Rising disaffection with politics in recent decades

How to understand rising disaffection with politics in recent decades? Undue emphasis on the decline of voter turnout in national elections and its interpre tation as indicative of political malaise are likely to make for erroneous understanding of the American democracy. Evidence from studies of the national electorate con ducted between 1952 and 1978 shows that the explanation for declining turnout is not to be found in commensurate diminution in political interest or involvement, or in a decreasing sense of civic duty, feeling of political efficacy or trust in government. Where patterns of change have coincided, further analysis indicates an absence of possible cause-and-effect relationships.

The decline has been chiefly limited to those population sectors characterized by lack of interest or involvement in national partisan politics. The article concludes with a projection of likely developments in political participation, including turnout, in future presidential elections.

The level of voter turnout has become a biennial preoccupation of those concerned about the nation’s political health. Since 1960, when some 64 percent of those eligible to vote went to the polls, there has been a continuous decline, with each succeeding election seeing a smaller fraction of the electorate turning out to vote. In recent years, the decline in the relative number of American voters has been linked with other signs of national political malaise. Even at the peak of voter participation there were occasional expressions of concern among those who compared the American experience with the notably higher