Essay on Voter Apathy is published for informational purposes only. The free papers are not written by our writers, they are contributed by users, so we are not responsible for the content of this free sample paper. If you want to buy a quality Essay on Essay on Voter Apathy at affordable prices please use our essay writing services offered by EssayEmpire.

Voter apathy is a lack of interest on the part of individuals in the electoral process generally or in political campaigns during an election period. Apathy is an abstract concept and is therefore difficult to measure. Individual-level measures of voter apathy usually assess the level of interest individuals have in politics, in a contemporary political campaign, or in both. Although findings vary in describing recent trends in voter apathy in the United States, experts agree that voter apathy has increased (while voter turnout has decreased) over the course of the past 100 years. For example, 74 percent of the voting age population in the United States turned out, on average, for presidential elections between 1888 and 1904. Between 1988 and 2004, that number dropped to 52 percent. Voter apathy is a concern in democratic nations because establishing a democracy's legitimacy requires that citizens consent to the political leaders who make policy, or to policies directly, by participating in elections. Therefore, citizen interest in those who govern and in the options available in the voting booth is a necessary first step in securing the consent of the governed.

To establish a democracy's legitimate claim to govern, some form of citizen engagement in the political processes is necessary. Fundamentally, citizens' participation is a civic obligation (i.e., citizens understand that they have a civic responsibility to vote). However, scholars note that in the absence of other forces, civic obligation by itself is not an effective mechanism for drawing citizens into the political process. Factors such as the complexity of politics, the lack of political efficacy on the part of citizens, the increase in negative campaigning, and problems with many popular party systems contribute to high levels of voter apathy in many democracies.

To have an interest in politics (at least one that goes beyond the entertainment value that politics sometimes offers), one must have a feeling of political efficacy; that is, one should believe that he or she understands politics effectively and that government and other political institutions are responsive to citizen demands. Yet many potential voters perceive politics as a complex process that they cannot understand and believe that government officials are not influenced by what individual citizens think. Thus, it is difficult for them to participate in politics and difficult to feel that their participation matters. In turn, they become alienated and decline to be a part of political society.

Some blame negative campaigning in elections for increases in apathy among potential voters. Negative campaigns serve to discourage citizens from feeling positively about any of the candidates from whom they must choose, and they can lead many to conclude that engagement and participation are not worth the effort. Countries with multiparty systems, which provide more options when voting, have decidedly higher citizen participation rates. This suggests that engagement in the election process increases when voters feel that they have a wider variety of options in the voting booth. It thus stands to reason that in a country with a two-party system, voters are likely to feel less enthusiastic about the options they are offered. They are more likely to have the perception that it does not make any difference which one of the two parties is in power. In multiparty systems, voters--offered an array of policy positions--are more likely to find a party with policy positions that more closely match their interests.

References:

1) Bennett, Stephen E. 1986. Apathy in America, 1960-1964: Causes and Consequences of Citizen Political Indifference. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Transnational Publishers.

2) Patterson, Thomas E. 2002. The Vanishing Voter: Public Involvement in an Age of Uncertainty. New York: Knopf.

Free essays are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can order a term paper, research paper or custom TOPIC at our site which offers professional essay writing services. Get your high quality custom paper at relatively cheap prices. EssayEmpire is the best solution for those who seek help in essay writing related to TOPIC and other relevant topics.