Reich said there is truth in these explanations for non-participation. Politicians focus on issues which concern the middle-class swing voters, "thereby fulfilling the prophecy--self-fulfilling prophecy-- of the low-income, working class people who don't vote."

Director of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate Curtis B. Gans said the lack of focus on lower class poverty is self-evident during election campaigns.

"As voting goes down...the common interest suffers," he said. "Do you ever hear anything about inequality? Do you ever hear anything about inner cities?"

Gans said the decline in voter turnout can be directly attributed to a discontented populace.

"There is no poll--not one--that indicates satisfaction among non-voters," he said.

Thomas E. Patterson, Bradlee professor of government and the press at the KSG and the co-director of the Vanishing Voter Project, also placed some of the blame on politicians and their perceived lack of character.

Patterson said a poll conducted last week by the Vanishing Voter Project showed 43 percent of Americans believe "politicians are liars or crooks" and 70 percent of Americans think "politics in America is pretty disgusting."