Attitudes toward voting and elections are shaped significantly by intangible factors, such as trust and sense of belonging. Two recent national reports shed new light on both:
- Trust in government has been on the decline for some time, and Americans have many ideas how to stop the slide, as shown in Trust and Distrust in America, a report by Pew Research Center.
- Americans also have a lot to say about their sense of community, as indicated in the American Enterprise Institute’s Survey on Community and Society: Social capital, civic health, and quality of life in the United States.