Examples of voter registration in the following topics:
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- Expanded voter registration means that more and more people have been able to participate, and voter turnout trends indicate how many people exercise their right to vote as a primary means of political participation.
- Voter registration laws were implemented in the 1860s by states and big cities to ensure that only citizens who met legal requirements could vote.
- In 1993, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, also known as the "motor voter" law, allowing citizens to register at motor vehicle and social service offices.
- Voter registration also has increased as a result of online registration.
- Rock the Vote (RTV), a nonpartisan youth mobilization organization, established the first online voter registration initiative in 1992 with official backing from the Congressional Internet Caucus.
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- It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial discrimination in schools, at the workplace, and by facilities that served the general public.
- Specifically, the Act outlawed the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass literary tests to register to vote.
- Echoing the language of the 15th Amendment, the Act prohibits states and local governments from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color. " Specifically, Congress intended the Act to outlaw the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass literacy tests in order to register to vote, a principal means by which Southern states had prevented African Americans from exercising the franchise.
- It also eliminated literacy tests as a precondition for voting, effectively removing barriers to African American voter registration.
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- Voter turnout among eighteen- to twenty-four-year-olds dropped from 50 percent in 1972, the first presidential election year after the voting age was lowered to eighteen, to 36 percent in 2000.
- Young voter turnout rose to 47 percent in 2004 and 51 percent in 2008, partly as a result of voter registration and mobilization efforts by groups like Rock the Vote.
- The growth of Internet technologies, particularly social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, has also made it easier for candidates to reach younger voters who may not read traditional newspapers or watch television news and increase their turnout .
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- This rise in youth vote is partly a result of voter registration and mobilization efforts by groups like Rock the Vote.
- Poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation kept black voters from the polls.
- Collectively, African Americans are more involved in the American political process than other minority groups in the United States, indicated by the highest level of voter registration and participation in elections among these groups in 2004.
- Sixty-five percent of black voters turned out in the 2008 presidential election compared with 66 percent of white voters.
- Oftentimes, religious convictions motivate voters.
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- The Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee connect voters with party leadership in a variety of ways.
- Meanwhile, party-building activities often include voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives.
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- On average, Latino citizens continue to vote at significantly lower rates than non-Latino white voters.
- Latino voters are a diverse group which include long-established Tejano and Californio, Puerto Rican and Chicano voters, as well as the Cuban-American community which makes up a large bloc of voters in Miami.
- While Latino voters should not be thought of as a homogenous group, there are still some general trends for the group.
- On average Latino citizens continue to vote at significantly lower rates that non-Latino white voters.
- They are also encouraging the political participation of Latino residents through voter registration drives, and partnerships with other organizations, such as unions, that have traditionally been involved in voter mobilization.
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- Many causes have been proposed for the decline in voting, including demographics, voter fatigue and voter suppression, among other things.
- Voter suppression instead attempts to reduce the number of voters who might vote against the candidate or proposition advocated by the suppressors.
- In the United States and most Latin American nations, voters must go through separate voter registration procedures before they are allowed to vote.
- U.S. states with no, or easier, registration requirements have larger turnouts.
- Voter fatigue and voter apathy should be distinguished from what arises when voters are not allowed or unable to vote, or when disenfranchisement occurs.
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- Institutional factors have a significant impact on voter turnout.
- Conversely, adding barriers, such as a separate registration process, can suppress turnout.
- Compulsory voting ensures a large voter turnout.
- In the United States and most Latin American nations, voters must go through separate voter registration procedures before they are allowed to vote.
- U.S. states with no or easier registration requirements have larger turnouts.
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- For a large part of US history Black voters were blocked from voting, either directly or through political practices that targeted Black voters indirectly.
- Today, the average participation of African American voters is still somewhat lower than white voters, but there is great variety within these voting patterns.
- Early on, violence and intimidation was used to keep Black voters away from the polls.
- States then began to pass official voter suppression legislation.
- These included poll taxes requiring payment before voting, and literacy and understanding tests, strict residency requirements and new voter registration rules.
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- In 2004, it was the larger major political party, with 72 million voters (42.6% of 169 million registered) claiming affiliation.
- A 2011 USA Today review of state voter rolls indicates that registered Democrats declined in 25 of the 28 states that register voters by party.
- Democrats were still the largest political party with more than 42 million voters (compared with 30 million Republicans and 24 million independents).
- USA Today's review of state voter rolls indicates that registered Republicans declined in 21 of the 28 states that register voters by party, and that Republican registrations were down 350,000 in 2011.