5.1

Standard 5A

Factors associated with political ideology, efficacy, structural barriers, and demographics influence the nature and degree of political participation.

Learning Objective

Describe the voting rights protections in the Constitution and in legislation. 

Describe different models of voting behavior. 

ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE

Legal protections found in federal legislation and the Fifteenth, Seventeenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-Fourth, and Twenty-Sixth Amendments relate to the expansion of opportunities for political participation.

Examples of political models explaining voting behavior include:

• Rational choice—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 reelected 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