Robert Powell's Bowling Alone
Robert Powell goes on to explain that voter turnout is disadvantaged 13% by the party system and institutional factors, and 14% by registration laws. Legal and administrative obstacles, including time/place restrictions on registration and voting, affect the poor and uneducated more than the well-off and educated. Additionally, parties strategize which eligible voters, i.e. those they believe will vote for them, they will reach out to “activate and enlist.” They even went a step further with their attempted termination of the Motor Voter Act. They approach specific groups and tailor their campaigns and platforms around those people.
Powell continues to argue that lower levels of education are not the reason for low voter turnout amongst certain …show more content…
He points to civic engagement which influences the quality of citizens’ lives, different institutions, and the government. High civic engagement was measured by high voter turnout, newspaper readerships, and community groups and organizations. Since the 1960s, the measure of all these crucial factors have been …show more content…
First, Teixeira points to individual, psychological, and cultural explanations. Then, Piven and Cloward indicate to government and institutional evidence especially within parties. Finally, Putnam stresses social and environmental factors including diminishing social capital and civic engagement that have contributed to the voter turnout decline. A major factor that the authors disagree upon is how large the role of education level plays in whether Americans vote. Teixeira and Piven and Cloward claim that education is an important variable in determining voter turnout and that those who are not well-educated often do not vote. While the two respective works offer different reasons for why the lesser educated Americans do not vote, they both agree that the lowest class suffers the most. This is true in terms of both structural and psychological reasons. First, Parties do not mobilize these voters and they know a lot less about the registration process and about politics itself. Additionally, educated people are more likely to participate in social connectivity and politics, and therefore aren’t declining at as steep of a
Powell continues to argue that lower levels of education are not the reason for low voter turnout amongst certain …show more content…
He points to civic engagement which influences the quality of citizens’ lives, different institutions, and the government. High civic engagement was measured by high voter turnout, newspaper readerships, and community groups and organizations. Since the 1960s, the measure of all these crucial factors have been …show more content…
First, Teixeira points to individual, psychological, and cultural explanations. Then, Piven and Cloward indicate to government and institutional evidence especially within parties. Finally, Putnam stresses social and environmental factors including diminishing social capital and civic engagement that have contributed to the voter turnout decline. A major factor that the authors disagree upon is how large the role of education level plays in whether Americans vote. Teixeira and Piven and Cloward claim that education is an important variable in determining voter turnout and that those who are not well-educated often do not vote. While the two respective works offer different reasons for why the lesser educated Americans do not vote, they both agree that the lowest class suffers the most. This is true in terms of both structural and psychological reasons. First, Parties do not mobilize these voters and they know a lot less about the registration process and about politics itself. Additionally, educated people are more likely to participate in social connectivity and politics, and therefore aren’t declining at as steep of a