Elections in the United States are characterized by low voter turnout. Discuss two demographic characteristics associated with nonvoting and three institutional obstacles associated with nonvoting. Low voter turnout, or very simply put, non-voting, is a major issue in the United States today. By looking at demographic characteristics and institutional obstacles associated with nonvoting, we may begin taking steps to understand the reasons for such low voter turnout. Demographic characteristics associated with low voter turnout are a result of the nature of people. Education plays a major role in voter turnout. Those that are not knowledgeable about politics are known to be less affiliated than those with more extensive educational backgrounds. Many times, it isn"t a person's fault by being ignorant to politics. Every year, many immigrants and refugees flee their respected countries looking for a place of refuge. Most of the time, they turn to the "land of opportunities", here in America. And when these people finally reach the US the last thing on their mind is trying to "make a difference" by voting for one candidate over the other. From our knowledge of the nature of people we may also hypothesize that a child will most likely follow in the footsteps of his/her parents. If the parents feel voting is useless you can be sure that as long as the child isn"t greatly educated, he will follow his parents beliefs. When an individual isn"t well educated, he or she might not understand how a candidate could affect their lives. This understanding comes with the understanding of the election process. Another enormous demographic reason for nonvoting is that of religion. Many times, members of different religions have feelings that are not common to any of the candidates. This, therefore, leads them to disregard the voting process. In addition, statistically, older people and senior citizens are more likely to vote.