators, and the Twenty-fourth Amendment outlawed the use of non-payment of poll taxes and other taxes to deny citizens the right to vote.
How do people vote?
Political scientists have defined several models of voter behavior in an attempt to explain the different motivations of voters:
- Rational choice theory describes someone voting in their best interest, supporting the candidate whose platform will give them the most favorable outcomes.
- Retrospective voting describes voting based on the recent record in office of a candidate or others in their party.
- Prospective voting describes voting based on how a citizen thinks a candidate will act and perform if elected to office.
- Party-line voting describes consistently voting for candidates of the same political party at all levels of government.
Review questions
What is one amendment that extended suffrage to a new group of people?
What is the rational choice model of voting?
How are retrospective and prospective voting different?
Want to join the conversation?
Isn't there also a type of voting where a person votes for whoever is popular in the region? What would that be called?(13 votes)
I also believe this is part of the "bandwagon effect" where people will vote for a candidate because other people are doing it.(19 votes)
What is the difference between Rational Choice Theory and Prospective Voting?(5 votes)
what is electoral behavior?(4 votes)
Casting a ballot conduct is a type of appointive conduct. Understanding citizens' conduct can clarify how and why choices were settled on either by open chiefs, which has been a focal worry for political researchers, or by the electorate.Voting is the fundamental kind of political interest in liberal vote based social orders and thusly the investigation of casting a ballot conduct might be an exceptionally specific sub-field inside legislative issues . The investigation of casting a ballot designs perpetually centers around the determinants of why individuals vote as they are doing and the manner in which they arrive at the decisions they make . Sociologists will in general appear to the financial determinants of help for ideological groups, noticing the relationships between's class, occupation, identity, sex, age and vote; political researchers have focusing because of political variables like issues, political projects, appointive missions, and hence the prominence of gathering pioneers on democratic conduct. Nonetheless, the two orders share a lot of an equal landscape, and progressively have gone to cover in their logical methodologies (see M. Harrop and W. L. Mill operator, Elections and Voters: A Comparative Perspective, 1987).(1 vote)
Wouldnt it be 26 amendment(3 votes)
If you are asking about the first Review Question "What is one amendment that extended suffrage to a new group of people?" then the 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments would all be correct answers.(1 vote)
what is a electoral behavior?(1 vote)- Voting behavior’ is the Psychological way of saying ‘how people decide to vote in elections. Although voting is an individual act, it does not take place in isolation. Votes are influenced by a host of factors. These factors can be put in to two main groups. There are sociological factors which is called long-term factors looking at how people vote. Also political factors which is called short-term factors which focuses on the way people vote in general elections. psephologists have discovered various of theories to explain the factors that influence voting behavior in general elections. There are evidence which shows fewer people identify with a stronger party compare to 40 years ago. Elections are becoming more volatile. The 1997 General Election was apolitical Earthquake, which swigged of over 10 percent from Conservative to Labour.(4 votes)
- Does there have to be a certain number for political participation?(2 votes)
- i think there is not a certain number for political participation(1 vote)
why are the fifteenth amendment and the 19th amendment so alike.(1 vote)
The 15th Amendment addresses African American men during this time, whereas it wasn´t until the 19th Amendment women could truly be a part of voting.(3 votes)
- Question : Are these answers correct?
1) The 15th Amendment gave African males the right to vote, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, and the 26th Amendment gave 18-year-olds the right to vote.
2) The rational choice model of voting is where an individual chooses a candidate based on interest
3) Retrospective voting is where an individual chooses a candidate based on past actions. Prospective voting is when an individual chooses a candidate based on what they might perform in the future.(1 vote)
You're mostly correct. For part two, an individual chooses a candidate based on who aligns with their political interests.(1 vote)
- how many rational choices are there?(1 vote)
- how do i answer the question(1 vote)