Mobilizing electoral participation in contemporary
U.S. society
Policy has long since become an integral part of еру modern life. Moreover, a lot of representatives of contemporary society, accustomed to the democratic values, as a rule, consider that the interest in politics, political developments and government decisions is their civic duty. And a modern democratic government goes to meet the citizens, not concealing from them its decisions and policy directions (but not all, of course).
Elections for the modern person, namely, participation in it is considered to be an important component of social life, because elections are associated with equal rights and, of course, democracy itself. During the election campaign even most ordinary citizens, who takes part in the voting, have a rare opportunity to feel their significance, or rather the value of their voice and choice. This is inextricably linked with the activities of political parties and interest groups that directly or covertly influence the political preferences of citizens. Moreover, they affect the voter turnout in elections, but the individual characteristics of the voters play an important role in the likelihood of their participation too. So let's make an attempt to analyze these relationships and make some conclusions.
It’s important to note that in every state there are certain mechanisms that integrate social, economic and political areas. These mechanisms have been forming for a long time, and now they determine the relationships between government’s interests and the interests and needs of the citizens. Speaking about a country with entrenched democratic traditions, in our case the United States of America, it is important to note that in this country, these mechanisms work harmoniously and function without errors and failures (at least in most cases).
In the United States all political forces play specific roles, supporting the coherent functioning of the established social and political mechanisms. As scientists pointed out, “there is no formal "membership" in American parties, and the party is a psychological label for most people.”(Lineberry, Edwards and Wattenberg) Consequently, in contemporary USA election is not something innovative and revolutionary. Election is rather a respected tradition that is performing as a duty.
However, the intensification of political parties and interest groups shortly before the elections has not disappeared. These constituents of the state continue to exist and play important roles in the U.S. political life: “Political parties are essential components of democratic government”.(Lineberry, Edwards and Wattenberg) Even if the role of the parties is not the most important, without them mechanism, the so-called system would collapse.
Before the elections, politicians solemnly proclaim their programs and promise to implement it after elections. However, even after being elected, they not always are able to carry out all their promises. One can consider them liars, but it is also possible to explain this discrepancy by the existence of many competing political forces, each of which is fighting for the implementation of its interests and goals.
In connection with this it’s necessary to mention another interesting feature of the American political life. This feature consists in the simultaneous existence of democratic traditions (two-party system, for example) and great complexity and diversity of the U.S. society. This discrepancy, to great extent, gives preference to interest groups. Moreover, scientists pointed out, “parties are no longer the main source of political information”.(Lineberry, Edwards and Wattenberg) In contrast to them the mass media starts to play an increasingly important role. So, all aforesaid allows us to think that political parties do not play a key role in the mobilizing electoral participation in contemporary U.S. society.
Interest groups play an increasingly important role. Now we will try to prove this. Interest groups, namely organizations, associations of entrepreneurs, workers, farmers, lawyers, etc. are means of political activities that aimed at achieving specific goals. By influencing the candidates for the high office, representatives of interest groups do not support the objectives of these candidates, but rather try to persuade politicians to support and implement their own goals. Therefore, they are frequently called pressure groups. These groups play more essential role than parties. Moreover, "interest groups are often policy specialists, whereas parties are policy generalists."( Lineberry, Edwards and Wattenberg)
Consequently, if political parties are traditional, the interest groups are effective. And this efficiency is appreciated by U.S. voters. If the main goal of a party - the conquest of power for the implementation of specific political course, the pressure groups are aimed at the influence on policies. Furthermore, a political party usually includes people with diverse interests and orientations, while interest groups consist of those people, who pursue common interests. The main pressure groups’ means of the influence on policy is the so-called lobbying, by which groups stands for the implementation of its objectives. Lobbyists often act as intermediaries between the interest groups and politicians.
So, the interest groups play a more significant, or rather more effective role, than political parties. They can encourage the electorate to participate in voting, to vote for those candidates, who share the interests of pressure groups and therefore the interests of all followers of a particular group.
There is another factor that affects the voter turnout. This is the voters themselves, or rather their personal characteristics. Of course, the number of potential voters is enormous, and the number of their features is even more enormous. However, let's make an attempt to define some general tendencies. First we should pay attention to the socioeconomic status. Most likely, the high status of the person causes the absence of desire to go to the elections. A voter with high status is confident in his future and does not worry about the elections and even the change of government. While a voter with low socioeconomic status worries and hopes for a solution to his problems in connection with the activities of interest groups and the coming to power of political forces that promise to solve the respective problems.
It’s also worth mention about the political socialization. As we have already recalled, the election is an important part of democratic traditions. Consequently, if a voter did not learn American political values and traditions, the probability of his participation in voting decreases. Also we should not forget about the usual indifference, so-called apoliticism that is typical of many people.
In conclusion it can be said that in the contemporary democratic society elections play a more traditional than effective role. In connection with this we can explain the reduction of voter turnout. However still nobody has canceled elections. Political parties and interest groups continue to influence the political views and preferences of the Americans and, of course, their willingness to participate in the voting. All aforesaid allows to say that interest groups play more significant role in mobilizing electoral participation in contemporary U.S. society.
Works cited:
Lineberry, Robert L, George C Edwards, and Martin P Wattenberg. Government In America. New York, NY: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1991. Print.
