Chapter 9
Political Participation and Voting
By Boundless
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/9251/square/countyelection.jpeg)
Voting is the most quintessential form of political participation, although many eligible voters do not vote in elections.
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Besides voting, there are many other ways to take part in politics, each involving varying amounts of skill, time, and resources.
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Depending on socioeconomic factors like wealth, education, or occupation, people are more or less likely to vote.
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Certain factors like age, gender, race, and religion help describe why people vote and who is more likely to vote.
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Some people are motivated to vote because they identify very strongly with one party.
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People can be motivated to vote based on their political ideology, or how they think government, economy, and society should be structured.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/9610/square/bushgore.jpeg)
Oftentimes, people vote based on specific candidate's characteristics, experiences, or likeability.
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In some elections, voters are motivated to vote a certain way based on specific policy preferences, which is called issue voting.
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The significance of voter turnout, the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election, has been debated by scholars.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/10866/square/-the-voting-booths-in-1945.jpeg)
Many causes have been proposed for the decline in voting, including demographics, voter fatigue and voter suppression, among other things.
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Low voter turnout is often considered to be undesirable; there is much debate over the factors that affect turnout and how to increase it.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/11051/raw/compulsory-voting.jpg)
Generally, rules and laws are easier to change than attitudes, and thus the task of improving voter turnout must consider these factors.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/11134/square/iraqi-voters-in-baghdad2.jpeg)
Assuming that low turnout is a reflection of disenchantment, a poll with very low turnout may be an inaccurate reflection of the electorate.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/31130/square/the-first-vote.jpeg)
For a large part of the history of the US, black voters were blocked from voting either directly or indirectly.
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On average, Latino citizens continue to vote at significantly lower rates than non-Latino white voters.
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The diversity and polarization of the Asian American community makes it difficult to generalize their voting patterns.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/12135/square/tatefair-1915-suffragettes.jpeg)
In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote and, today, women vote at similar rates to men.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/13700/square/-marriage-is-a-civil-right.jpeg)
Within the United States, religious identity plays a significant role in political participation and voting.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/1256/square/l-portrait-of-barack-obama.jpeg)
Political participation differs notably by age; in general, older citizens are more likely to turn out in elections than younger ones.