A stylemark of the American political physical process is the hidden vote system , wide take for the first time in 1892 when Grover Cleveland was vote into office for the second – but not back-to-back – fourth dimension [ source : Encyclopedia Britannica ] . Four eld earlier , Cleveland , a Democrat , had been on the losing end of widespreadvotingfraud orchestrated by Republicans , which had catch many United States Department of State and local election and prod his rival , Benjamin Harrison , into the White House [ source : Ackerman ] . At that time , the rationale for people checking " yes " or " no " for a particular politico may very well have roil down to whoever gave them the in high spirits buck for their ballot .
Although state of matter - level vote laws and their secret ballot system have efficaciously eliminated fast paydays as a motivating for voting , political scientist , pollsters and pundits continually puzzle over how adults to adjudicate to cast their civically sacred ballots . sure , in the United States , whether elector are Republican or Democrat is an easy style to prognosticate candidate affiliations . Personal stance on electoral issues , such as government - funded health care andabortionaccess , and candidate likeability and canonic appeal are other , often - cite influential factor [ source : Wolfe ] . And then , in 1980 , another seemingly decisive factor emerge in presidential exit polling data : gender .
Six decades before Ronald Reagan switched residences from Hollywood to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue , the19th Amendmentwas ratified , granting American woman the right field to vote in 1920 . From the get - go , newly empowered , socially active adult female supported " maternalist " voting initiatives undergird by a Progressive Era ethos of reform ; provisions for the poor , elderly and children consistently ranked at the top of their administration priorities – and still do for many women [ source : Manza and Brooks ] . Indeed , some serviceman at the clip venerate that the new and ample vote bloc would upend the political status quo and impel the politics to take a more hands - on approach with its people . But it was n’t until women entered the work force en masse shot in the 1970s , prior to Reagan ’s run for office , that this statistical legal age of the American electorate really began flex its muscle more observably at polling stations .
How Women Vote
With proposition include slice to welfare and blocking transition of the Equal Rights Amendment , which sought to constitutionally vouch women equal rights as men under any federal , state and local law , not all of Ronald Reagan ’s program sit well with American fair sex [ beginning : Copeland ] . As a result , enough distaff elector fled Republican social rank in the 1980 election to produce an 8 - pct point gap between world and women who defend Reagan [ source : Center for American Women and Politics ] . Of of course , Reagan still acquire then – and again in 1984 – but that election has prove pivotal nevertheless , since that slim but haunting cerise and aristocratical split between manful and female voters , respectively , still has n’t close . For a more recent example , take the 2008 presidential election . Among woman , Democrat Barack Obama handily beat his Republican resister John McCain with 56 per centum of the right to vote . Among men , however , it was a much closer subspecies ; Obama eked out just 49 percentage of the male ballot [ reservoir : Center for American Women and Politics ] .
Not only do today ’s womanhood tend to side with Democratic candidates , but they also vote in greater ratio than humankind and from an other old age . In the 2004 presidential showdown between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry , for instance , women out - vote human race in every age demographic , with 60.1 percent of entire eligible female voters casting their ballots , compare to 56.3 per centum of their male counterparts [ source : Center for American Women in political sympathies ] . And when they march to the poll , women lend along distinctive ideology that ram them toward thedonkey rather than the elephant .
Research suggests that population - full gender differences in how men and cleaning woman conceptualize the role of politics likely lead to these nationwide pink and blue voting course . For instance , a 1997 subject area from the Center for American Women and Politics find that more woman think the Union government should function altruistically to help voiceless citizens , whereas men cogitate it should take a more individualistic approach [ source : Frum ] . In other Holy Writ , a majority of women swing more socially broad and Democratic , while traditionally more valet de chambre have favored Republican conservativism . That altruistic - versus - individualistic dichotomy is reflect in how women and men prioritise election publication as well . According to a March 2012 survey from the non - partizan Pew Research Center , women were more likely than human being to support government overhaul for the poor , tighter regulation on food for thought product and problematic workplace safety laws [ source : Pew Research Center ] .
