POL 101: U.S Government 6A

Elections and Voting - Elections - The principal way by which the American people influence and control what their Government does - The key component of democracy - Suffrage (Franchise) - Legal right to vote U.S Elections - Due to the U.S federal system, there are numerous elections in the country for federal, state, And local representatives - Elections occur for presidents, senators, house representatives, governors, state legislators, County representatives, mayors, judges - Since states and counties manage elections, there is a wide variation in registration rules, Absentee ballot policies, types of ballots, and how disputes are resolved. - Elections are monitored by the state, not the federal government - Voting rules differ from state to state - There are about 500,000 electable positions in the US - Winner take all system - First past the post system - No majority necessary for victory, just a plurality U.S Voting - More people are legally able to vote now than when the country was first established

- In 1788, about 23 percent of the adult population was allowed to vote - By 1971 over 95% of adults could legally vote The Right to Vote - African Americans (1870) – but disenfranchised in the south until passage of the voting rights Act (1965) - Women (1920) – 19 th amendment - 18-20 years of age (1971) – 26 th amendment - Incarcerated felons, many ex-felons, and some people in mental institutions are not Permitted to vote today. Types of U.S Elections - Presidential elections - Every 4 years - Turnout much higher when voting for president Midterm Elections - Elections in between presidential elections - Voter turnout is much lower than in presidential election years - All house seats are up for election and some senate seats - Incumbent president ’ s party almost always loses congressional seats - Since 1862, the presidents party has lost an average of about 32 seats in the house and 2 in The senate Congressional Elections - House of representative ’ s seats are up for election every 2 years

- Senate seats are up for election every 6 years and are staggered between presidential And midterm elections Voter Turnout - Voter turnout in 2020 was 66.8%. The highest presidential election turnout in the turnout in The 21 st century - Compared to many other democracies in the world, the U.S has very low turnout