what is political apathy

Political apathy is a lack of interest or apathy towards politics. It includes political alienation, voter apathy, information apathy, and lack of interest in elections, political events, public meetings, and voting. Voter apathy is a lack of interest among voters in the elections of representative democracies. Political apathy or lack of interest is often cited as a cause of low turnout among eligible voters in jurisdictions where voting is optional, and the donkey vote where voting is compulsory. Some of the causes of political apathy include being uncomfortable with the possible choices and the lesser of two evils principle in two-party systems, wasted votes, where a voter does not receive representation in the final election outcome, and voter fatigue, when elections are held too frequently. It is difficult to measure political apathy, although it can be seen in the amount of the citizens’ knowledge, activity, and political involvement. The reason political apathy is an issue is that it is believed that a nation’s development and for its laws to function to their fullest, there needs to be as high a level of political awareness as possible.