The Political World: Voting, Tolerance, and Civility - Why Don't We Vote?

Of the 130 million people registered to vote, 19 million (14%) did not do so in the 2000 election. Why? The top reasons for not voting cited by registered non-voters are shown above. The data come from the Census Bureau.

The main reason given for not voting was being too busy or experiencing a conflict with work or school schedules. Nearly 21% of non-voters, or 4 million people, offered this reason. Those who reported such a problem were usually men, the educated, and younger adults (18 to 44). Hispanics also gave this reason.

Another 15% reported being ill, disabled or having a family emergency. These respondents were more likely to be women, the elderly, and those with less education. Those who claimed not to be interested or that their vote would not count tended to have a high school education or less. Men, white non-Hispanics, and more educated people were more likely to be out of town.

What can be done to combat voter apathy — for whatever reasons? One of the main reasons people did not vote was a timing issue: they were too busy, polling hours were too inconvenient, they forgot, or had transportation problems. Many of the ideas posed to increase voter turnout could alleviate these issues: longer poll hours, voting on a weekend, more polling places and voting over multiple days. Chances are that behavior will change only a little in response to such mechanical fixes.

How can you combat apathy? 12.2% of people claimed not to be interested, 7.7% claimed not to like the candidates, 7.5% simply refused to do so. Those who do not vote multiply the votes of those who do. You can lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink.

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports. Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 2002, p.12.