?PAGE ? ?PAGE ?1? Chapter 8 ? Political Participation seq NL1 \r 0 \h Overview The popular view that Americans do not vote because of apathy is not quite right. It would be much closer to the truth to state that Americans don?t register to vote?but once registered, Americans vote at about the same rate as citizens in other nations. Many other factors?having nothing to do with apathy?also shape participation rates. These include age, race, party organization, barriers to registration, and popular views about the significance of elections.