A voter's feeling of influence or effectiveness in politics is called?

• A. apathy
• B. ballot fatigue
• C. political efficacy
• D. nonvoting voters

Answer: (C)

Political efficacy is the sense that a voter's actions can influence political outcomes. It includes internal efficacy—confidence in one’s own ability to understand issues and participate—and external efficacy—belief that the government will respond to citizen input. When people feel their vote counts and their voice matters, they’re said to have high political efficacy, which helps explain why they participate in elections. Apathy means a lack of interest, ballot fatigue is weariness from the voting process, and nonvoting voters are those who do not vote at all—these describe attitudes or behaviors, not the feeling of influence itself.