Essay On Voter Turnout

American political campaigns were party-centered until the mid 1900s. This changed when JFK became a candidate. He had enough money to create a campaign that centered around his candidacy. This began the reign of candidate-centered campaigns which would last until the 1980s-1990s when the rise of technology gave birth to consultant-centered campaigns which would be big within invisible primaries. The era of consultant-centered campaigns is still taking place.

Last year, many residents of Sherwood, Oregon voted for various different things on November eighth, 2016.Even though the adults of the area were voting, one of the ballots could greatly affect the students of Sherwood School District. This vote was to completely change up the buildings in the district, and even add in an entirely new one. The vote and was very close and as a result, causing many issues in the community. The vote eventually went through, but some are concerned it won’t work out. The vote was for the new Sherwood High School.

Wadiya Fanous Mr. Landrith APUSH 5th 7 November 2017 DBQ- Political Participation Participation in political campaigns and elections in the United States between 1815 and 1840 contributed to maintaining continuities, such as the continuing prominence of political parties, and fostering change, through increased male suffrage and the emphasis on appealing to a large group of voters when campaigning. The United States was established as a country based on democracy, led by the policies outlined in the constitution. The people were able to vote for representatives, which are then placed in the senate or the house of representatives.

These instances make it difficult for the people of the nation to feel as though they truly have a say in the presidential election; most tend to give up voting in its

This often leads to the winner of the popular vote receiving a disproportionate number of electoral votes relative to that candidate’s national popular vote share. For example, in 2012, Barack Obama won 332 of the 538 electoral votes, approximately 61.7% of the electoral votes, while only winning 51.06% of the popular vote. This leads candidates to search for states where a small victory in the popular vote will allow them to gain a large number of electoral votes. If we consider economic theory to be a relevant comparison when analyzing elections, winning electoral votes is a zero-sum game, that is, for a candidate to win a state’s electoral votes it must come directly at the expense of the other candidate who is then prevented from winning those same votes. As a result, candidates target these competitive states and flood them with advertisements and campaign stops in an effort to not only win the electoral votes for himself, but also to prevent his opponent from winning said votes.

From the 1830s to the 1840s, voter turnout increased by over from about 57% to about 80%, which is over 20% difference. Although it is important for as many people to vote as possible, the importance of voter turnout becomes less significant when knowing that the voters are less representative of the total population and voting can be manipulated. For example, during the voting process, there was the possibility of buying people’s vote. Now that white men without property and education could vote, their votes could also be bought. This would be a beneficial to them because they could get money they did not have in the first place in exchange for their vote, and it would be beneficial for the people buying their vote because it meant they now had one more vote in their favor.

Not only does this campaigning style diminish voter turnout, but it also causes candidates to cater their platform around what would benefit “swing” states rather than the nation as a whole. A candidate who needs Iowa’s electoral votes in order to win the election will have a platform that features ethanol subsides and agriculture-friendly policies, while a candidate’s platform who needs Florida’s votes will neglect to mention a cut in Medicare spending (Black, Minnpost). The way that candidates choose to campaign is a direct result from attempting to work the system in an effort to obtain as many electoral votes as possible, despite the

Introduction An electoral system or voting system is a mechanism by voters to make a choice between the options put forward before them. This part of rules is the most controversy about electoral systems for converting votes into seats. According to Hague and Harrop (2001), an election is a competition for office based on a formal expression of preferences by a population. These opinions are then combined into a collective decision about which candidates have won. As Abraham Lincoln said “Election belong to the people.

Voting is one of the many civic duties, as an American citizen, that is the most exercised. In the recent years, the voter turnout has increased from the previous years, but the turnout is still less than desired. In the 2008 presidential election alone, 61.7% of the eligible United States population voted and 53.7% of the eligible Texan population voted. This is much better than previous years, but still does not show a collective effort on the part of all eligible populations to vote. Americans have been known to have low voter turnouts.

The United States prides itself on being a democratic nation that serves its citizens, yet its voting system throws democracy away in favor of efficiency. Even on the state level, not all states are represented equally when electoral votes are distributed. Finally, the Electoral College discourages third-party candidates from running, giving too much power to the two political parties of the nation and robbing the nation’s citizens from potential leaders who could change the country for the better if they could win the

However, there are several ways to combat this problem. One way to get more voters to show up at the polls is have election officials mail ballots to all registered voters. This makes it easy for registered voters to select their candidates on their own time. This method to obtain more voters is in place in two states currently, Oregon and Washington. This method has proved effective because “in the 2010 midterm elections, just [Oregon and Washington] exceed 70 percent participation” (Koas).

However, one of the key characteristics of a healthy democracy is a high voter-turnout. If people do not turn up on Election Day, it is likely that they do not see the point of holding elections or the conditions are not suitable for them to vote. People vote because they believe that their vote has the power to make changes in the country. Voter apathy often develops when voters do not see voting as a way of voicing their concerns. America therefore continues to tread on risky ground, if a way of increasing voter turnout is not found.

During the birth of our government, our country’s leaders promised our democracy would be the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.(Bernie Sanders) In our current society, it has been said that our political campaign finance system is corrupt and primarily controlled by billionaires, wealthy donors, and corporations. Many say our government has strayed from the original democracy that our country was built upon. Despite this claim, if monetary restrictions for campaigning were set then there would be controversy due to wealthy supporters and corporations wanting to support political candidates. Millionaires and wealthy organizations might come together to form super PACs.

In the United States, people always talk about freedom and equality. Especially they want elections could be more democratic. In American Democracy in Peril, Hudson’s main argument regarding chapter five “Election Without the People’s Voice,” is if elections want to be democratic, they must meet three essential criteria, which are to provide equal representation of all citizens, to be mechanisms for deliberation about public policy issues, and to control what government does. Unfortunately, those points that Hudson mentions are what American elections do not have. American elections do not provide equal representation to everyone in the country.

Many people believe that the election plays the most important role in democracy. Because a free and fair election holds the government responsible and forces it to behave on voter's interest. However, some scholars find evidence that election itself is not enough to hold politicians responsible if the institutions are not shaping incentives in a correct way. In other words, the role of the election on democracy, whether it helps to serve the interest of the public or specific groups, depends on other political institutions. I