th district u.s. house race between the democrat candidate, republican candidate, and green party candidate. >> c-span's "washington journal," live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up this morning, university of florida professor michael mcdonald discusses the trends in early voting and what they mean for the midterm elections. the arm control associations daryl kimball talks about the trump administration's threat to terminate a cold war nuclear arms agreement with russia. david osterman previews the races to watch in campaign 2010. be sure to watch -- 2018. be sure to watch "washington journal." join the discussion. we areeeks away and joined by jim lately who was a professor of public affairs at american university in the nation's capital.

talk with us about why people choose not to vote. general, the common thought is midterm elections are lower turnout. what are the reasons they give for not voting? guest: a lot of times they report they do not have information about the election. they do not care or do not want to have anything to do with politics. it is not worth their time or effort to make to the polls on election day. host: look at the midterm turnouts as lower than the presidential election. has that always been the case and historically, have turnout levels in the united states been low? announcer: in terms of midterms --guest: in terms of midterms, yes there is a 20% difference. this is common. there is lotuses group issued into campaign -- less

information and campaign excitement. historically, in presidential elections the turnout has not declined systematically but it tends to go up a little or down a little depending on the ,ampaign so issues of the day whether the economy is good or not, other factors influencing individuals decisions. >> based on the election of a new president and issues surrounding the 2014 midterms, what is your sense looking at a three weeks from now how turnout will be this year? guest: most are expecting high turnout. the question is whether there might be a partisan difference in that turnout. their oftentimes is. of theporters presidential election of the winning party, those reporters stay home. they won in the previous election. they are either satisfied or disappointed by what happened. so they do not go that extra

effort to make it to the polls in the midterms. turnout is typically higher for the opposing party. the out party whose activists and voters want to make a difference. is their data to show the effect of a couple things -- states where a voter id is required or states where there are fewer polling places than historically had been or any data on the impact of hacking another -- tampering with election systems. host: we do not have anything systematic on tampering but on the voting laws, we are starting to collect a fair amount of evidence that suggests these morees, making it difficult whether that is closing precincts are changing precincts, having them further away from your home or slice of business, can have a negative

effect on turnout. often have a negative effect on turnout. you are making it more difficult for people to turnout. it is easier to stay home. the interesting thing about photo id is often there is a counter mobilization effect. if it becomes a political issue. while the adoption of the law might increase turnout, if more groups immobilize voters saying they are trying to take voters rights away. you will see people respond. host: where we compared to the rest of the world? guest: are turnout is generally lower but that has to do with the details about election laws come election districts and such. are different but not necessarily unique on that point. host: our guest is jan leighley

lately, professor of government a --ublic affairs at american university. joining us to talk about the upcoming election, particularly white people do not vote, we would like to hear from you. if you never voted, here is the fomite to use. would love to hear from you and why you choose not to vote. the other binds are like this. if you vote in some elections is if you vote always, that these numbers. 202-748-8000 202-748-8001 independents: 202-748-8002 . reach us on twitter. washington post had this story that shows their poll. the voters appear ready to turnout numbers to be 2014.

three weeks before the critical midterm elections, voters are expressing significantly more interest in turning out where they were roger years ago. -- across is up and all democratic groups. those who say they are in favor for democrats in the house typically are younger and nonwhite voters underrepresented in these midterms. guest: young voters are underrepresented. inn you compare voters presidential elections to midterms, if they are younger who lose their voting power because there cannot rate are lower than those of older adults. that has been a historical pattern and really changed. there is a bump up in younger turnout, in obama's first election but that was it. today, story from usa

records 29 million hispanics eligible to vote. more than 29 million hispanics will be eligible in november's midterm elections walking -- welcoming a percent of voters. that could prove request democrats try to win one of both changes of congress. writesite -- alan gomez overall increases is tempered by the fact hispanics have underperformed on election day compared with white and black voters according to analysis. we have calls waiting for jim lately. on our line for those who sometimes vote, alexandria virginia we hear from charles. welcome. caller: good morning. i vote every chance i can. i did 10 years in iraq and afghanistan as a civilian and i was not always able to get my absentee ballot back and forth across the atlantic in time, but

other than that i am most always vote. one thing i would like to say is people do not realize the reason we vote tuesday in november is so the farmers can get their crops and at the end of the summer and voting on the weekends is a sin. i would like to see election they moved to april 15 to help focus the mind on the election. grandfather was born in 1900 and he thought franklin roosevelt -- the moon and i -- voting was important. host: his idea of changing the election day makes interesting history on why it is the first state in november. guest: your historical details are excellent on that point, on

the historical reasons we have done elections when we have. it has just been -- i believe there was a letter in the washington post proposing academics have proposed and started a group. mike alvarez. move to makeoup to election day a holiday. in many democracies come election day is either the weekends or a holiday where people have off work have a which means it can make voting easier and if we want higher turnout, making it easier can make a difference. host: let's go to virginia. ace always votes. good morning. i always vote because i think that is one of the only things -- actually, voting and jury duty are one of the two the constitution should

ask of us. i am a process service member. as the military, that was a huge response ability. i think it is beholden on us as citizens to do our duty as american citizens and that is to vote and serve on jury duty. when i hear people say they do not vote for whatever reason, then why are you upset? host: there is not a constitutional obligation to vote but it is your sense there has been a civic duty to vote. held --s a wildly widely held belief in older individuals to shift from -- of thinking from voting as a duty. that is a key part of citizenship and its

possibilities and being a member of a community among younger individuals. courtis not nearly the for that notion. it is a choice you make and it is a choice among a set of actions one might take were not take to try to influence politics or express your opinions. there was nothing especially unique or duty-bound about casting your vote. host: who votes now? this is a look at the turnout by age in off year in elections going back from 1974 all the way .hrough 2010 in the older age group, 61-75. in off year election turnout, these seemed to be the same sort of float when you look at income brackets and the

