NONVOTERS

• Tens of millions of Americans vote in presidential and congressional elections; in State elections; and in city, county, and other public elections. Still, there are many millions of other Americans who, for one reason or another, do not vote. There are some quite legitimate reasons for not voting. But this troubling fact remains: Most of the millions of Americans who could- but do not- go tot the polls cannot claim any of those justifications.

THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM

• "Nonvoting voters" are not limited to federal elections. In fact, they are much more common in State and local elections. As a general rule, the farther down the ballot an office is, the fewer the number of votes that will be cast for it. This phenomenon is sometimes called "ballot fatigue." The expression suggests that many voters exhaust their patience and/or their knowledge as they work their way down the ballot. Some quick examples illustrate the phenomenon of ballot fatigue: In every State, more votes are regularly cast in the presidential electionthan in the gubernatorial election. More votes are generally cast for the governorship than for other Statewide offices, such as lieutenant governor or secretary of state. More voters in a county usually vote in the races for Statewide offices than vote in the contests for such county offices as sheriff, county clerk, or district attorney, and so on.

WHY PEOPLE DO NOT VOTE

• "CANNOT-VOTERS" Include in that figure of nearly 95 million who did not vote in the last presidential election are atleast 10 million who are resident aliens. Another 5 to 6 million citizens were so ill or otherwise physically disabled that they simply could not vote in an elections. An additional 2 or 3 million people were traveling suddenly and unexpectedly, and so could not vote. Other cannot-voters can be from people in mental health care facilities, in jails or prisons or, because of their religious beliefs.
• "ACTUAL NON-VOTERS" This fairly large group includes two very different groups of nonvoters. On the one hand, it includes many who generaly approve of the way the public's business is being managed- that is, many who believe that no matter who wins an election, things will continue to go well for themselves and for the country. On the other hand, that group also includes many people who feel alienated- many who deliberately refuse to vote because they don't trust political institutions and processes.

SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS

• Income, Occupation: Voters in lower income brackets are more likely to be democrats. Voters with higher incomes tend to be republicans. This pattern was held up over time, no matter whether a particular election was a cliff-hanger or a blow-out.
• Education: College graduates vote for Republicans in higher percentages than do high-school graduates; and high-school graduates vote republican more often than do those who only gone through grade school.
• Gender, Age: There are often measurable differences between the partisan choices of men and women today. This phenomenon is known as the gender gap, and it first appeared in the 1980's. Women generally tend to favor the Democrats by a margin of five to ten percent, and men often give the GOP a similar edge.