Voter turnout in the US is among the lowest of industrial nations in the world? Why is that?

Question

Could it be a good thing? Or a bad one?

Answer 1

Lack of interest in the candidates.

Coach

Answer 2

Ouch, a nerve, here. No it is not a good thing. Americans are giving away a birthright and not understanding the value it represents in thier everyday lives. Politicians feel empowered by this. If the public would vote in greater numbers the dishonest politicians would be given pause in thier belief that they are untouchable. We have bought into the common phrase that choosing between two losers is best forgotten. True the pickings are kind of slim, but there have been viable alternatives the last decade and no one has voted so they have not recieved the economic support to push them into contention. People need to examine what they truly feel is important and vote along those lines, unfortunately there are so many who do vote that buy into the "party" is everything crap. Party politics has gotten so disgusting, that the ones who do vote, do so knowing that thier candidate is a liar and has no intention of following through on his or her promises. Another problem is the belief that the electorate nullifies the publics vote. If nothing else, voting demonstrates the collective will of the public and sends signals to politicians. The most recent election certainly did that. So did the reversal that occurred during the Clinton administration. They both acknowledged that the people had expressed their displeasure.

Lastly, one of the systemic problems is that voter registration is tied to jury duty. Registration data is used by courts to screen prospective jurors. I believe that this intended to create a disincentive to people who might vote but do not want or cannot serve in a jury. If they can spend the money to gleen information about the public illegally they can also spend the money to identify potential jurors without tampering with one of the most important rights we possess.

A larger question is how do you reinstate the belief in the value of your vote? How do you create a groundswell of participation in the eligible voters and get them to become involved in the process. How do you overcome voter apathy?

Answer 3

Typically - low voter turnouts occur when the voters are generally satisfied with the way things are going and do not see any particular outcome of an election as threatening.

Answer 4

Good thing. Most people who vote are completely uneducated on the issues.

Also, look at the political ads. Nothing but smear and negativity.

Americans vote when they have someone TO VOTE FOR.

It has happened twice in 30 years.

1. 1994 Contract with America
2. Reagan in 1980

Answer 5

The major reason for this is because the US requires citizens to register themselves to vote. In European nations, for example, voter registration occurs immediately upon turning voting age (18, in most cases). But in the US, the process occurs voluntarily.

Answer 6

1. Apathy
2. Inferior candidates
3. Easy living in USA
4. Only 2 major parties
5. Rampant corruption

.

Answer 7

several reasons:

We vote on a tuesday whereas some other nations vote on either a saturday or sunday.

We're not legally required to vote

A lot of us think our vote doesn't really make all that much of a difference.

Information cost

If it doesn't affect us directly we tend not to. And a lot of us seem to think it doesn't affect us at all, directly or not.

Answer 8

Give me a candidate I can support. PLEASE! I would love to have someone running for election that I actually wanted to see get elected.