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Content: they are electing their bosses. Minority Disincentives
Race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation also often play a part in election campaigns. When a candidate for national office appears in slick television spots accompanied by a wife, three children, and a dog against a suburban backdrop, some minorities might be turned off. When candidates use terms that can be read as code words for minority inclusion or exclusion, potential voters may decide to sit out an election. A basic fact of voting is that candidates typically must obtain a majority of the votes cast, and if they do not need the votes of a minority population, they often ignore them. This can have the effect of alienating groups that are not targeted by a campaign manager, and so they have little incentive to vote. Polls
Election year polls are popular with the media. They tell us, at a given moment, who is ahead and by how much, based on a statistical sample of prospective voters. The wording of the questions presented often has a definite effect on the replies, but the process has become sophisticated enough to give polls credibility. The trouble with this census taking of public opinion is that it sometimes discourages people from voting if they think that their favorite candidate is 30 percent ahead or 30 percent behind.