1. Who votes and who does not vote? What distinguishes voters from non-voters? As Maisel and Brewer point out, the decision to participate in any election is predicated on three different elements: state registration requirements, eligibility, and the actual decision on whether or not to go to the polls during that particular election. The textbook also states that registration is the biggest hurdle to voter participation.HYPERLINK "https://edge.apus.edu/portal/tool/24fd355e-8993-40c6-8f54-368fe7902fd5/sakai.messageforums.helper.helper/dfCompose" l "_ftn1" "_blank"[1] Vercellotti and Anderson also found that as early as the 1800s, voter registration laws decreased participation by as much as 10% among legitimate voters. In a paper presented at the 2006 American Political Science Annual Conference, they reported that the less educated, the poor, and those who have recently moved are the most at risk for disenfranchisement by registration laws.HYPERLINK "https://edge.apus.edu/portal/tool/24fd355e-8993-40c6-8f54-368fe7902fd5/sakai.messageforums.helper.helper/dfCompose" l "_ftn2" "_blank"[2] Other research disagrees that registration is such a hurdle. Jason Mycoff, et al. found that 11.7% of those polled during the 2006 midterm elections did not vote due to a complete lack of desire to do so and that those who wanted to vote found a way to do so.HYPERLINK "https://edge.apus.edu/portal/tool/24fd355e-8993-40c6-8f54-368fe7902fd5/sakai.messageforums.helper.helper/dfCompose" l "_ftn3" "_blank"[3]While I can see how registration requirements may cause an undue hardship for some, it seems that those who truly want to vote – those who have a strong interest in politics and the government – find a way to vote. Unfortunately there is a great deal of apathy in this country whether it is due to failing educational standards, or the need to make a living that precludes an interest in anything but getting by, or the feeling that big government is corrupt and against you. Is there a way to move passed this apathy? If there is, we have not found it. It is a cause for concern that Americans typically vote in smaller numbers in comparison to other democracies, but there are the differences are in a systemic way (Maisel 2007). Though, the election of Barack Obama aroused interest among minorities, African Americans and Hispanic typically vote at lower numbers than Caucasians. At the same time poor people are less likely to vote than the rich as are those less educated (Maisel 2012). Thus, the privileged vote more, but this could be an indication that the American Government and the specific registration laws suppress voter turnout. The 2012 CNN exit poll indicated that African Americans were solidly blue at 93 % as were Latino voters who voted from Barack Obama at 71 % similar to Asians. It is plausible that those disenfranchised from voting do not have faith in the both the electoral and political systems , a...