Title: The Importance of Elections as a Linkage Institution and Voting - Election Law Essays
Headings: The Importance of Elections as a Linkage Institution and Voting
The Importance of Elections as a Linkage Institution and Voting
Works Cited

Content: Although voter turnout among African Americans is still fairly low, in the 2008 presidential election African Americans had the second highest voter turnout, behind non-Hispanic Caucasians (African Americans, n. d. ). Race can influence voter turnout because with African Americans specifically, although rates are getting better, they are still not high. One factor that decreases voter turnout is the misconception that a person’s vote does not matter. Alienation is a feeling of personal powerlessness that includes the feeling that the government does not care about individual people. These people believe that the government will not respond to their concerns even if they do vote. The problem is that a large portion of the population shares this attitude. People can have negative opinions of the government that discourage them from political participation. Voter turnout is the proportion of people of voting age who vote in a given election. Voter registration is one factor that decreases voter turnout because although it makes voter fraud less likely, it still affects mostly impoverished people who are not aware of the registration process, or people who forget to register. Registration rules differ in different states and studies show that those states with fewer regulations have a higher voter turnout. “