This chapter focuses on political participation and its various forms. It highlights voting as the most common form of political activity, examining the impact of registration, civic duty, party competition, socioeconomic status, and other important factors on voter turnout. The chapter examines differences in the extent of political participation, emphasizing the effects of both individual and systemic factors. These are the main points of this chapter:

Political participation is sharing in activities designed to influence public policy and leadership. A main issue of democratic government is the question of who participates in politics and how fully they participate.

Voting is the most widespread form of active political participation among Americans. Yet voter turnout is significantly lower in the United States than in other democratic nations. The requirement that Americans must personally register in order to establish their eligibility to vote is one reason for lower turnout among Americans; other democracies place the burden of registration on governmental officials rather than on the individual citizen. The fact that the U.S. holds frequent elections also discourages some citizens from voting regularly. Finally, the major American political parties, unlike many of those in Europe, do not clearly represent the interests of opposing economic classes; thus the policy stakes in American elections are correspondingly reduced. Some Americans do not vote because they think that policy will not change greatly regardless of which party gains power.

Only a minority of citizens engage in the more demanding forms of political activity, such as work on behalf of a candidate during a political campaign. The proportion of Americans who engage in these more demanding forms of activity exceeds the proportion of Europeans who do so. Nevertheless, only about five in every twenty Americans will take an active part in a political organization at some point in their lives, although perhaps no more than one in twenty is highly active in politics at any given time. Most political activists are individuals of higher income and education; they have the skills and material resources to participate effectively and tend to have a greater interest in politics. More than in any other Western democracy, political participation in the United States is related to socioeconomic status.

Prospective voting is one way the public can exert influence through elections. It is the most demanding approach to voting: Voters must develop their own policy preferences and then must educate themselves about the candidates’ positions. The voters must also set aside other considerations, such as the candidates’ personalities. The degree of prospective voting rises and falls with the importance of the issues of the day, but the electorate as a whole is generally not well informed about the candidates’ stands and is only partially inclined to vote for candidates on the basis of policies they advocate.

Retrospective voting demands less from voters: They need only decide whether the government has been performing well or poorly in terms of the goals and values they hold. The evidence suggests that the electorate is, in fact, reasonably sensitive to past governmental performance, particularly in relation to economic prosperity, and that such judgments affect voting to a significant degree, especially in presidential elections.

Social movements are broad efforts to achieve change by citizens who feel that government is not properly responsive to their interests. These efforts sometimes take place outside established channels; demonstrations, picket lines, and marches are common means of protest. Protesters are younger and more idealistic on average than other citizens, but they are very small proportion of the population. In addition, protest activities do not have much public support, despite the country’s tradition of free expression.

Overall, Americans are only moderately involved in politics. They are concerned with political affairs but immersed in their private pursuits, a reflection in part of our culture’s emphasis on individualism. The lower level of participation among poorer citizens has particular significance in that it works to reduce their influence on public policy and leadership.