Discussing Voter Apathy
Timothy Kennedy
American Political Parties
Professor Lindberg
“Voter Apathy”
Voter Apathy is referenced as a term to describe the phenomena of steady decline in political participation over the past 30 years. Apathy can be defined as the lack of interest, enthusiasm, emotion or concern towards a specific topic. Statistically, “voter apathy” may be displayed at the polls, but public activism is still a major part of society. For example, the “Occupy” movement is in every city with large amounts of citizen protests choosing a less conventional method of political expression, rather than the electoral process. Like that of “Occupy,” today there are infinite options to support certain causes, instead of just joining one of the two major parties and vote Republican or Democrat. The amount of third parties and interest groups are at their historical highest. Electoral Absence would be a more politically correct term for what is “Voter Apathy.”
The low voter turn out in American politics isn’t just apathy so it should be described more as electoral absence. Present-day voting obstacles are less obvious than what existed in the past; like poll taxes, literacy tests, residency and citizenship. A year after the 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes, the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed to enforce the 15th Amendment. The 15th Amendment grants citizens the right to vote without racial discrimination, but enforcement of this statute was long neglected, like other equalities. The many historical obstacles, designed to isolate the political process for manipulation by upper class white males, produced a ripple effect into the future of American society. In the past, the predominantly white upper class maintained control of the American political system, and family is said to have the most influence on political orientation.
Race is identified as one of the key determinants of voter turn out, with Caucasian making up most of the pie chart. Whites have the highest tendencies to vote
American Political Parties
Professor Lindberg
“Voter Apathy”
Voter Apathy is referenced as a term to describe the phenomena of steady decline in political participation over the past 30 years. Apathy can be defined as the lack of interest, enthusiasm, emotion or concern towards a specific topic. Statistically, “voter apathy” may be displayed at the polls, but public activism is still a major part of society. For example, the “Occupy” movement is in every city with large amounts of citizen protests choosing a less conventional method of political expression, rather than the electoral process. Like that of “Occupy,” today there are infinite options to support certain causes, instead of just joining one of the two major parties and vote Republican or Democrat. The amount of third parties and interest groups are at their historical highest. Electoral Absence would be a more politically correct term for what is “Voter Apathy.”
The low voter turn out in American politics isn’t just apathy so it should be described more as electoral absence. Present-day voting obstacles are less obvious than what existed in the past; like poll taxes, literacy tests, residency and citizenship. A year after the 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes, the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed to enforce the 15th Amendment. The 15th Amendment grants citizens the right to vote without racial discrimination, but enforcement of this statute was long neglected, like other equalities. The many historical obstacles, designed to isolate the political process for manipulation by upper class white males, produced a ripple effect into the future of American society. In the past, the predominantly white upper class maintained control of the American political system, and family is said to have the most influence on political orientation.
Race is identified as one of the key determinants of voter turn out, with Caucasian making up most of the pie chart. Whites have the highest tendencies to vote