Can We Afford to Ignore the Low-Information Voters?

Much has been said about the strategy Trump needs to follow in order to gain traction in this political race, including avoiding personal insults and focusing on contrasting policies; the pitfalls the Left needs to avoid include telling the truth about Harris’ political positions and dodging requests for interviews.

But little has been said about the impact of the low-information voters—who they actually are—and they are increasing over time. This post will discuss the low-information profile, how difficult it will be to overcome, and the serious consequences if they remain uninformed.

Who are they?

Building on the findings of Samuel Popkin, political scientists define low information as voters who know little about government or how the outcomes of elections might alter government policy. They also tend to lack what psychologists call a ‘need for cognition,’ or a desire to learn. High cognition people are more likely to devote the time and resources necessary to evaluating the complex issues of interest to well-informed voters. On the other hand, people with a low need for cognition—low-information voters—see little reward in collection and evaluation of new information or consideration of competing issue positions.

In other words, they simply are not interested in politics or in learning more about them. And when they look at the candidates themselves, they tend to draw these conclusions:

Low-information voters typically know little to nothing about the candidates as people. Instead, they vote according to propaganda; sound bites they’ve heard in the media, eloquent speeches, celebrity endorsements, rumors, social media sites, or the advice of other low-information voters.

I was struck by the fact that even though low-information voters may have major issues that have been a result of the Biden policies, including the economy, the border and crime, they still don’t seem to be sufficiently motivated to “do their homework” regarding the other side. In their defense, today’s voters have a great deal on their plates, including working two or more jobs, and finding the time to do research can be a challenge. I would also add that distrust of politics and politicians likely plays a role in whether or not they are willing to look for the facts.

Other studies have revealed additional attributes of the low-information voter: (1) the attractiveness of the candidate plays a role in their determining the integrity of the candidate; (2) Between 1986 and 1994, “voters tended to assume that Black and female candidates were more liberal than white and male candidates, even when they represented the same party”; (3) candidates listed first on ballots are more likely to be selected by this population, so some election administrators have tried to develop new ways to list the names; and (4) they will vote for incumbents accused of corruption, primarily because they are not aware of the accusations.

One article provided the following summary:

In summary, low-information voters are neither ignorant nor unconcerned for the welfare of the nation. They do at least vote, which is more than can be said for an average of about 50% of all eligible voters in modern presidential elections. However, there is every indication that the ranks of highly-informed voters will continue to shrink, leaving the ballots of low-information voters a decisive factor in future U.S. elections.

The reason the increase in low-information voters is so critical at this time is because of the strategies of both sides for President. On the Right, Donald Trump has been demonized for several years, and even though an assassination attempt may have softened his image for a short period, the attacks on him continue. Unfortunately, he also focuses on criticizing the people (Harris and Walz) instead of educating people and contrasting the policies of both sides. From the Left (which includes the legacy media), Harris’ political history is being transformed from a radical Left perspective, by inventing data that has no basis in fact and ignoring her demands for open borders, universal health care, and “soft-on-crime” policies. Her website is dominated by donation requests, and nowhere are any of the policies that she supports listed.

Although Tim Walz may have a minor role as vice president, he is more radical than she is. He supports killing babies that are born alive following abortions, supports transgender procedures for children, and allowed the burning of Minneapolis during the BLM riots.

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The current state of affairs in this country brings up several questions. In spite of the troubled economy and inflation, why are people still supporting the Democrats? Has the Left done a convincing job of trashing Donald Trump? What about the fact that there has been an increase in low-information voters and a decrease in knowledgeable voters? What can the Republicans do to convince people of the facts? How do they overcome the resistance to accepting Donald Trump as the best alternative? How can we capitalize on the limited learning patterns and lack of interest of the low-information voters so that they make better choices?

We can't transform low-information voters into something they are not; instead, we need to meet them where they are and give them information through their preferred methods. If it's soundbites, social media, punchy ads--whatever it takes--we need to try harder to bring them on board.

Or the future looks very dark.