A Closer Look at Voting Patterns

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Overview

In this lesson students will explore why it is important to vote, examine the historical suffrage movements in the United States, analyze the costs or inconveniences and benefits of voting, and identify ways to increase voter turnout.

Grade Levels

9-12

Objectives

Students will:

• consider why it is important to vote;
• examine historical suffrage movements in the United States;
• identify the costs and benefits of voting; and
• identify ways to increase voter participation.

Estimated Time

4 days (with sufficient time in between for students to develop a multimedia presentation)

Materials Needed

• Interactive Learning Module: The Importance of Civic Participation
• Copies of the following:
• Fifteenth Amendment
• Nineteenth Amendment
• Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Twenty-sixth Amendment
• Oregon v. Mitchell — abridged version
• Access to the following:
• Minor v. Happersett
• Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments
• Jane Addams's "Why Women Should Vote."
• Leser v. Garnett.
• Nineteenth Amendment
• Dred Scott v. Sanford
• Department of Justice Web site
• Chalk and chalkboard or a marker and whiteboard
• Newspapers and news magazines
• Internet-enabled computer with Macromedia FLASH ® installed
• Computer projection system
• Equipment as needed for student multimedia presentations (to be determined)

Procedure

Day 1

1. Begin by focusing on the history of voting rights in this country. Familiarize students with the suffrage movements of women, African-Americans, and eighteen-year-olds, as well as voter suppression tactics such as poll taxes and literacy tests. By discussing these historical struggles, students will gain a greater understanding of why it is important to vote and how voting is not merely a privilege but a civic responsibility. Background information on these suffrage movements can be found at the following Web sites.
• Women's Suffrage: Library of Congress: Votes for Women Collection (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/naw/nawshome.html)
• African American Civil Rights: Library of Congress: African American Odyssey (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9b.html)
• 18-year-old Right to Vote: League of Women Voters: Youth Vote (http://www.lwvcef.org/youthvote/index.htm)
2. After a brief introduction on the history of voting rights, divide the class into three groups. Each group will focus on one of the following suffrage movements: women, African-Americans, and eighteen-year-olds.
3. Tell students that as a part of this unit they will be preparing and presenting a group multimedia presentation that addresses key points relative to the suffrage movement they are studying in their respective groups. (Note: determine in advance the deadline for completion of the multimedia presentations and inform students of that deadline.)

Women's Right to Vote

1. This group will focus on the women's suffrage movement. Provide students with copies of the Nineteenth Amendment and emphasize that voting for women was not a reality until this amendment was passed.
2. Begin by having students read a copy of the Supreme Court case entitled Minor v. Happersett (click here for a PDF version of the case). Have students discuss the case, the arguments of the court, and what kind of impact the results likely had on the women's suffrage movement. Students may want to look at the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution as well.
3. Have students now read the argument put forth in Jane Addams's "Why Women Should Vote." If time does not permit, this argument can be reduced.
4. Have students read and compare the reasoning used in following Supreme Court case that upheld the legality of the Nineteenth Amendment, Leser v. Garnett. Have students then compare the arguments made in the three readings.
   • What arguments are the same?
   • How do the arguments made in the different readings differ?
   • Each of these arguments was made at different times (1873, 1915, 1920 respectively). Did the difference in time have an effect on the arguments?
5. Provide students in this group with the following points to be addressed in their multimedia presentation. Instruct students to begin preparing for their multimedia presentation by discussing how they will cover these points.
   • The key facts in the Supreme Court cases studied.
   • The Court's rationale for denying a woman the right to vote. Name the main points to the Court's argument.
   • The arguments advanced by Jane Addams and other suffragettes supporting women's suffrage.
   • The key elements in the eventual passage of the Constitutional amendment establishing a woman's right to vote.

African-Americans' Right to Vote

1. This group will focus on the right of African-American men to vote. Provide students with copies of the Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution (http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html) and emphasize that the right of African-American men to vote was not recognized in statue until the amendment was passed. It would also be appropriate to mention that while the right was recognized on paper, African-American men were not able to exercise this right until almost 100 years later.
2. Use the Dred Scott v. Sanford Supreme Court case to gain perspective on the Court's reasoning that an African-American man did not have the right to vote prior to passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. It is also useful to examine the use of poll taxes and literacy tests to depress voter turnout after the Fifteenth Amendment was passed.
3. Provide students with copies of the Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
4. Provide appropriate access to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and background as presented by the Department of Justice Web site.
5. Provide students in this group with the following points to be addressed in their multimedia presentation. Instruct students to begin preparing for their multimedia presentation by discussing how they will cover these points.
   • What was the rationale for the decision in the Dred Scott case?
   • Was the decision an anomaly or representative of the prevailing thought on the topic at the time (provide evidence)?
   • Why was the voting rights portion of the Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution largely ignored?
   • What were the strengths and limitations of the two voting rights laws passed by Congress?
   • What did the laws change insofar as voting was concerned?
   • What had changed in the United States to make it possible to move from Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney and the Dred Scott case to the Voting Rights Act of 1965?
   • Does voter discrimination based on race exist in the United States today? If so, what is the evidence?

