Why Don’t More People Vote?: Crash Course US Government #4
CrashCourse · 2026-10-13
💡 Quick Take
1. Main thesis: Voter turnout in the US hovers around 60 percent for presidential elections, leaving millions of eligible citizens who choose not to vote or face systemic barriers.
2. Myth busted: Rational choice theory suggests people should never vote because the mathematical probability of a single vote changing an election outcome is near zero, yet millions still participate.
3. Critical concept: Expressive choice theory explains that people vote for emotional fulfillment and self-expression rather than purely rational calculations of cost and benefit.
4. Critical concept: Civic duty adds a crucial dimension to participation, framing voting as a moral responsibility and part of a collaborative democratic enterprise.
5. Critical concept: Voter suppression and institutional roadblocks—such as strict voter ID laws, advance registration deadlines, and restrictive mail-in rules—disproportionately lower turnout among low-income individuals and racial minorities.
📊 Detailed Explanation
The video examines the underlying reasons behind voter turnout in the United States, highlighting that while recent presidential elections like 2024 saw roughly 75 million votes for Kamala Harris and 77 million for Donald Trump, nearly 90 million eligible voters chose not to vote at all. Out of a total population of approximately 340 million, legal restrictions disqualify children, noncitizens, and certain felons or individuals with cognitive disabilities, leaving an eligible voter population of about 244 million. Out of these, only about 60 percent actually cast ballots, a percentage that has remained fairly standard since the early 20th century but places the US behind other democratic nations like Germany, Indonesia, and Iceland.
To understand why people vote, the video explores two major behavioral frameworks: expressive choice theory and rational choice theory. Expressive choice theory posits that humans are emotional beings who vote to feel heard, enjoy standing in line wearing political merchandise, or proudly wear their 'I Voted' stickers. Conversely, rational choice theory treats voters as utility-maximizing actors whose decision depends on perceived benefits minus perceived costs, multiplied by the probability that their individual vote will influence the outcome, known as term P. Because term P is realistically close to zero in large elections, strict rational actors should theoretically never vote, yet millions do, influenced heavily by competitive swing states where advertising and perceived stakes are higher.
Beyond rational and expressive motivations, the concept of civic duty plays a vital role in encouraging participation. People vote not merely because they expect a personal gain, but because they view it as an essential responsibility that binds them to a nationwide democratic enterprise. However, personal motivations interact with systemic hurdles, such as political alienation and dissatisfaction with the two-party system. A 2020 poll revealed that 20 percent of nonvoters disliked both candidates, 20 percent felt their vote did not matter, 25 percent were entirely disengaged from politics, and 35 percent were engaged supporters who simply failed to make it to the polls due to life circumstances.
The video underscores that many roadblocks to voting originate directly from government policy and a long history of voter suppression. Following the 15th Amendment in 1870, Southern states utilized poll taxes and literacy tests to disenfranchise Black citizens until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed these practices. Today, institutional barriers persist through voter ID laws adopted by 36 states, ten of which require strict photo IDs. For instance, when Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott enacted new voter ID laws in 2013, it immediately disqualified 600,000 registered voters lacking proper photo identification, disproportionately impacting people of color and individuals with demanding work or family schedules.
Additional structural barriers involve disparate state-level registration and ballot access laws. While roughly half of states implement automatic voter registration via driver's license applications, online registration, or same-day election registration, others mandate early advance registration that depresses turnout. Rules surrounding early, absentee, and mail-in ballots also create hurdles for older adults, disabled citizens, or individuals unable to take time off on a random Tuesday. Scholars and reformers argue that making voting easier—such as converting Election Day into a federal holiday like in South Korea or moving it to a weekend like in Australia—would significantly boost democratic participation.
🎯 Education Expert Opinion
As an educational tool, this video effectively bridges abstract political science theories with concrete civic realities, using accessible analogies like Star Wars to unpack complex frameworks such as rational choice and expressive choice theory. By grounding theoretical concepts in tangible data points—such as the 90 million nonvoters and the specific impact of Texas voter ID laws—the lesson prevents civic education from feeling overly detached from daily life. This pedagogical approach helps students grasp that democratic participation is not just an individual moral failure or success, but the product of complex psychological motivations intersecting with structural design.
A practical learning roadmap derived from this content should begin by having students analyze their local state's voting laws regarding registration deadlines, mail-in ballot accessibility, and voter ID requirements. Educators can then guide learners through a comparative exercise, contrasting high-turnout swing states with low-turnout solid red or blue states to evaluate how institutional friction and political competitiveness alter the math of voter calculus. Finally, students should investigate historical voter suppression tactics alongside contemporary reforms, empowering them to critically assess proposed policy solutions like automatic voter registration or federal holidays.
The primary risk of this video's framework is that students might lean too heavily into political cynicism, concluding that because term P is mathematically near zero, civic action is entirely futile. Educators must actively counter this nihilistic interpretation by emphasizing the expressive and community-building dimensions of voting, as well as the historical struggles marginalized groups undertook to secure franchise rights. Ultimately, this resource is highly recommended for high school and introductory college-level government courses, serving as a vital springboard for discussions on structural reform, civic responsibility, and the health of modern American democracy.
Kanal: CrashCourse