by Luiz Bravim

Created on: June 23, 2010   Last Updated: August 04, 2011

The United States began as one of the very few 18th century nations that permitted the election of its leaders. In Europe, the monarchy was in vogue and primogeniture viewed as a legitimate system of inheritance. In 1789, any property-owning white male could have voted George Washington or John Adams for president. What appears limiting by our standards was truly revolutionary in its time. Nowhere else were non-elites given such access to the political machinery.

The question of what factors should influence a citizen’s vote is still debated today. In order to determine whether any single issue may dominate our voting preference, four key factors must be examined in greater detail: (1) Parents, (2) Race, (3) Gender, and (4) Faith.

Political scientists have long understood that the greatest determinant of voter choice is the parents' political affiliation. Michigan State University Professor William Jacoby states that most Americans make their decision long before the election—they decide as early as elementary school. Political socialization from parents begins early. A person whose mother and father are Republicans is likely to identify as a Republican. Anecdotal evidence is ripe with exceptions, but this ‘law’ of political science holds true when controlling for race, sex, age, socioeconomic status, and geography.

Race has been juxtaposed with American politics long before King George levied his infamous tax. It is a sad historical fact that our constitution counted an entire race as three-fifths of a person. African-Americans were denied the right to vote for 76 years, and even after Reconstruction that right was suppressed in thirteen former confederate states. Blacks were once strongly Republican because of Abraham Lincoln, but a major realignment emerging with FDR led to an irreversible trend toward the Democrats. This pattern has held firmly since Johnson's Great Society. The Black vote went resoundingly for Democrats in twelve consecutive presidential elections. If the standards of 1789 were employed, John McCain would have won by a landslide. Just 43 percent of Caucasians voted for Barack Obama in 2008. On the other hand, 95 percent of blacks, 67 percent of Hispanics and 62 percent of Asians picked the Illinois Democrat. Saying race is a non-factor in elections is turning a blind eye to the data.

The role of gender is voting is less clear than parent's party affiliation or race, but it can be a determining factor. In most years,

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