Voter Apathy is a common term used mainly in politics describing perceived absence of caring for voters during election. This attitude is more evident when one electoral party got large majority or when voters got little influence. Apathy is said to be an emotional state that is characterized by lack of interest or emotion either on a particular subject or toward other elements of individual’s life. Characteristics of this emotional state are lack of motivation and passion, absence of interest or excitement to any essential aspects of life and lack of concern for other’s social and emotional being.
This emotional condition might be psychological in pure origin or might originated from series of neurological disorders. Apathy is also said to be caused by regular intake of intense mind-altering drugs. There are other things that can lead to apathy and this includes trauma, witnessing horrific events and more. This emotional state has also become evident in the politically driven world. However, there are specific distinctions covering voter apathy. This is usually cited as one possible cause of eligible voters’ low turnout. Voter fatigue is another related term for voter apathy.
Voter apathy is also characterized by the voters’ lack of interest in any possible outcome of election. Voters do not actually care or bother to cast their votes. Many individuals go out of their homes and vote but this activity is not always what they wanted to do. This sometimes led to voter fatigue which is usually become evident when elections are held frequently. Voter apathy is also the reason why several voters are going out and making uneducated votes just to get voting done.
Voter apathy poses serious impacts on the society making democracy become less meaningful. Some political analyst agrees that displaying this type of behavior does not just the voters but also the political system as well. If fewer individuals will cast their votes, election will only be the reflection of the desire of few voters. In many countries all over the world, countless individuals registered only to have few of them casting their votes during the actual election period. Many also failed to take advantage of absentee voting and they neglect to fill in their ballots and have it mailed.
Many have probably heard about voter apathy but not all are actually familiar with what this means. There are other related aspects that individuals need to understand first before they can fully understand what voter apathy is really all about and its impact to life and society. Many have conducted researches and have written essays about voter apathy to widen individuals’ knowledge and familiarity regarding this matter.
Despite its unwanted effects, there are still good on the other side of the story and that is there is an effective solution for this behavior. The most recommended cure for voter apathy is to rectify individuals’ laziness. In reality, catering to one’s laziness can be one of the best ways of ensuring the promise of genuine democracy. The society will surely benefit from this.