With the Presidential Election rapidly approaching, voter turnout rate is one of the most important statistics and political phenomenon worth studying. In a country that is supposed to be governed by the people, America’s voter turnout rate is remarkably low. There are many causes for the lack of civic engagement in the American political process. One of the main objectives of Political Parties, at a grassroots level, is finding out why people aren’t voting, and then doing as much as possible to ensure that all eligible voters are registered and go out and vote. It is imperative to our republic to get to the root of voter apathy, and discover the remedies that can improve it. Americans are plagued with low political efficacy and part of that
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(Penn) argues that students who are just entering college, even though they are only slightly more educated than their peers, are more likely to vote because “they are an environment where people commonly engage in political discourse”. It may seem that once people leave that environment they may revert to not voting, but that is apparently not the case. Penn’s article starts off by stating, “Numerous studies demonstrate that the highly educated are more likely to vote. The literature has not determined, however, why this is the case.” It is reasonable to assume that those who are more highly educated will have a better grasp on the issues at hand during any given election, and that they will have a better understanding of how the political process works and why it is important. Remedying this aspect of the voter turnout problem is not so simple, as the government cannot force individuals to get higher education. An environment of political discourse must be cultivated outside of our schools, to ensure that all eligible Americans are informed on the issues and eager to have their voice …show more content…
Our Electoral College system makes it appear as though certain votes matter more than others. A Republican in a state that always goes for a Democrat, and vice-versa, may feel less inclined to go vote, because of the Winner-take-all system our Electoral College designed. Voter Turnout is higher when the election is perceived to be close (Geys). This is why states like Florida and Ohio had much higher turnout rates than Texas and West Virginia. But this does not just apply to Presidential elections. Voter turnout in midterm elections are abysmal, with only 36% of people voting in 2014. This is due in large part to the incumbency advantage in local politics. Even though Congress has very low approval rating, 96% of house races were won by the Incumbent in 2014. This remains true in state level elections, as name recognition is the biggest determining factor in predicting a winner. People are not inclined to vote, because for the most part they already know who is going to win. Some people advocate for term limits as a means of fixing this issue, but a heightened civil discourse may be just as viable. Also as explained by (Blais), America is so highly populated that it would extremely difficult to get a higher voter rate. Many people find it hard to take the time to go to vote, having to deal with work, and family affairs. The idea of making Voting Day a national
(Penn) argues that students who are just entering college, even though they are only slightly more educated than their peers, are more likely to vote because “they are an environment where people commonly engage in political discourse”. It may seem that once people leave that environment they may revert to not voting, but that is apparently not the case. Penn’s article starts off by stating, “Numerous studies demonstrate that the highly educated are more likely to vote. The literature has not determined, however, why this is the case.” It is reasonable to assume that those who are more highly educated will have a better grasp on the issues at hand during any given election, and that they will have a better understanding of how the political process works and why it is important. Remedying this aspect of the voter turnout problem is not so simple, as the government cannot force individuals to get higher education. An environment of political discourse must be cultivated outside of our schools, to ensure that all eligible Americans are informed on the issues and eager to have their voice …show more content…
Our Electoral College system makes it appear as though certain votes matter more than others. A Republican in a state that always goes for a Democrat, and vice-versa, may feel less inclined to go vote, because of the Winner-take-all system our Electoral College designed. Voter Turnout is higher when the election is perceived to be close (Geys). This is why states like Florida and Ohio had much higher turnout rates than Texas and West Virginia. But this does not just apply to Presidential elections. Voter turnout in midterm elections are abysmal, with only 36% of people voting in 2014. This is due in large part to the incumbency advantage in local politics. Even though Congress has very low approval rating, 96% of house races were won by the Incumbent in 2014. This remains true in state level elections, as name recognition is the biggest determining factor in predicting a winner. People are not inclined to vote, because for the most part they already know who is going to win. Some people advocate for term limits as a means of fixing this issue, but a heightened civil discourse may be just as viable. Also as explained by (Blais), America is so highly populated that it would extremely difficult to get a higher voter rate. Many people find it hard to take the time to go to vote, having to deal with work, and family affairs. The idea of making Voting Day a national