. >> election day getting closer, three weeks away and were joined by jan leighley professor of public affairs government. here to talk about the segment why people choose not to vote. in general, with the common thought is that midterm elections are lower turnout but why do people -- what are the reasons they get for not voting? >> a lot of times their port they don't have information about the election and they don't care or they don't want to have anything to do with politics. it is not worth the time or effort to make it to the polls on election day. >> look at the midterm turnouts as lower than the presidential election, has that always been the case? historically, have turnout levels in the united states below? >> in terms of the terms, yes. there's about a 20 percentage point difference lower turnout in the terms compared to presidential elections so this is common. there is far less information and campaign excitement and mobilization activities in the midterms. historically in presidential elections the turnout has not declined systematically but it tends to go up a little bit

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, micha

host: we will hear from jan leighley.est: 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: jan leighley, thank you for being with us this morning. guest: thank you. host: we will continue on with m

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 becau