Voter Turnout Decline in the United States

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The United States national elections have been experiencing a steady decline of eligible voters showing up to vote. This steady decline has been ongoing since experiencing a significant increase in voter turnout from 1948 through 1960. Over the years there has been significant, meticulous research done to try to pinpoint the cause of the decline in voter turnout over years. All of this research has led to the production of an enormous number of literatures written on the perceived causes. The vast amount of literature produced has led to a number of competing explanations about this decline. The quest for the answer to the question of, why this decline in voter turnout, is very important for an overwhelming majority of Americans and our democratic system because the people/voters can only truly be represented by our government if all eligible voters go out and vote. For this paper I will examine four theories that attempt to explain the decline. The four theories that I will discuss are voting barriers, campaign contributions, negative campaign advertising, and finally the cultural explanation. However, through thorough exploration and critiques of the strengths and weaknesses of these four theories, we will find that the cultural explanation theory is currently the most persuasive theory in the group. Finally, I will also explore some reasons as to why citizens do vote as well. Before getting into these theories I feel it is important to provide a few important definitions, as well as, some important information to assure we are all on the same page. First, I would like to address the term, voter turnout. According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary (voter) turnout is the number of people who go to or participate in s... ... middle of paper ... ...ons Declining Across the Democratic World?." eInternational Relations RSS. N.p., 1 Sept. 2012. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. . Holder, Kelly. "Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004." US Census Bureau. N.p., 1 Mar. 2006. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. . Samples, John. "Three Myths about Voter Turnout." Political Analysis. N.p., 14 Sept. 2004. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. . "The Decline in Voter Turnout." Bureau of Census. N.p., 1 Nov. 1991. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. . Brader, Ted. 2005. Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Political Ads Use Emotion to Sway the Electorate. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Ch. 6.

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