We are living in a democratic society where struggles were endured so that our decisions are made by ourselves. In that case, is it not important that we strive for the highest voter turnout to ensure that all the voters are properly…
Keep the Voting Age at 18, or Lower the Voting Age. Recently, some people have called for lowering the voting age from 18 to 16, claiming it could improve voter turnout. All sorts of dire preidictiond were made when the voting age was lowered to 18. Most of the arguments can't be taken as an argument. Lowering the voting age would actually decrease these already low percentages.…
In my opinion, participation is our biggest weakness to a healthy democracy. Participation numbers are down due to low voter turnout, and this looks bad because to other countries, we are the shining star of democracy. For instance, many Americans did not vote in the last election because they believed that neither candidate qualified for President of the United States. Also, some citizens have a nonchalant attitude towards long-standing incumbents, and this drives the voter turnout way down because most people feel like the incumbent will win no matter who the challenger might be. In our very own state, Senator Thad Cochran has been in office since 1978.…
“Since World War II, no presidential election has ever involved 65% or more of registered voters!” ( Should Americans Be Required to Vote? para. 3). This staggering percentage shows that something needs to change to increase voter turnout.…
In the book By the People by James A. Morone and Rogan Kersh, it goes on to talk about how the voter turnout in the U.S. is lower than a lot of other industrialized countries. We know this because it says that, “The united states has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the world. Most stable democracies register voter turnout rates in the 65 to 80 percent range, far higher than America's. In one of the top five countries, Australia, voting is compulsory- required by law. In the U.S., while a high percentage of registered voters turn out to vote, a much lower percentage of the voting age population is actually registered to vote.…
The states have been given the freedom to set their own standards based on such aspects as citizenship, age, non-felon status, and residency, among others (Goldman, Berry & Janda, 2008). Throughout the state of Texas voter turnout has been at a low. In the 2014 Texas primary election, there was just a turnout of 13.3% of registered turnout. This is about 3% lower than the 16.3% turnout in the 2012 primary. By looking at this we can see that the law passed by the Texas legislature is affecting the voting turnouts.…
There is declining participation in local elections because of many reasons such as, voter apathy, a dislike of the candidates, work conflicts, the feeling that their vote doesn’t count, and a lack of knowledge about the candidates. In “Voter Turnout Plummeting in Local Elections” Aaron Weinschenk suggests the reason for lower voter turnout in local elections is due to “the negativity surrounding government in general is seeping into local government” and “polluting politics at all levels” (para. 4). According to Governing State and Localities “For municipal elections, turnout rates are generally less than 20 percent” (121). That means that only about one-fifth of the local population is casting a vote.…
I completely agree with you, Zeke. Low voter turnout is definitely a problem since it doesn’t represent all citizens. Americans today do not realize how much freedom they have as an American citizen. Also, if citizens don’t want to participate in elections then they should not complain about the outcome.…
Many people have busy schedules and do not have time to physically go and vote. Adults do not have much free time compared to young people. Nowadays, Americans work more hours than in the past. In fact, a lot of them work more than 80 hours per week. That makes it hard for them to find a spare time to vote.…
The United States of America are among the lowest amount of voter participation. Some people think the answer is compulsory voting, but is that the right idea? No, Americans should not be required to vote because it goes against our rights and is time consuming, it decreases voter satisfaction, and it increases the amount of uninformed voters. Compulsory voting may be the answer to other countries problems, but not the US. Americans should not be required to vote because it goes against our rights and it is time consuming.…
Although compulsory voting has not been implemented in many democratic governments, those that have adopted its method show very high voter turn out. Since 1924, Australia has been a leading example of how efficient mandatory voting can be when implemented properly. Mandatory voting has many benefits that would not only aid the political system of ones country, but also countless other factors such as economics, foreign policy, and the general will of the people. Obama has even considered instituting this type of policy in the very free and democratic United States of America stating, “…mandatory voting would empower these groups and counteract the influence of big money in elections…”[Josephine Tovey]. With a compulsory voting law in place…
Every year, United States citizens flood to the ballots to input their opinion on a vital issue, ranging from presidential elections to local and state decisions. However, in recent years, voter attendance has drastically fallen. In the 2016 presidential election, the voter turnout was only 58%. (telegraph.org) It is fundamental that we recognize the significance and importance of voting, not only for ourselves but for our country. Currently, there are more than 80 million people who cannot vote.…
The United States Constitution was established on September 17th, 1787. It currently stands as one of the most influential documents in American history. One of its most powerful aspects are the laws of the land that have been created to form structure and equality. These rules and commandments are what shape national government and give a basis for political hearings. If any of these amendments were to be taken out and/or replaced, then it would change the whole makeup of government and freedom.…
Voting: a Right or a Requirement? Although only 60% of eligible voters vote, voting should be an option rather than a mandatory task. People have their reasons for voting and not voting, and they should be the ones to decide whether they want to or not, rather than forcing someone who isn’t educated in politics to vote, which could completely change the outcome of an election. Compulsory voting would be a bad idea as it would alter the results negatively by causing people who don’t care about politics to just vote for someone randomly, the idea itself is unconstitutional and against everything the document says, and it would just ruin the point of voting as results could end up being inaccurate.…
Compulsory Voting Believe it or not, fifty-seven and a half percent of Americans voted in the 2012 presidential election. That is a little over half of all Americans that are eligible to vote; so many ask, what about the other half? The top three reasons people do not vote is because they are too busy and have a conflicting schedule, illness or disability, or simply because they lack interest. Voting is important, after all the end result is the leader of the United States or maybe even your local government. Compulsory voting, also known as mandatory voting, is a system in which voters are required to register to vote and to go to their polling place or vote on election day.…