02/17/23 Chapter 5- Voting, Campaigns, and Elections

● Suffrage- The legal right to vote in public elections.

● Voter registration- The formal action, by government, of making an
official decision as to who is legally eligible to vote.
○ Distinguished qualified voters from those who are ineligible
because of immaturity, lack of citizenship, mental incapacity,
or other reasons.
● Poll tax- A tax levied on citizens before they are permitted to vote,
forbidden by the Twenty fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
in 1964.
● Equal- protection clause- The passage in the Fourteenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution that guarantees all citizens the same rights as
all other citizens.
● Voter turnout- The proportion of eligible citizens who actually cast
ballots in an election.
● Election campaign- The activities of candidates and parties, trying to
persuade citizens to vote for them, in the period of time before an
election.
● Publicly-funded campaigns- A system in which the government pays
for the candidates campaign expenses, either directly or through
parties.
● Privately-funded campaigns- A system in which candidates and parties
must rely on private citizens to voluntarily donate money to their
campaign chests.
● Open primary- An election held within a party to nominate candidates
for the general election, in which any registered members of that party
may participate.
● General election- An election in which voters choose government
officeholders.
Voting, campaigning, and elections are important to study because in a democracy the
legitimacy of the government depends on the people’s participation.
● Single votes never determine the outcome of elections
● Voting is important for individuals, and candidates within the political
system
Consistent with its traditionalist history and culture, Texas until recently attempted to
suppress voting by all but wealthy whites.
● Voter turnout below national average=comparatively low
● Anemic voter turnout is a problem for the gov
● Democracy theory the participation in citizens that create
underpinning of authority
Turnout of African Americans and Mexican Americans is generally lower than the
turnout of Anglos.
● This disparity makes public policy more conservative than it
would be
● Voter turnout has been rising in recent elections
● If trendline continues all Texans may begin to register their
policy preference via voting booth
In campaigns, candidates attempt to persuade voters to support them.
 ● Force to spend large amount of money they become dependent on
wealthy to contribute to the cost
● This dependence has consequences for public policy
● The national and state level of reformers regulate campaign
contributions in order to prevent money from dominating democracy
● Money is not absolutely decisive in campaigns any candidate who are
outspent by their opponents sometimes win
● Three kinds of elections in texas
● Primary elections- are held to choose candidates for general elections
● General elections- the electorate determines who will serve in public
office
● Special elections- are held when they are needed between general
elections, often either fill unexpected governmental vacancies or to
ratify constitutional amendments.
One of the most disturbing trends in elections is the prevalence of negative personal
attacks in television advertising. The gubernatorial campaigns of 1990 and 2002 were
paradigms of sleazy viciousness. Several of the most important state campaigns in the
1990s and 2000s were fought cleanly, giving a reason to hope that future elections may
be more issue oriented than those in the past.

A state dominated by Democrats until about 1984, Texas became dominated by

Republican starting in 1994.
● Statewide victories of Republican candidates partly based on
the fact citizens who are Democrats
● Primarily minorities tend to go to polls in low numbers on
election day.
A comparison of the reality of Texas electoral politics with the ideal of the democratic
polity thus suggest that Texas falls very far below the ideal but offers some reason for
optimism.