Final answer:
True, voter turnout began to decrease after the election of 1896 due to a variety of factors including single-party dominance, restrictive voting laws, and disenfranchisement measures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that most scholars believe voter turnout decreased around the 1890s is true. The strong>decline in voter participation was noticeable after the election of 1896, where participation in presidential elections fell significantly in the following decades.
Factors contributing to this decline included single-party dominance in many regions, restrictive laws affecting third-party ballot access, the decline of urban political machines, and other institutional changes that reduced the influence of elected officials.