Antonio Said:

All of the following are true concerning voter turnout EXCEPT?

We Answered:

d. voter turnout is higher in local elections than in national elections.
Is not true.

The reason local elections have such a low turnout is that they do not get but a little coverage on the local media. TV, Radio and local papers have reminders but it is not like regional and national elections which get major coverage on all networks, radio talk shows, newspaper advertisements and even fliers in the the mail. There is more campaign coverage and battles on the news which is covered as well. School Board elections hardly get anyone to turn out unless it concerns a major tax hike.

Matthew Said:

voter turnout?

We Answered:

a. I think the overall decline in voter turnout is because of the lack of education on the subject. More and more kids are being taught the old "my one vote don't matter" thing. I am 23 and I see more and more kids my age who quite frankly just don't give a crap. Its sad. People say thier vote don't matter....well....if everyone who said that voted.....that would be a very large number of votes and that could change things. We in the US are becoming more and more lazy. People just don't feel that voting is worth the drive, and standing in line.....I garentee if we could vote over the internet or by text message...we would have a lot more voters. Its very sad to me, that more people care about voting for the next american Idol than the people who will govern them.

b. Turnout is more in Pres elections because people view it as more important. Those years get more media attention, and people pay more attention to politics when the Pres. in involved. What they don't realize is that those people in Congress are the ones who actually make the laws...and regs....they control the money not the pres...so I think that are more important. I think the coverage is the big reason though....more media gives the light of more important.

Mike Said:

4. Compare overall voter turnout rates for presidential and midterm elections? Why are they different?

We Answered:

More people care about who is president than who is their senator or congressman. Most people in the US don't even know who their senators and representative even are! Most people get their news from national sources, like TV and talk radio, and aren't aware of local or state issues.

So they turn out for presidential elections but not as much for midterm elections.

The 2008 election showed a huge number of new voters, people registering to vote who had never bothered to vote before. I think that's a good thing, because I think the more people who take an interest and vote, the better off we will be. In 2010 we will see how much these new voters care about Congress, or if it was just a referendum on Bush.

Irene Said:

Voter turnout for local elections is?

We Answered:

Definitely (1).

Lois Said:

what are two factors that have contributed to the decline in voter turnout in federal elections. ?

We Answered:

The usual answer is apathy, and that people care even less about midterm and state elections than about presidential elections.

However, it's also true that election day is a normal workday for most people and they cannot get off to go to the polls, and most polling places are not well equipped to handle the large surge of people who come right at the end of the day.

Also note that the trend reversed itself with the 2004 Presidential election, and voter turnout is expected to reach record levels in many places this year.