The current levels cannot be explained by prosperity or citizen satisfaction, since those who are doing the worst in economic terms vote less than the successful. Moreover, voting rates are substantially higher in other advanced capitalist countries. Elite Democratic Theories of Nonvoting Schools of thought on this subject break down into elite and popular democratic explanations. Other, more academic versions of this argument stress the fact that nonvoters have less of a sense of political efficacy than do voters. Popular Democracy and Nonvoting Popular democrats see the rise in nonvoting as a problem for democracy rather than a weakness in human nature.
Some popular democrats emphasize the difficulties citizens face in registering to vote.
Registration is more complex and time consuming in the United States than in other democracies. Reformers seek to change registration and voting procedures for example, holding elections on Sundays in order to enhance turnout. The Motor Voter law, passed under President Clinton, was one such reform. Making registration easier may have a significant effect on voter turnout but will still raise levels only to about where they were in 1960, with U.S. turnout still remaining low by international standards. The authors favor a historical explanation, emphasizing how voting turnout, especially among those with few economic or educational resources, is related to the strength or weakness of grassroots democratic associations.