The most important right and responsibility of citizens in a democratic society is voting. The bar chart below shows, for different age groups in the 2000 presidential election in the United States, the percentage of individuals in that age group who are registered to vote. (a) Describe in a few sentences the registration pattern that you see in the data above. (b) Some individuals argue that the reason for the current level of registration in the 18-24 year-old group is that many of them are college students and would have to vote absentee. In your opinion, would that explain the registration level for the 18 - 24 age-group? Why or why not?

Question

The most important right and responsibility of citizens in a democratic society is voting. The bar chart below shows, for different age groups in the 2000 presidential election in the United States, the percentage of individuals in that age group who are registered to vote.  (a) Describe in a few sentences the registration pattern that you see in the data above. (b) Some individuals argue that the reason for the current level of registration in the 18-24 year-old group is that many of them are college students and would have to vote absentee. In your opinion, would that explain the registration level for the 18 - 24 age-group? Why or why not?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is a) The proportion of people registering is smallest for the 18-24 year-old group, and gets larger with age, until finally declining in the 75+ year-old group.
b) Voting by absentee ballot may be more of a hassle b/c you have to get the ballot, but actual registration could be done at home before going to college. It would seem that unless the 18-24 year-olds decide for some reason they will not vote in their college years because of expected hassle of voting, the future voting would not be affecting the registration level.

The Most Important Right and Responsibility of Citizens in a Democratic