Declining Political Participation in the United States.
Free and fair election is the main prerequisite for sustaining a democracy. It is the key instrument for gaining legitimate representation in government. "Participation in politics is very much an act of consent to be governed." (Light, 1997), I think that is the most apparent and understandable explanation on the subject of political participation. It means that if I vote for a candidate, I give him the right to decide for me what and how things should be done, supposedly in my behalf. That is the core principle of a representative democracy.
Voting is one of the most common ways of participation in politics. Besides that, an average American citizen has such options as giving money to a campaign, contacting government by mail or in person, taking part in a demonstrations, working as a volunteer for a candidate running for office and joining a local governmental board. However, not all of these options are accessible, in other words affordable, for everyone. It is not only about financial expenses, like in giving money to an organized interest, but also in carrying a cost whether in time or information (Light, 1997). If person decides to vote he has to register, and that requires a quite bit of time and effort. Before voting it is necessary to find out where registration take place and how to register, who are the candidates and what are their platforms, and finally find a time to go to the election itself. .
In the most of states in the United States registration procedure is exceptionally complicated comparing to most European countries where voters registered automatically by the government. It is one of the main reasons why voter turnout in the US is much lower than in all other Western European countries. In the last national election in the United States voted only 52.6 percent of registered voters. However, James Wilson argues: "the real source of the participation problem in the United States is that a relatively low percentage of the adult population is registered to vote.
