Voter Turn Out or LACK there of ....

Quote:
Over the last 40 years, voter turnout has been steadily declining in the established democracies.[1] This trend has been significant in the United States, Western Europe, Japan and Latin America. It has been a matter of concern and controversy among political scientists for several decades.

Francis Fukuyama has blamed the welfare state, arguing that the decrease in turnout has come shortly after the government became far more involved in people's lives. He argues in Trust: The Social Virtues and The Creation of Prosperity that the social capital essential to high voter turnouts is easily dissipated by government actions. However, on an international level those states with the most extensive social programs tend to be the ones with the highest turnouts.

Richard Sclove argues in Democracy and Technology that technological developments in society such as "automobilization," suburban living, and "an explosive proliferation of home entertainment devices" have contributed to a loss of community, which in turn has weakened participation in civic life

@white_swan53 Said





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout#Trends_of_decreasing


I think both of these guys have a good point . then add huge distrust in the politicians along with a few other reasons and the math pretty much does it's self .

Quote:
In the modern era, these resources have been redirected to expensive media campaigns in which the potential voter is a passive participant.[79] During the same period, negative campaigning has become ubiquitous in the United States and elsewhere and has been shown to impact voter turnout.[80] Attack ads and smear campaigns give voters a negative impression of the entire political process. The evidence for this is mixed: elections involving highly unpopular incumbents generally have high turnout; some studies have found that mudslinging and character attacks reduce turnout, but that substantive attacks on a party's record can increase it.[81]

@mrmhead Said

Part of those "few other reasons" would be voter suppression.
Continuing to tighten the screws to make it harder and harder to vote for certain populations (less able, less mobile) - all in the name of "protecting democracy"
(the same game played with abortion in some states - don't make it illegal, just make it more difficult)

@white_swan53 Said





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout#Trends_of_decreasing


I think both of these guys have a good point . then add huge distrust in the politicians along with a few other reasons and the math pretty much does it's self .

@nooneinparticular Said

Personally, I suspect the biggest problems are fatigue and work hours. The campaign process starts something like two years in advance of the election. That's kind of insane, and people will get fed up hearing about the whole arduous process way before election day hits. By the end of it, people just want the election to end, and a growing number of people end up not caring about who wins as long as the race ends.

The other issue is more pragmatic. To my knowledge, a general election for the president has never occurred on a federal holiday. It's up to the states whether or not to make Election Day a civic holiday, or barring that, to allow for people who work to be entitled to some payed time off in order to vote. This is not national, however, and as long as it isn't, it disadvantages large demographics of people.