The article "Unequal Participation: Democracy's Unresolved Dilemma" by Arend Lijphart, published in the American Political Science Review in 1997, addresses the issue of low voter turnout as a significant democratic problem. The author identifies five key reasons for this issue: (1) systematic bias against less well-off citizens, (2) unequal political influence, (3) relatively low turnout in the U.S. compared to other countries when measured as a percentage of the voting-age population, (4) poor turnout in less salient elections, and (5) a declining trend in turnout globally. To address these issues, Lijphart proposes two institutional mechanisms: combining voter-friendly registration rules, proportional representation, infrequent elections, weekend voting, and concurrent holding of less important elections with national elections; or implementing compulsory voting. The latter option, despite normative and practical objections, is argued to have significant advantages.The article "Unequal Participation: Democracy's Unresolved Dilemma" by Arend Lijphart, published in the American Political Science Review in 1997, addresses the issue of low voter turnout as a significant democratic problem. The author identifies five key reasons for this issue: (1) systematic bias against less well-off citizens, (2) unequal political influence, (3) relatively low turnout in the U.S. compared to other countries when measured as a percentage of the voting-age population, (4) poor turnout in less salient elections, and (5) a declining trend in turnout globally. To address these issues, Lijphart proposes two institutional mechanisms: combining voter-friendly registration rules, proportional representation, infrequent elections, weekend voting, and concurrent holding of less important elections with national elections; or implementing compulsory voting. The latter option, despite normative and practical objections, is argued to have significant advantages.