There are many reasons why a lot of Americans don’t vote. In our 6 week journey across non-voting America, and also in the months of research I’ve done in preparation of making the film, people told me about many of them. Here’s a list. If you feel that important reasons or explanations for low voter turnout are missing in this list then please feel free to send a comment.
– Lack of faith in Washington politics
– President or Congress doesn’t solve the problems of ordinary people
– A feeling of “my vote doesn’t count”
– Lack of choice in a two party system and desire for more parties
– Lack of difference between Democratic and Republican Party
– The need to register is a hazzle
– What’s the point if a state is always either Democratic or Republican?
– Lack of faith in voting system and fear of fraud with voting machines
EXPERTS ON LOW VOTER TURN OUT
As you can see in Episode 1 of the movie “Discovering Non-voting America” I got a mini introduction to the problem of low voter turnout in America. Below are some extra clips from my interviews with Norm Ornstein from The Enterprise Institute, Doug Hess from Project Vote and Prof. Thomas Patterson from Harvard University.
Extra Clip: Norm Ornstein on reasons not to vote
Norm Ornstein, a political expert from The Enterprise Institute who is working on a major voter reform project, mentions a few of the many reasons why many Americans don’t vote.
Extra Clip: Norm Ornstein on some more practical reasons not to vote
Norm Ornstein explains some of the more practical reasons why Americans don’t vote, how the Motor Voter Act tried to solve some of those practical problems, and how the need to register depresses turn-out.
Extra Clip: Doug Hess on young and African-American non-voters
Project Vote’s Doug Hess explains why particularly younger and African-American people are both major groups of non-voters in the US.
Extra Clip: Thomas Patterson on why non-voters are more often low-income people
While discussing voter turn-out with our homemade “omelet pie-chart” Professor Patterson explains how the American electorate is stratified by income.
Extra Clip: Thomas Patterson on how Republicans try to inhibit low-class people from voting
Professor Patterson explains how the Republican Party tries to introduce new voter ID laws to make it harder for a certain class of people to vote.