Customer Reviews

Where Have All the Voters Gone?

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Although well-written, well-documented, and (as others have pointed out) much more easily read by the layman than many works on the same topic, Wattenberg's book has the same fatal flaw as most: He starts with the questionable assumptions that America's level of voter turnout represents a problem, a crisis, an alarming development, etc., and that greater participation is essential for a democratic government to function well. And then he does nothing to try to prove the truth of either. He disputes the widely-held view that the under-representation of some groups of voters (the young, the poor, etc.) has little influence on election results or consequent policy decisions, but fails to document his own view in "real world" terms. His preferred "cure" for the "problem" is to re-fortify the two major political parties, the repository of much of the corruption which has poisoned our political system.

The book is worth reading for those interested in the subject, but don't look for much enlightenment, or an unbiased consideration of the significance of a plurality's (and sometimes majority's) consistent preference for "None of the Above" in American elections.