Eighteen-Year-Olds' Right to Vote

1. Give students a copy of the Twenty-sixth Amendment. Tell students that an 18-year old's right to vote did not exist until the Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution was passed.
2. Use the Oregon v. Mitchell case (click here for an abridged version of the case) that provides constitutional background useful to students preparing the presentation on the 18-year-old vote (enlarge the topic to include the voting habits of 18- to 24-year-old citizens as well as absentee voting). The Twenty-sixth Amendment made this case largely moot, but the arguments are useful.
3. Show students the portion of the Interactive Learning Module: The Importance of Civic Participation entitled, "Factors Involved in Voter Turnout," and ask them to include an analysis of whether, and how, these factors account for the disproportionately low turnout of youth in federal elections. Also ask students to predict, based on evidence, the extent of voter turnout in future federal elections.
4. Have students research voter turnout for 18- to 24-year-old voters in federal elections since the Twenty-sixth Amendment was passed. (U.S. Census Bureau: Voting and Registration: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting/cps2006.html, see Current Population Survey and Historical Time Series Tables.)
5. Provide students in this group with the following points to be addressed in their multimedia presentation. Instruct students to begin preparing for their multimedia presentation by discussing how they will cover these points.
   • Is there any rationale for providing 18-year-old citizens the right to vote in the Constitution—and if so, what is it?
   • What arguments can be and were made for and against the Twenty-sixth Amendment's passage?
   • What patterns in voting behavior do 18- to 24-year-old citizens demonstrate? How can these patterns be explained?
   • Present the analysis from #4 above.
   • Present their evidence-based predictions as asked for in #4 above.
   • Explain to the class what absentee voting entails and how it can be done in their community.

Day 2

(To be held when the multimedia presentations are completed, determined by your deadline.)

1. Have each of the three groups present their multimedia presentations to the class.

Day 3

1. Have all students watch the "Avenues of Participation" and "Importance of Voting" segments of the Interactive Learning Module: The Importance of Civic Participation. Ask students to take notes while they watch on the voting and participation data in these segments (Note: If possible, find the data for the most recent elections that are not on the graph and provide them to students).
2. Hold a general class discussion which develops some preliminary hypotheses explaining:
   • the differences in voting between the United States and other countries,
   • the patterns of voting in the United States and the variations that occur, and
   • how voter turnout could be increased.
3. Have each student choose one of the sets of hypotheses and write a one-page paper that investigates whether the hypotheses are defensible, using evidence to support their case.

Day 4

Finish the unit by exploring these current voting and election controversies with the class.

1. Whether the identification a voter must provide in order to vote should be increased;
2. Whether voter fraud has increased or decreased;
3. Whether proposed changes in voter registration laws in state legislatures favor either of the political parties;
4. Whether electronic voting should be used in elections;
5. Whether run-off voting should be used in elections (voters indicate their first and second choices, and those choices are utilized in choosing the winner of the election if one candidate does not receive 50 percent of the vote; and
6. Whether the popular vote should determine the winner of presidential elections.

Extension Activity

Invite a representative from the local government to come to the class to discuss how elections are administered and controlled.

Cross-Curricular Connection

Have students analyze data about voter turnout in the United States for the past 20 years. Have students create a graph that shows voter turnout for the following groups: African-Americans, women, young adults ages 18 to 25, Hispanics, and retired people. Ask students to devise a plan that will increase voter participation among specific groups.

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask your students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. List at least three costs or inconveniences and three benefits of voting.
2. Identify at least one way to increase voter participation.

Scoring Guide for A Closer Look at Voting Patterns

Elements	Possible Score	Assigned Score	Notes
Correct spelling and grammar	10
Good beginning, middle, and end	10
Lists at least three reasons why voting is important	20
Lists at least three costs of voting	20
Describes why action should be taken to increase voter turnout	20
Names at least one way to increase voter participation	20

Lesson Plan Feedback

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