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Electoral turnout is falling among the young, and political apathy is on the rise.

A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.

We've got 50 percent voter turnout for presidential elections. That's appalling. We can do so much better.

I reject the notion that a high turnout helps Senator Kerry. I think in Florida at least, it's going to help President Bush because we have gotten more registered voters than the Democrats, and our base is just fired up - thanks to your help and a lot of others.

We have just been working hard to have people to come out to vote and to make sure people understand how important the election is.

Improved turnout will give parliament and government the appearance of being more legitimate.

Low turnout in off-year races is always a challenge for Democrats. Many of our voters require information and must be contacted way ahead of Election Day - and reminded of what's at stake.

As people do better, they start voting like Republicans - unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing.

Voting is fundamental in our democracy. It has yielded enormous returns.

One lesson is that if you want to predict voter turnout, you should ask whether at least one candidate is attracting high levels of enthusiasm - not whether the stakes are high, or even perceived to be high. That fits the historical pattern.