, we dodecline of turnout not have 2014 in their the we are seeking. that reflects the issues of the day whether we are in the second term of a presidential election and that emphasizes the effort political candidates put into getting people to vote because of issues at stake or control of the house at stake. whatever the politics of it is. candidates, parties, independent groups. ask people if they need to vote. give them information and we see increases in turnout. host: did they have the upper hand in terms of enthusiasm? caller: they do because often there is a perception the policies and actions of the party in power over the previous two years have either threatens them or they stand in opposition

to those actions. so they can step up and try to do something. host: we have set aside a line for those of you who never vote and we go to halley. tell us why you do not vote. caller: the reason i do not vote is i do not trust the system. back in the days, they would not have technology we have today. i think it is a way they can get information on the and i do not trust the system. host: how common is that response? guest: i do not know how common but ithe technology it is would say it is confusing and frustrating to figure out how to vote. .ach state is different some states spend money for local voting, alexa ministers who try to do their best to make it easy and safe secure for individuals to vote.

it can be frustrating to know how that system is set up. host: we hear from dominic who is a regular voter. isler: i think this year more important than any other we have congress and the senate to stop this president. it is unbelievable. i am begging my kids, they are all democrats. i am begging them to vote republican. we cannot stop the trump agenda. i had a part of my house -- at my house. everybody who came over had to bring a cop. three years ago, every person who came was worried about losing their homes. everything was going well and we have to go out and keep this guy 's agenda moving.

i hope everybody does the right thing and votes republican. it is important today. host: thanks. , connecticut. go ahead. guest: -- caller: first, thanks for c-span. i called on the sometimes vote line and though i am calling from connecticut, i am registered to vote in an happened and sometimes the candidate that is up for election, because of the number of registered democrats in it is futile to -- so to speak. -- is going to win the upcoming election by 75%. it is a lopsided situation. for thoseke to say

people who are interested in voter participation, i believe donald trump is going to increase vote up dissipation, to .eights never seen before that is pro-and against him and for that, increasing voter precipitation. i thank him. guest: yes. i think it is true. one of the things donald trump waydone is in a distinctive and with what the color suggested is he is giving individuals a choice on variety of important public policy. he is making clear choices in taking a stance that in years past, president trump candidates have not offered or are not willing to make claims or offered arguments he has made. citizens have a charged.

-- choice. what are you hearing from those who will vote are you hearing ?rom those who will not quote 202-748-8001 -- guest: american university are enthusiastic about getting out to vote and voting. a tweet from jason who says we should make registration automatic with the drivers license and a story on that. the success of that in georgia area georgia sees a new surge of voters. more than half a million voters have been registered including the ranks of women and minority groups that tend lean democratic. much increase is the result of the change for tribal -- drivers license reform.

applicants and automatically register to vote, how's that automatic registration become popular across the country? it has been adopted by an increasing number of steaks. automatic remember does not mean it does not connect you to candidates are issues in the campaign. the georgia case is an important one where stacey abrams for governor investigated resources for getting registered voters to cast ballots. it is a two-step process. you have to have both in place. host: he talked about a woman

who try to reregister but a month left before the election, this woman's application won us over 53,000 sitting on home with georgia secretary of state brian kemp's office and unlike appling nuñez, many on that list may not even know their voter registration has been held up and to point out the secretary of state is the republican candidate for governor. guest: yes registrations are on hold because they do not match identification that has been provided. order lists are notoriously error filled and difficult to match to drivers licenses, especially for a unique name .ather than john or susan there are issues with requiring that match. sam, hello. caller: i'm a second law student

at the university of maryland and i have always voted and one of my -- one of the things i studied in my undergrad degree at george washington university is the judicial election -- in judicial elections a few people participate in that begs the question of whether it is the .emocratic contest when you only have 40% or less of the electorate turning out, is that the democratic contest. those who do not vote are advocating civic duty of the colors have alluded to. we have localities in states. we will see a lot of that. guest: judicial elections are tough. you have a shift of appointments from having elections driven by spending and we do not know who is doing this spending. we have little information in

the media communities about actions or decisions or effectiveness of judges. one might argue an appointment system provides a different set of judges that might be superior to low turnout elections which might not represent the full body of potential voters. host: let's hear from another caller. this is david in illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: fine, thank you. 3 -- caller: i tried calling different times to talk. i am a 60-year-old white male, never voted throughout all the years. shame on me. because of everything i have seen going on throughout the past year, especially from the

