Interest Groups Help More Than Hurt Voter turnout has declined since 1960 but participation in interest groups has been growing. Participating in interest groups allows people to take action on issues that are most important to them. Unlike some linkage institutions, interest groups have a very close connection to government. Interest groups are an essential part of the democratic system because they allow the public to enter the political system, bring up specific issues in government, and help congress in various ways. Interest groups specialize in policies where as interest groups are policy generalists. Statistics show that most Americans are