# 40% of eligible Americans still don't vote.  How can we get them to?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-eligible-americans-still-dont-vote-how-can-we-get-them-to/287921>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [February 2, 2005, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-eligible-americans-still-dont-vote-how-can-we-get-them-to/287921 "2005-02-02T02:54:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![DrLoveGun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@DrLoveGun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLoveGun)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-eligible-americans-still-dont-vote-how-can-we-get-them-to/287921/61 "2005-02-09T03:52:35Z")

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> [@BrainGlutton](#):
>
> Voter turnout in the U.S. 2004 election was, by most accounts, 60% of eligible adult citizens. That’s the highest it’s been in decades – but it still means 40% aren’t voting. Much higher figure, I believe, than in most democracies. That’s a huge, potentially powerful block that neither party has yet been able to recruit. And any party that did recruit them would have a virtual lock on power.
> 
> 1. Who are these nonvoters? What are their demographic characteristics – social class, income level, education, cultural background, religion, ethnicity, region, etc.?
> 
> 2. Why don’t they vote? Stupidity? Apathy? Disaffection? Lack of faith in the system? Or is it simply that neither party offers them anything they can get excited about?
> 
> 3. What political agenda, if any, would they be most likely to vote for? If you wanted their vote, what would you offer them?

Remember 50% of Americans are stupider that the average. And the average American is stupid. So the fact that 60% voted is really impressive when you think about with that perspective.

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**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/40-of-eligible-americans-still-dont-vote-how-can-we-get-them-to/287921/62 "2005-02-09T05:30:58Z")

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> [@DrLoveGun](#):
>
> Remember 50% of Americans are stupider that the average. And the average American is stupid. So the fact that 60% voted is really impressive when you think about with that perspective.

Actually, the fact that most people – even people with below-average IQs – can operate an automobile impresses me with how intelligent they are. I mean, just think about how complicated it is, to maneuver a one- or two-ton mass of steel at speeds in excess of 50 mph on roads where countless other drivers are doing the same in their own way, while at the same time navigating by street signs, etc., to get where they want to go, and to do all that without colliding with another moving or stationary object – that’s **challenging!** Any intelligent person of the 19th Century would have doubted it would ever be possible for anyone but a specialized class of professionals to master such skills. And yet, anybody over the age of 14 who is not legally blind or severely mentally retarded can learn to do it! It’s mostly a set of neuromuscular skills, it has nothing to do with the abstract thinking and mastery of factual information needed for effective engagement in politics – but it still gives one hope for the mental abilities fo the “average” person, doesn’t it? 🙂

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