Shared group consciousness among individuals of ascriptively deprived social categories acts to mobilize strongly identified group members, suggesting that old age identifiers among elderly Americans should also participate in politics at higher rates than those found for non-identified older people. Survey data from both the 1972 and 1976 presidential elections, however, reveal that the opposite is true--old age identifiers were less politically involved than the elderly who did not identify with "older people." Alternative theoretical explanations are offered for the observed negative correlation between old age identification and participation: (1) old age identifiers are disadvantaged by low levels of human and socioeconomic resources which prevent them from participating; (2) the unexpected lack of involvement among the age conscious elderly is a reflection of the personal powerlessness and apathy associated with popular stereotypes of the aged; and (3) both individual and group related attitudes of political efficacy influence participation. A multivariate empirical test of these different hypotheses indicated that the political participation of elderly Americans is affected by their socioeconomic resources and perceived influence. (Author)