Simply educating one's self requires no risk, just time. But no one wants to read the minutes of a city council meeting, or delve into the numbers behind issues. For example, it's telling to me that only a handful of US states offer parental leave, when I ask my family members in child rearing ages if they voted are not, they say no.
I know there were candidates who supported laws that would have benefited my family members, such as sick leave, parental leave, etc. I informed my family members who these candidates were. I even asked them what kind of life would they want for their daughters. But nevertheless, on voting day, none could muster the will to visit a polling booth or request an absentee ballot via mail. Yet it's not as if they are wealthy enough to forgo having jobs.
Therefore, I must surmise it's simply laziness.