Nation: The Silent Ones

Americans' unwillingness to vote has long been something of a scandal, and last week's election drew the lowest percentage of the electorate for a nonpresidential election since World War II. An estimated 34% of eligible voters went to the polls, as compared with 36% in the off-year election of 1974 and 43.5% in 1970. Experts attribute the latest decrease to the lowering of the voting age to 18. Because young people move frequently, they often fail to register for the relatively unexciting congressional elections. Aside from this indifference, some nonvoters argue that the major parties often offer no choice. Columnist Abigail McCarthy, who is separated from Eugene, said last week: "Voting has become the finale in an empty ritual, an act of piety."