Filing into the voting booths in November 1994, most American voters knew almost nothing about the Republican Party's “Contract with America.” Most could not say who would lead that party if its contract succeeded. Many were even unsure which party was in control going into the election, although American voters make better guesses at party control in those increasingly rare instances, like 1994, of one-party control of both White House and congress. Most Americans did not vote at all, and as usual that familiar majority of nonvoters knew even less than those who did.

This story of unmotivated, ill-informed, and inattentive voters is as old as the first examinations of individual voters, and it is confirmed anew by every subsequent voting study. Looked upon as individuals, most Americans care little about politics and possess a level of knowledge of the details of political life that is consistent with not caring. Whereas large numbers could cite NFL football standings, list the details of the private lives of celebrities from the entertainment industry, and recall almost verbatim the scripts of television commercials, relatively few know much about government beyond the identity of the president. The minority who vote with any regularity do so, it appears, from a sense of obligation more than anything else. Good citizens, they believe, watch their diets, floss their teeth daily, and vote from time to time.

All this is true for voters as individuals. All of it is well documented and well known.