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What happens when the 'haves' vote and the 'have nots' don't?
FILE: A report from the Public Policy Institute of California says differences between likely voters and nonvoters are "deep" and "persistent."
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David McNew/Getty Images
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A new report confirms what many have suspected in California: the “haves” tend to cast ballots in elections and the “have-nots” not so much.
California’s likely voters skew toward those who are older, white, affluent and college-educated, according to findings of the Public Policy Institute of California released Tuesday. Nonvoters tend to be younger, Latino, and renters and have less college education.
Only half of the state’s adults are expected to vote in this year’s presidential election, according to the report, meaning a relatively small group of voters will be making decisions about candidates and policies, raising "serious questions about the legitimacy of the democratic system."
Since California's electorate has not kept up with the state's demographic changes, its voters no longer represent its diverse population, the report's states. The problem is important in California, where voters not only elect officials but decide major policy issues placed on the ballot.
There's an economic divide between those who vote and those who don't, according to the report. This matters because the two groups see things differently: they diverge in their opinions on government's role, government spending, policy issues and elected officials, and the differences are "deep" and "persistent," the report states.
Likely voters, for example, tend to back a limited governmental response to the needs of the state's lower-income and immigrant populations in areas such as health care and they divide along party lines when voting on ballot measures to increase spending on education.
Nonvoters, on the other hand, prefer an active government, more government spending and increased school funding. Unlike likely voters, those who don't cast ballots are less knowledgeable about elected officials, but approve of them more, the report states.
The findings are based on state data and PPIC's 2015 statewide surveys.
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