But there ’s still hatful of nuance in these numbers . Union policy relate to healthcare , unemployment and gas prices rate highly for both men and women voter in a recession - era 2012 election time of year [ source : Newport ] . Moreover , neither homo nor women comprise massive voting blocs . They ’re more accurately draw as two mega - demographics that each can be slice and diced into discrete groups with conflicting political and social tie . Moreover , if candidate are hoping to woo the fairer sex in particular , a rookie mistake to make would be emphasize so - call " char ’s issues " and calling it a day .
Is the ‘pink vote’ a myth?
From the very first straw poll , charwoman became a bipartisan theme of the 2012 presidential race . early on on , Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann jactitate her chapeau into the closed chain for the Republican ticket , and pundits pondered whether 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin would make another run . In Congress , argumentation over governing - provision healthcare centered on generative right hand and adult female ’s access to nascency mastery and abortion . Once that dust conciliate in Congressional halls , proposed lawmaking to close up the grammatical gender salary disruption kicked up the two - party jerk - of - war yet again [ germ : Miller ] . At the center of the conversations that spring from these election - season developments ? distaff voters .
But politicians be admonish : Coming out in substantial support of " fair sex ’s exit " does n’t assure luck with the lady . Any male person - distaff divide on procreative right hand , in particular , is slim to none . Roughly equal proportion of adult male and women support and fight down legalizedabortion ; same goes for a religious freedom to handle parturition control under employer - provided wellness policy [ source : Pew Research Center ] .
Even more telling , the 2008 popular face-off between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama underscored that adult female wo n’t inevitably vote for another woman . In fact , a 2008 study conducted at Northwestern University found that char may actually take for female political candidates to a higher standard and rather opt for their virile opponent , whom they may consequently view as more qualified for the occupation . related to research has found that candidates ' appearances sway people ’s political preferences , and in the Northwestern study , the woman participants were more likely to vote for an approachable - seeming fictitious male nominee than a comparatively more attractive fictional female candidate in the pretense [ author : Chiao , Bowman and Gill ] .
woman also become a far more politically diverse group when their voting habits are analyse base on factors such as race , age and married status . For good example , minority women , women under 50 and college - educated women consistently angle liberal [ informant : Kuhn ] . Older married women , on the other hand , swing more bourgeois , as do their younger opposite number in rural regions . add up more wrinkles to the electoral map , modern politician have also witnessed the rise of independent voters of both genders , who do n’t align with a political company and comprise a disc - high 40 percentage of the American voters [ source : Neuman ] .
Those full variations are one reason , too , that one of the quickest ways to alienate the " pink vote " is to campaign as though direct women will lead in a Pepto - tint tidal wave of estrogen - woolly adoration – and landslide vote [ reservoir : Henneberger ] . Twenty - first - century female voter may still champion modern iteration of the " maternalist " government issue supported by their 20th - century foremothers who first deliver the goods the right to vote . But if there ’s one affair that men and woman have in common at the polls , it ’s that ultimately gender does n’t determine which lever tumbler is pull .
The day I began publish this article on sex and voting , news program vent informed me that Republican senator had blocked the passageway of the Paycheck Fairness Act on the grounds that it would leave in a tidal wave of salary secernment lawsuits from underpaid fair sex . I was n’t surprised at the quick closing since the now - defunct lawmaking was present not - so - coincidentally during a furious presidential election season that has , so far , revolve around women . One week , initiate are buzzing because pate show Democratic President Obama with a hefty steer among potential distaff voters , and the next week , pol are panic because another sketch has expose that women might not be as prim to re - elect the United States President as previous datum suggest .
As a charwoman , it ’s certainly challenging to view how political campaigns actively romance the distaff right to vote . And it ’s been as interesting to witness backlash from women voters who do n’t appreciate being lump together as a monolith vote bloc . With all of that whirlpool in the background signal , I was glad to have an excuse to dig into some long - term data and see whether women really do vote so otherwise from men . But all-inclusive - brushing polling statistics should also be ingested with a grain of salt , because , like I publish in the clause , there ’s a lot of shade to those numbers .
