I had a professor in college who used to argue vehemently that the large percentage of Americans who don’t vote is a sign of political success for the United States. If these folks weren’t happy, and they felt as if the government wasn’t meeting their needs, he’d say, then they’d want to participate in the system. The fact that they’ve divested themselves, the argument goes, is proof of their contentment.
For political scientists who study voter participation, this is one of a handful of theories to explain the phenomenon. I’ve never believed this particular idea — in fact, the people I know who don’t vote tend to whine about government more than everyone else — but it’s one possibility.
The AP had an interesting article over the weekend about America’ nonvoters. It touched on a variety of ideas that explain the trends, and for those of you who enjoy such things, I’d definitely recommend reading it, even though it is a little long as AP articles go.
When the world’s democracies are ranked according to their voting records, America is at the bottom, with Switzerland.
Books with titles such as “The Vanishing Voter” and “Where Have All the Voters Gone?” give voice to an increasing unease that something fundamental is amiss — that Americans are caught in some sort of electoral death spiral. That democracy itself might be at risk.
Sure, that’s a little overdramatic, but this is an interesting subject so let’s dig a little deeper.
There is some debate about whether voter participation is actually in decline. Curtis Gans and the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate argues, “We are in the midst of the biggest progressive and generational decline in participation in our history.” Michael P. McDonald, a political scientist at George Mason University, on the other hand, believes voter turnout for the past eight elections has averaged about 56 percent, bobbing up and down with no real downward trend.
Frankly, neither analysis points to a robust democracy with engaged participants. But knowing that most Americans don’t vote is easy; figuring out why is tougher.
Northwestern University’s Medill News Service did a study that broke nonvoters into one of five categories:
*”The Doers,” 29 percent. They don’t vote, but they do read newspapers, watch television news, talk about politics and write to representatives. They are educated, and affluent.
*”The Unplugged,” 27 percent. Mostly young, more skeptical than Doers and less likely to give their time to charity. They are unconnected to news and public affairs.
*”The Irritables,” 18 percent. They’re angry and feel that the country is on the wrong track and their voices mean nothing to elected officials. They’re great consumers of news and information. They’re older than the Unplugged and the Doers.
*”The Don’t Knows,” 14 percent. They have few or no opinions on public affairs. They don’t read newspapers, and they are not registered to vote.
*”The Alienateds,” 12 percent. Angry like the Irritables, removed like the Don’t Knows, most thought the country was on the wrong track.
Of course, this study was conducted via polling interviews, so the researchers had to discern people’s motives for not voting based on their own comments. As such, I’m not surprised at all that most non-voters consider themselves well-informed, in contact with their elected officials, educated, and affluent. I just don’t happen to believe them.
My experience (albeit very limited) is that nonvoters have not thought through their lack of participation. They are not “making a statement,” or protesting negative campaigns. They are profoundly lazy and don’t want to take the time to consider the significance of government.
I realize that “lazy” may sound a bit harsh, but it’s intended to be. Again, in my limited sphere of contacts, nonvoters can recite obscure statistics about their favorite athletes and/or know intimidate details about which celebrity is dating whom, but they haven’t a clue about the most basic civic facts. They don’t know who their representatives are, nor how many representatives they have. They don’t even know when Election Day is.
And here’s the kicker: I’m glad.
I believe there’s far too much emphasis on boosting voter participation. I don’t want to see more voters; I want to see better voters. The people who don’t want to participate shouldn’t be encouraged to register their votes — they’re wholly unprepared to make an informed judgment.
Having more voters may boost our standing among the world’s democracies, but why would that be a meaningful goal? Turnout could reach 100%, but if people are going to the polls to choose the candidate with the slickest commercials, our democracy wouldn’t be any stronger.