American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

212 CHAPTER 7|ELECTIONS

is when the other votes are split evenly so that one vote breaks the tie. Moreover,

voting involves costs. Even if you don’t learn about the candidates but vote anyway,

you still have to get to the polls on Election Day. Thus the paradox of voting is

this: Why does anyone vote, given that voting involves costs and the chances of

aff ecting the outcome are small?

Figure 7.2 shows that among Americans the percentage of registered voters

who actually voted has been, in recent presidential elections, around 60 percent,

although the turnout has been close to 50 percent. (Voter turnout is calculated on

the whole voting age population, including people who didn’t vote because they

opted not to register or were ineligible to register because of a felony conviction

or other factors.)^37 As the fi gure shows, turnout is signifi cantly higher in presiden-

tial elections than in midterm elections. Turnout is even lower in primaries and

caucuses.

In the main, turnout is higher for whites than nonwhites, and among older

Americans compared to younger cohorts, and for college graduates relative to

people with a high school education or less. Men and women, however, say they

vote at roughly the same rate. Many factors explain variation in turnout. People

who vote regularly are more likely to see it as an obligation of citizenship, to feel

guilty when they do not vote, and to think that the election matters. In contrast,

turnout is much lower among those who are angry with the government, think that

government actions do not aff ect them, or think that voting will have no impact on

government policy.^38

paradox of voting The question
of why citizens vote even though
their individual votes stand little
chance of changing the election
outcome.

Source: United States Election Project, http://elections.gmu.edu/voter_turnout.htm (accessed 9/20/12).

TURNOUT IN PRESIDENTIAL AND MIDTERM ELECTIONS,

1992–2012

FIGURE » 7. 2

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

0

10

20

Percent 30

40

50

60

70

2012

Presidental election years Midterm election years