Why are minority voters less likely to show up at the polls?

I assume minority voters mean persons of color who are underrepresented in everyday politics. It might make sense to be more precise with this term since what counts as a minority really depends on the location or district. For example, in some areas of California Latinos are a plurality or majority of the population, depending on where you draw the boundaries. And likewise in some areas of the country Republicans are a minority and in other areas, Democrats are a minority. So maybe underrepresented groups would be a better fit if this is what you had meant.

That said, there are two main reasons that underrepresented groups tend to be less mobilized. First, underrepresented groups have less access to wealth and resources, so the barriers to participate are higher not only for voting but also just to follow politics and to be engaged in other ways. Second, members of underrepresented groups tend to have less of what political scientists call "external efficacy," which is the feeling that your voice is empowered to make a difference in politics and is typically the result of feeling shut out of avenues for influence. I have done research in collaboration with members of Congress that shows when members of Congress reach out to engage their constituents directly in an online town hall, then the traditional demographics are unrelated to interest in participating -- and in particular, we find that non-white participants express a greater interest in engaging in that more deliberative interaction than white participants. So much of the demobilization is simply due to underrepresented groups feeling shut out of and so disempowered by everyday politics.

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