People Vote on What They Care About, Whether They’re Informed or Not
Michigan Professor says voters really don’t pay much attention to candidates until the last weeks of an election
Arthur Lupia, a research professor at the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan, joins Stephen Henderson, on Detroit Today to discuss the results of the Iowa Caucuses and why voters are uninformed when they make their voting decisions.
Lupia is the author of the recently released book, “Uninformed: Why People Seem to Know So Little about Politics and What We Can Do about It.” He tells Henderson that the amount of legislation passed at all levels of government makes it impossible for the voter to be informed on every issue. Most voters don’t begin to pay attention to the candidates until the last weeks of an election. Professor Lupia says that is why Donald Trump did so well early in Iowa, because of his celebrity status – he was already well known when he began his campaign.
Eventually voters cast their ballots, Lupia says, based on the issue that they care most about. Some voters feel national security is the most important issue, others may feel it’s climate change, while others may feel it’s the economy. The result, he says, is uninformed voters, because they only know about their issue and could not care less about others.
To hear this informative conversation, including callers, please click the audio link above:
