Voter Turnout

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Recommended: FOUR factors that can influence voter turnout in elections.

The Problem

Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines democracy "as a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by the people" (www.merriam-webster.com). But the one big problem is that "We the people" are not exercising their "supreme power" to determine the U.S. government. Less than half of the eligible electorate showed up at the polls for the 1996 U.S. presidential election. While lower turnout has marred previous presidential elections, 1996's voter turnout dipped below 50 percent for the first time in more than 30 years. It appears that the people's increasing cynicism about politicians that they lie to get elected and the perception that people have no respect or confidence in the two major political parties contributes to voter apathy and lower voter turnout. (CVD, 2004)

Background

There are many reasons why voter turnout varies among groups and over time in democracies. These reasons are generally framed in terms of factors, which either increase or decrease an individual's probability of voting. The reasons can be grouped within four broad general categories: demographic (education, income, age, race, gender); psychological (political interest, alienation, sense of political efficacy, etc.); contextual (e.g., registration laws, competitiveness of campaign, etc.); and rational (e.g., citizens perceive the costs of voting outweigh the benefits, citizen's perceive little difference in candidates and thus no point in voting, etc.) (Ragsdale & Rusk, 1993; Niemi & Wiesberg, 1993; Rosenstone, 1993). Although low voter turnout is considered by many to be an example of what is wrong with the political process or an indication of disinterest in voting, it doesn't always ha...

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...at country of the United States of America.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Crosstabs. Trinity Valley Community College. Government Course 2301. Website at http://www.hmco.com/xtabs. Accessed December 6, 2004.

CVD (Center for Voting and Democracy). (2004). "Presidential Election Voter Turnout 1924-2000." Website at: http://www.fairvote.org/turnout/. Accessed December 6, 2004.

Niemi, Richard G. & Wiesberg, Herbert F. (1993). Controversies in Voting Behavior, Third Edition. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

Ragsdale, Lyn & Rusk, Jerrold (1993). "Who are nonvoters? Profiles from the 1990 senate elections." American Journal of Political Science, 37 (August), 721-746.

Rosenstone, Steven J. (1993). Mobilization, Participation and Democracy in America. New York: MacMillan Publish

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