Voting & Inequality

Kristina Andreotta
Citizen Action of New York &
The Public Policy and Education Fund of New York

The Voting Gap

Wealthy Americans turn out to vote at significantly higher rates
than lower-income Americans
In 2008, the super-rich members of the top 1 percent turned out
to vote at a whopping 99%
This compares to only 49% turnout for citizens earning less than
$10,000
Even more pronounced in midterm elections: in 2010, only 26.7%
of citizens earning less than $10,000 voted, while 61.6% of those
making $150,000 turned out to the polls

Voter Turnout by Household Income (1)

Voter Turnout by Household Income (2)

International Comparison of Class Bias in Turnout

Turnout Inequality Around the World

Why dont lower income people vote?

41% of non-voters say my vote doesnt make a
difference anyway and
59% of non-voters say nothing ever gets done; its a
bunch of empty promises
The wealthy, who vote at exceptionally high rates, do
not share this view. Affluent Americans vote for outcomeoriented reasons; they have policy preferences they want
to see realized.

How does the voting gap affect policy?

Non-voters tend to be much more liberal in their
economic policy views compared to voters
Voters are more likely to oppose unions, government
sponsored health insurance and federal assistance for
schools
Non-voters are more likely to support progressive
taxation, higher wages, affordable housing and
healthcare.

Nonvoters are more liberal than voters (1)

Nonvoters are more liberal than voters (2)

Nonvoters are more liberal than voters (3)

Strong partisan difference

A 2012 Pew study found that likely voters in the 2012 presidential
election were split 47-47% between Obama and Romney
The same poll found that 59% of nonvoters supported Obama while
only 24% supported Romney
This is a big reason why conservatives and Republicans tend to
favor more restrictive voting practices.

The Republican Advantage

What happens as a result?

Politicians dont have strong incentives to respond to nonvoters,
who are disproportionately low-income, and so they tend to pass
laws which benefit wealthier Americans at the expense of the
poor, working- and middle-class.
This, in turn, perpetuates and often worsens inequality.
Low-income citizens feel politicians are unresponsive and become
less likely to vote in the future.

A Perpetual Cycle

Voting Gap

Inequality

Jobs & Income Policy Preference Differences

Just How Unequal Are We?

1. What do you think the average CEO of a large corporation
actually gets paid per year?
2. What do you think the average entry-level worker at a large
corporation actually gets paid per year?
3. What do you think the average CEO of a large corporation should
get paid per year?
4. What do you think the average entry-level worker at a large
corporation should get paid per year?

Just How Unequal Are We? (What You Think)

CEOs actually paid:
Entry-level workers actually paid:
What you think the gap is =
CEOs should be paid:
Entry-level workers should be paid:
What you think the gap should be =

Just How Unequal Are We?

(What The American Public Thinks)
Gap the American public thinks exists between CEO
and entry-level worker pay = 30:1
Gap the American public thinks should exist = 7:1

Just How Unequal Are We? (Reality)

Gap that exists actually exists between

CEO and entry-level worker pay = 829:1

Not the Same for Everyone

Women and people of color make $.70 on the dollar
When it comes to wealth the gap is even more pronounced:
Racial wealth gap = $.06 : $1
Median net worth:
White = $111,740
Asian = $92,259
Latino = $8,113
Black = $7,113

Top of the Pack for Inequality

Bottom of the Pack for Voter Turnout

That Cycle Again

Voting Gap

Inequality

What happens when we break the cycle?

When turnout is equal, politicians respond by becoming more
economically liberal (we saw this after the 1965 Voting Rights Act)
In states where the poor exercise their voice more in the voting
booth relative to higher income groups, inequality is lower:
Higher minimum wages
Stricter lending laws
More generous health benefits

Closing low-income voting gaps is consequential for public policy

and would better reflect the views of all citizens, including lower
income households.

Some policy solutions to help break the cycle

1) Eliminate voting barriers like Voter ID laws
2) Boost registration
Same-day registration
Enforce compliance with National Voter Registration Act

3) Boost Turnout

Early voting
Keep polls open longer to accommodate low-wage workers
Allow formerly incarcerated individuals to vote
Universal or mandatory voting

4) Strengthening Unions
Unions provide means for low- and middle-income voters to engage with politics
Oppose Right to Work laws that harm unions and potential for representation

5) Raise the minimum wage

Why we must act

Nonvoting citizens, who tend to be low-income, young, less
educated and people of color, are a growing share of the eligible
electorate
If we do not close turnout gaps, our democracy is destined to
become less and less representative in the coming decades
Already, a great body of literature shows that the opinions of
lower-income citizens have almost no influence on policy enough
so that a 2014 Princeton study found that the United States is no
longer a democracy but an oligarchy

New Yorks Best Bets

1. Bill to permit early voting in New York State
A4433 in the Assembly, sponsored by Assenblymembers Amy Paulin, Sandy
Galef and David Buchwald
S3813 in the Senate, sponsored by Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins
3 weeks before general elections, 2 weeks before primaries & specials
At least 4 polling locations in each county (5 including the Board of Elections)
which must evenly distributed geographically so as to give all voters an equal
opportunity to cast a ballot

2. Fight for $15

Effort to raise the minimum wage to $15 and allow low-wage workers the
opportunity to unionize and thereby strengthen their collective bargaining
power

Learn More! Join us for Justice Works 2015

May 30-31 at the Desmond Hotel in Albany
500 activists, organizers, community leaders, students and elected
officials from around the state
More than 100 organizations represented
Well be examining how inequality impacts all the various issues
we work on (housing, environment, immigration, workers, health
care, education & criminal justice)
Register online at justiceworksny.org
Scholarships are available for those who need financial assistance!

Material for Slides Taken From the Following

Sources (unless otherwise cited):
Hamilton, Darrick et al. Beyond Broke: Why Closing the Racial Wealth Gap is a
Priority for National Economic Security, Center for Global Policy Solutions,
http://globalpolicysolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/BeyondBroke_E
xec_Summary.pdf
Leopold, Les. In-person training, 30 April 2015. The Labor Institute: http://
thelaborinstitute.org/pages/index.php
McElwee, Sean. Why the Voting Gap Matters, Demos, 23 October 2014:
http://www.demos.org/publication/why-voting-gap-matters
Sullivan, Andrew. Voting Inequalities, The Dish, 9 July 2013:
http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/07/09/voting-inequalities /