Originally Posted by
belgareth
Actually the
vote usually goes about 40/40/20 with the 20% being independents, small parties and such. Those voting in the 40/40
groups usually vote right along party lines. Over the years both major parties have lost huge portions of their
membership through disenchantment with party policies. As a result of that and other factors, the non-voting
majority tends to be closer to 25/25/50 with a large percentage of the 25'ers likely to vote their mind rather than
any party line. Of the 50%'ers, most are completely disgusted with the way the government operates but feel they
cannot do anything about it so don't bother. The error is obvious. That 'inbalance' is one of the reasons that
both major parties try so hard to register new voters to their party. They hope that by getting them signed up
themselves they will have some influence in how they vote.
What would actually happen if participation went
up to 90% is anybody's guess, you have your opinion and I have mine. But right now many in politics seem to feel
they can rest on their laurals because nobody's watching them very closely. Consider the potential of 40 percent or
more of the voting population unalianged to any particular party. It doesn't take much imagination to see that
there would be numerous changes within our country. Exactly what they would be is anybody's guess but at the least
I think it would result in greater accountability.
Additionally, I think Tim has it right that participation
is discouraged, that the government would really prefer our opinions be suppressed.
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