This is a Civics 101 story from CNY Decides, a collaborative podcast between the award winning newsrooms of WAER and Central Current.
November's midterm elections could decide who controls Congress. In 2022, nearly half of eligible Americans didn't cast a ballot.
For many, keeping up with current politics feels a lot like following a carnival shell game, where giant walnut shaped lids sweep across a carney’s countertop moving faster and faster until the eyes cannot follow. For American voters, politics can feel the same way: Confusing, fast-moving and hard to track, compelling some voters to walk away from the table.
Sagar Meghani has been the Washington correspondent for the Associated Press for two decades. He has found that apathy among voters is more than frustration, but disconnection where Washington can feel a world apart.
"It gets so convoluted and so complex that people just don't bother. They pay their taxes without fully knowing where those taxes are going," Meghani said. "It's easy to see how it all seems kind of foreign to somebody - whether they're in Boston, San Francisco or Syracuse - wondering exactly what is going on."
Some political scientists note that the feeling of being on the outside looking in isn't a coincidence. In fact, they argue that the game was never designed to be easy to follow.
"Americans are asked to vote for more things more frequently than almost any other citizens in any other western country," noted Syracuse University political scientist Grant Reeher. "I think maybe we're asking too much from the individual citizen, both in terms of gathering information, processing that information and all these different things, and then coming up with some sort of rational plan."
Where people get that information matters too. A recent Gallup poll showed only about a third of Americans trust traditional news sources. Meghani expects rebuilding that trust will have to start with going back to basics.
"Trust the outlets that you've been able to trust for going on two centuries now,” he nodded to high standard news sources like ABC News, the Wall Street Journal, and National Public Radio. “Trust the actual facts. Trust the actual journalism," where responsible news organizations require three independent sources before presenting information as a fact.
Rather than paint all the media with one broad stroke, Reeher reminds voters that civic trust moves in both directions. In other words, move beyond doom scrolling on smart phones, find those responsible news sources, and push back when politicians avoid answering critical questions.
"To the average citizen,” Reeher encouraged talking to the politicians directly as they are out in public this election season. “And, if someone isn't willing to talk to you, hold them accountable for it.”
Because, if no one is watching when the proverbial shells are lifted, the voter rarely wins. With control of Congress on the line this November, tuning out doesn't just mean missing information — it can shape who ends up in power.