democratic seniors, i am disgusted at their behavior and i feel i need to do my part in .hose thing my vote you can do through the computer. you can do it in person. i urge everybody please get out and vote. host: david, are you going to do it in person or a mine in danville? a better part of it online but i will be receiving -- i am disabled so i will receive people were to my home to be able to vote and then mail it back in. you pointed out midterm elections are run by states. absenteehe status of programs across the country? who is programs are lacking? guest: absentee programs are

widely supported. state elections officials learned how to manage. one of the challenges is getting that balance back on time so so citizens counted are doubtful that can happen or will not trust the mail service. one interesting trend we are seeking is citizens are more likely to drop absentee ballots off at election boxes or election locations rather than put them in the mail. once they drop in the mailbox, the not sure thing they will arrive. thoughts from a wild and wonderful who tweets, i was to my children into the booth with me and explained that by voting, i was fiddling one of the two duties of citizenship.

by the time they were six, they understood that. good morning, robert. caller: good morning. it is amazing to me how the same bad ideas keep getting bandied we needed an essential -- the essential answer is to rename election day procrastination day and replace it with election season, then i believe other states have. a electionn day is three-hour window. it doesn't 40 million people in philadelphia, the lines were two hours long. i cannot believe it has been challenged -- not been challenged in court. democracy is a sham and that people are deprived the opportunity to vote.

shortecause the window is repeated suggestion about an election being a holiday is it will cost me billions of dollars for a state to provide an election season. host: we will get a response. aret: election officials trying to do a lot with limited resources and having to guess a lot. when are all the people going to show up? -- show it. guest: we have studies. i think if there are problems, one might think that we will try to solve them and that is a practical issue. problems are not as widespread as what might appear to be the case. the other point about maryland's

has extensive early voting. one implication is there used to election day and election day was a community of that, even are interactive with other people. you the members of your community. when are the consequences of election reform? now we will do home with our absentee ballot and we drop it in the mail and there is lex collection to the local community, which changes the nature of theit changes the nate experience. jan jan leighley is an author. we'll get one more call. ocean, indiana. this is daniel, who does not vote. tell us why. caller: i grew up as a conservative republican, but i never voted because we were always taught it doesn't really matter. after last year's, or two years

ago, the presidency, and this whole kavanaugh case. duty.it was my i have a lot of friends who have never voted who are voting for the first time this year. we hear how the democrats are going to win on the voting day. i am not saying it in my area. everybody is fired up as far as republicans to vote. to is it such a big issue have a photo id to be able to vote? i don't understand that. host: you are in favor of that then. caller: i am in favor of that. host: do you have that in indiana? caller: yes, we do. host: we will hear from jan leighley. guest: you're right that for

many people it is something we already have, so offering that photo id does not impose additional cost. for some individuals, people who don't drive, more rural residents, older individuals in their 70's, 80's, 90's might not have the paperwork they need or have official documentation. the cost, the effort they have to go to to secure that information might not seem as easy as what you might expect. people get frustrated about standing in line on election day. imagine having to drive 30 miles to the county seat to sort out your records to get a photo id a month or two months or three months in advance of election day. for many people, photo id is just part of modern life, but

not everyone. llers whohave two ca said they don't vote, but this will be the first election they will vote in. guest: we have choices. we have policies. it is about politics. host: >> c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues. coming up this morning, michael mcdonald discusses the trends in early voting. then the arms control association's daryl kimball talks about the trump dismantling a nuclear arms agreement. be sure to watch "washington journal."

join the discussion. >> here is some of our live coverage tuesday. , a10:00 a.m. eastern discussion on the murder of jamaal kush show be -- jamal khassoghi. onn the vice president pence efforts to establish a u.s. face force. then efforts to leave the european union. two, the impact of the european trade policy. then the debate for the illinois 12 district. >> the c-span bus is traveling

across the country on our 50 capitals to her. looking forward to the november midterm elections, we are asking -- s >> i usually don't have a strong opinion on who takes over in midterms or presidential i'mtions, but this year basically voting democratic. just because a lot of things have been happening in the republican party, they don't sit well with me from a moral standpoint. i think there are a lot of people who disagree with their leaders and are not saying so. they are towing the party line to toe the party line. there are a lot of things that i find favorable in both parties

and i usually tends to vote my conscience, but this time i think i'm voting for who i think will have the moral high ground. >> i think i would like to see congress go to the democrats just to see a change in values and views and try that for a wild. not sure if that is going to matter, but i would like to see a change. >> as a democrat, i would like to see my party take control of congress. i think if the congress changes hands and democrats are in charge, we will have policies that are more prounion, pro-life, pro-environment, and a very necessary check on an erratic white house. >> voices from the state. more debates this evening. new york congressman sean maloney faces james o'donnell

for new york's 18th congressional district. live coverage starts at 6:00 p.m. eastern. maryland's sixth district. watch tonight at 9:00. campaignary source for 2018. a rallydent trump held in houston for republican senator ted cruz, who is running for reelection against him a credit congressman beto o'rourke . the president covered a range of .ssues this is about one hour and 40 minutes.