What Are the Effects of Low Voter Turnout?
(10 minutes) People disagree over the effects of voter turnout rates in the U.S. Some people argue that because nonvoters tend to be poorer, less educated, and minorities, elected politicians can more easily disregard their interests when formulating public policy. Also, since the Democratic Party tends to attract more people who fit these profiles, higher voting rates might result in additional support for Democrats, or for candidates from other parties that appeal to voters with lower socio-economic status characteristics. Other people dispute these assumptions. They argue that higher voting rates would not change the overall makeup of the electorate enough to cause significant change in election outcomes and public policy. A study of this question by Raymond Wolfinger and Benjamin Highton, for example, found that the overall group of nonvoters largely mirrors the diverse and ideologically divided population that already votes. What is your view of this? Should we be concerned about
