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VOTING is the commonest and most basic way of participating in a democracy, but far too many citizens do not exercise their right to vote, especially in the United States. In the 1988 and 1992 Presidential elections, the turnout of registered voters was only 50 and 55 per cent, respectively, and in the midterm Congressional elections in 1990 and 1994, it was only 33 and 36 per cent.
This is a serious problem for two reasons. One is democratic legitimacy: Can a government that has gained power in a low-turnout election really claim to be a representative government? For instance, some Americans questioned President Clinton's mandate because he received only 43 per cent of the votes cast and because only 55 per cent of those registered to vote actually did so-which meant that he received the support of fewer than 25 per cent of all eligible voters in 1992. The other, even more serious problem is that low turnout almost inevitably means that certain groups vote in greater numbers than other groups and hence gain disproportionate influence on the government and its policies.
The only way to solve these problems is to maximize turnout. It may not be realistic to expect everyone to vote, but a turnout of, say, 90 per cent is a feasible goal, as the experience of quite a few democracies shows.
On the basis of studies ranging from the 1920s work of Harold F. Gosnell at the University of Chicago to the 1990s research of Robert W. Jackman of the University of California at Davis and Mark N. Franklin of the University of Houston, we know a great deal about the institutional mechanisms that can increase turnout. They include voter-friendly registration procedures; voting on the weekend instead of during the week; easy access to absentee ballots; proportional representation, with multiple lawmakers representing electoral districts instead of the current U.S. system of winner-takes-all elections; and scheduling as many elections as possible-national, state, and local-on the same day.
The evidence suggests that using all of these measures together can produce a voter turnout of around 90 per cent. But adopting all of them is a tall order. Only a handful of states have even managed to introduce the minor reform of allowing citizens...