Voter Apathy

This paper will examine voter apathy in the United States from every angle. First, we will present information on the declining turnout rates in American elections. Next, we will show how this declining turnout has coincided with a decline in the political party affiliation among American voters. We will show how the increase in media outlets has led to a degradation in news coverage of elections, with news media focusing on poll results and campaign techniques rather than th

. . .
s that brought voters to the polls. Economic concerns were mysteriously absent from voters minds, despite the prolonged recession that the United States has undergone and the historically high unemployment rates the country is currently experiencing. This has led, not surprisingly, to a widening voting chasm between Americans of high and low income. Class-based differences in turnout have always been a feature of American elections, but this gap has been steadily increasing. The voting rate of American citizens at the bottom of the eonomic ladder is barely half that of those at the top. "During the era of the economic issue, working-class Americans were at the center of political debate and party conflict. They now occupy the periphery of a political world in which money and middle-class concerns are ascendant" (Patterson1). In the 2000 election, it was not surprising to see that low-income Americans were 30 percent more likely than middle to high income Americans to say that the election's outcome would have no impact on their lives. A second troubling aspect of the rise in voter apathy in the United States is rooted in the preponderance of media outlets available to voters. Survey research shows that almost half of y
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Pinkleton Weintraub, Democratic Parties, Election Day, Roosevelt Deal, American Democracy, American History, Patterson2 Broadcast, Patterson1 Turnout, Lastly United, Patterson1 Instead, voter apathy, political parties, political advertising, pinkleton weintraub, niche issues, media outlets, voter turnout, negative political advertising, turnout rates, negative political, election day, pinkleton weintraub 320, media outlets available, sets tuned presidential, rise niche issues,
Approximate Word count = 3347
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Voter Apathy