By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Summarize the expansion of suffrage in the United States and identify key landmarks in the struggle over voter rights.
2. Compare and contrast voter turnout in the United States with voter turnout in other mature democracies.
3. Contrast conflicting theories purporting to explain low voter turnout.
4. Classify factors contributing to higher or lower voter turnout.
5. Identify various forms of non-voter participation and their consequences for governance.
   

1. How has the right to vote evolved over the last two hundred years in this country?
2. What were some of the barriers used in the South (though not exclusively there) to disenfranchise African Americans and other minorities?
3. Identify the significance of the following voter rights landmarks:
1. 15th Amendment
2. 19th Amendment
3. Smith v. Allwright (1944)
4. 24th Amendment
5. Civil Rights Act of 1965
6. 26th Amendment
7. The 1993 Motor Voter Act
4. How does voter turnout in the United States compare to turnout in other democracies?
5. Why is it ironic that voter turnout declined between the 1960s and 1990s?
6. Discuss competing (or complementary) explanations to describe why voter turnout is so low. Be sure to address institutional arguments as well as the concept of alienation. Can you cite any evidence that lends more support to some arguments than others?
7. Why is low voter turnout a problem? Or is it? Justify your answer but make sure to acknowledge arguments that run counter to your position.
8. What demographic characteristics best predict high voter turnout? Specifically, what role, if any, do the following factors play?
1. Age
2. Education
3. Income
4. Race
5. Religion
9. How does turnout in Congressional midterm elections differ from presidential elections?
10. Discuss the possible impact of political party strength and electoral systems on voter turnout.
11. What other variables impact voter turnout?
12. Some political scientists distinguish between formal and informal participation. What is the difference?
13. Give some common examples of informal participation.
14. Compare the level of informal participation in U.S. politics to the level of informal participation in other democracies.
15. When considering the paradox of formal and informal participation in relation to other democracies, what conclusion do you draw concerning political participation and the health of American democratic politics?