POSC 225 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Voting Age, Jacksonian Democracy, Fifteenth Amendment To The United States Constitution
24 Apr 2016
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The logic of elections: american democracy is representative democracy, madison emphasized the main differences between a democracy and a republic b. i. Would require representative agents: but delegation of authority raises possibility of agency loss (representatives serving themselves and not their constituents) c. i. One solution: regular, free and competitive elections c. i. 1. For elected officials, future election provides incentive to be responsive agents: but not all citizens could vote. The right to vote: early practices a. i. Property requirements: universal suffrage for white men b. i. Nineteenth amendment (1920: suffrage for african americans d. i. Not universal until voting rights act (1965: suffrage for young americans e. i. Is voting rational: voting is the essence of democracy a. i. Time (work, registering, travel, waiting in line, being informed) a. i. 1. a. ii. Civic benefits: sense of fulfilling one"s duties as a citizen a. i. 1. a. ii. 2. Social benefits come from the enjoyment of being with other people a. i. 1. b.
