Minorities and Local Politics: A Study of Political Participation and Voting

When comparing the United States to other countries in the world, we are far more advanced in technology as well as healthcare and standard of living. Yes, in the United States we live a good life that is given to us, in part, by our government through the taxes that we pay. Our government provides funding for all the projects that go into the creation of the latest technology and products that makes our country cutting edge. So why, then, are we the country with one of the lowest voter turnout rates as well as overall low political participation rates? When considering the fact that on average only about half the population actually goes out to vote, we can conclude that minority participation is even less. United States citizens are becoming less politically involved than ever and when it comes to local politics, minority or not, it is virtually nonexistent. In this study, I will discuss why minorities need to be politically active, especially in local affairs, the factors that affect political participation in general, and how those factors relate to the issues facing minorities today. Then I will discuss voting behavior and leadership roles as well as their corresponding data.

Minorities need to become involved in local politics more than any other group because they are the ones that are most affected by the decisions that are being made on the local level. Issues such as public housing and discrimination practices are addressed at the local level. Because minorities are disproportionately poorer than whites, they are far more likely to need public housing than whites do. Thus, they need to be present and active in the decisions that will affect whether or not public housing is funded in their area and how much they are going to receive. Likewise, minorities are more reliant on public education as the sole source of education for their children and so should be involved in the decision making about how public education is funded and ran. Finally, minorities are the biggest recipients of welfare in general. This includes food stamps as well as any subsidy the government provides for them. They should be able to have access to decision makers when it comes to decisions that affect whether or not they will be able to receive the money they need to survive. Without political participation, especially the power of voting, minorities will not be able to have access to the organized power structures that affect the outcome of public policy decisions. If minorities want control of their governmental lives, it is imperative that they tell their political leaders what they want.

Telling your political leaders what you want is the best way to have the decisions affecting your life turn out the way you want them to. Sadly, however, most Americans, minority or not, do not participate in political activities. There is a myriad of reasons as to why people do or do not become involved in politics. Most people just don't really care about anything having to do with politics and politicians. Many people find it to be a boring waste of time so feel no desire to become involved. Seemingly, the number one reason that people do or do not become involved in politics is efficacy. Efficacy is the belief that your vote or your opinion on the matter at hand will have any effect on the outcome of the election or matter being discussed. Most people do not become politically involved because they feel they cannot make a difference simply by voting or going to the town meeting and having their voice heard. Most people believe that one vote will not matter or that one person's opinion is irrelevant. They simply do not believe that they will have any affect whatsoever, so they believe there is no point in participating because they will be unable to affect the outcome anyway.

Another such factor that effects political participation is age. The younger you are the less likely you are, as a demographic, to vote. When you are younger you are less likely to care about politics and what affect it may have on you. You are less aware of the role that governments play in your lives and are more concerned about your own lives than that of the life of the country as a whole. As you grow older, you become more aware of the political climate around you and you begin to develop your own opinions about how certain things should be handled. You begin to develop your own sense of morality and from this form your own opinions about how decisions should be made and what are the right decisions. Finally, when you are in your elderly retirement years, you are the most likely to vote. As a whole demographic, retirement age people are the strongest voting bloc there is today. They all have strong feelings on issues such as prescription drugs and social security and have enough knowledge and experience to actually participate in political activities.

Correspondingly, education also effects whether you are likely to be active in civic activities. Civic engagement occurs more often among the well-educated members of society. While these members are proportionately white, they do include members of all ethnic minorities; especially Asian Americans as they tend to be as well educated as whites. Hispanic Americans as well as African Americans tend to have lower levels of education and are far less likely to have a college degree, thus are less likely to become involved in political activities. They do not have the knowledge or desire to get involved in politics. However, when it comes to voting, African Americans are one and one half times more likely to vote than whites. (www.census.gov) That does not mean, however, that they actually go to the polls to vote.

Another factor that effects participation is family. If older members of your family have consistently voted and become involved in political activities, then their children are more likely to become involved and go to the polls. Children learn by example so if their parents are exhibiting behavior that encourages political awareness then it is more likely that their children will pick up these habits and carry them over into their adult lives. Whites have been voting since the foundation of this country so as a whole they have gone through plenty of generations in which they could foster participation habits. African Americans, for example, have had years of slavery, discrimination, and intentional thwarts to their political participation so do not have a legacy of political participation to pass on to their children. They had to fight for the right to vote and then fight to actually cast votes when it came time. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of the 1960s that minorities, especially African Americans, had protections against discrimination at the polls.

