does voting matter?

YES! Voting is important in a variety of different ways. While voter turnout was high throughout much of the first half of the 20th century, there has a decline in the number of people voting since then. The trend started after 1968 election. The main reason for this was because after the Eisenhower and Kennedy years where hope for change in the future was at an all time high. However, after a series of assassinations and disasters abroad (think Vietnam/bay of pigs) people began to lose faith in their government.
One significant theory to explain voter turnout is the median voter theorem, which states that candidates try to gain sway of independent voters in a tight election. This theory is important because voters conclude that there isn’t a difference if they go to the polls or not. As George Wallace said, “There ain’t a dime’s worth of difference between the two candidates.”
Another reason why people don’t show up at the polling stations is because it is often costly. Whether it is the personal registration requirements or the inability to miss work, a broad range of factors influence the voter turnout.
The most profound reason voting is important is because it is a form of mass involvement. As the text states, “Elections help preserve the government’s stability by containing and channeling away potentially more disruptive or dangerous forms of mass political activity.” This quotation illustrates that without the ability to cast a vote in a democratic election, people might be persuaded to throw a coup or send the country into anarchy. In a similar respect, voting puts pressure on incumbent officials to do well as, “his or her actions may provoke popular disobedience.