Is nonvoting a Social Disease?

Abstract

The article studies the question whether voluntary nonvoting in the U.S. harms basic principles of democracy, government, country as the level of voter participation has decreased since 1960s, and is lower than in democratic countries; the paper underlines the importance of the role of public opinion in elections. We attempt to clarify the reason of public opinion’s inconsistency; causes why some people don’t participate in elections-whether they are uninformed of crucial issues of government and public policy, or they voluntarily prefer to stay uninformed, or their traits might play the role; finally, does the policy predisposition of nonvoters significantly differ from voters, and whether the same is true of their candidate selection that could create a major threat to the future stability of the American political system.

Keywords: involuntary, nonvoting, polls, information, apathy, turnout