Similarly, legal status also affects political participation. Many minorities in this country are not native born or even naturalized citizens. If you do not have legal citizen's status in this country then you will not be able to register to vote in any election and you certainly cannot run for pubic office. Many Hispanic Americans are not legal immigrants and thus cannot participate in political activities. Finally, mobilization matters. If you do not have leaders to convince you to become politically active then why would you? The majority of American citizens does not really care about politics and just vote in the presidential election because they feel they should. As evidenced in election 2004, a powerful political leader can affect the outcome of the election as well as mobilize hundreds of thousands of people to political action. The leaders of the conservative right mobilized their base and helped to win the election for Bush. Many minorities do not have a leader that is strong enough to mobilize an entire force of voters. Due to this, minorities are less likely to vote and be politically active.

The factors I mentioned above all contribute to the small percentage of politically active minorities. Party affiliation has a small impact on whether or not a minority is likely to be involved in the political sphere. On average, minorities tend to affiliate themselves with the Democratic Party and less so with the Republican Party. A number of minorities do not affiliate themselves with any party or they say they are Independent. If the parties are able to mobilize a great number of minorities to vote then they are more likely to be able to elect a minority candidate.

Why is it that minorities are not in more local government power positions? The answers are plentiful and have roots that are embedded far back in American History. Minorities have had a long history of racism and segregation in the United States, especially African Americans. The South was not happy about the Emancipation Proclamation and was completely furious when all the slaves were given their freedom. This left a scar of hatred among Southern slave-holding whites as well as those who hated the black man. While this country has moved passed the slavery era, the feelings of racism still exist today and those feelings can prevent many minorities from achieving any power position today. Not only does racism inhibit their electoral bid, but also the sheer size of their numbers makes it almost impossible for them to win a majority without the help of a coalition with whites or other minorities. Although the minority population is growing at a significant rate, it still has a long way to go to surpass the numbers of the white population.

These small numbers make election unattainable with the electoral system we have today. Currently in the United States, we have single member districts with a winner-take-all system. All you need is a plurality of the votes to win the entire district and the position. This makes it very hard for a minority candidate to secure more votes than his white counterpart. This, in conjunction with the fact that minorities don't tend to vote, makes election next to impossible. The best solution to this problem for minorities would be to go to a Proportional Representation system like that in many European states like the United Kingdom. In this system, seats and positions are allocated based on a proportion of the vote each candidate receives. If a candidate can secure a certain number of votes then he is assured at least one seat. This would increase the chances a minority has of securing a seat in the State government and on any local councils or boards.

Other factors that make it difficult for minorities to get elected are lack of education and financial support. On average, minorities have less education than their white counterparts so it is more difficult for them to obtain an office that requires high end skills such as budgeting and management. Similarly, minorities are more likely to be poor or less affluent than their white opponents so resources for campaigning are scarce. As we have seen in many elections, local and national, the candidate that spends the most money is the one that is declared the victor. This, alone, places a seemingly insurmountable disadvantage on the minority population. Minorities are also far less likely to have connections to affluent people who may be willing to make a considerable monetary campaign donation. Because minorities tend to support minorities, minority candidates have no real financial base they can tap into. The only advantage is the manpower advantage they have because minorities do tend to support minorities. However, the financial disadvantage alone will thwart their electoral chances before they start.

It seems like it is absolutely impossible for a minority to be able to obtain a political power position. While it does seem that the odds are stacked against minorities as a population, it is not completely impossible for them to obtain elected office or government positions. Minorities currently make up 32% of the population and 16% of those hold some sort of government position; that is half of the population. While less than the majority of those are actually elected positions, such as city mayor, many of them are appointed government jobs such as agency commissioner and gubernatorial advisor, that can lead them into promising careers in politics and possibly an elected position. African Americans hold the greatest number of government positions with 10% of their population having government jobs such as state policy leader posts. In many states such as Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Michigan, African Americans hold an equal number of government positions as whites do. Asian Americans and Native Americans hold 2% of government positions and Hispanics, which make up 13% of the population, hold 4% of the government power positions. While these numbers are not astonishing they are a place to start. It is a place where minorities can grow from, a place to increase their power and influence in the political sphere and a place where they can help themselves. (www.phillyburbs.com)

Before I started this research project I far underestimated the minority population. I expected lower numbers for voting and those holding government jobs. I suppose that is a product of being raised in a completely white town. While minorities do have a long way to go to equal the civic engagement numbers of the white man, they are making a pretty good effort to become politically involved. Even the white man needs some serious help when it comes to being politically active. Overall, the average minority does not participate in any political actives. There are several factors that help to explain why minorities have a lower involvement rate but they do not account for people's personal choices. When looking at the numbers, African Americans are the most involved politically but all groups need to become more involved because politics is what runs everyone's lives. The decisions our governments make are the decisions that affect where we can live and how we can live there. We need to continue to encourage political participation at school and in the home.