In the United States, low voter turnout rates depend on numerous aspects, such as: the type of election, the requiring of registration, level of education that has been accomplished by the voter, and the voters’ socioeconomic status. The type of election in America is different compare to other democracies around the world. Most democracies have more than one day to vote, but in the United States is on the first Tuesday of November. During election season many citizens do not vote due to the registration process. The responsibility is on the citizens to get registered to vote. Many are too busy and do not have time. Others are registered, or at least they think they are, and find out on election day that there’s a problem and sometimes they cannot vote that day. Sometime voters are not aware and educated of the voting system and can get caught up by what social media/ news have to say about the parties and their candidates. As a result, they get caught up and end up not voting because they cannot decide who to vote for because of the influences that surround them. Many people also believe that their vote does not make a difference and as a result, don’t even bother to register. And many of them are young adults, who their voices are not being heard because the majority of them are not voting, and leave it to the older people to vote. The majority of the people in the United States do not like the electoral college system because they feel as if their vote does not count/ or make a difference. The election system is different in American than any other nation and its …show more content…
Low voter turnout is a problem because then the elected candidates are only being elected by a small sampling of society. If the public does not participate on Election Day, then Democracy will not serve the general public. That’s why it is so important to vote, so the general public can be heard, and not just a small sampling of
With compulsory voting many countries become successful. Germany,Peru, Australia and many more countries have been required to vote since the late 1800’s to the late 1900’s (Doc A). In Brazil those who don 't vote have to pay a fine, causing many to not miss their voting slot time
Hey jackson! I completely agree what you said in your discussion. The low voter turnout should not be worried about and that it is a good thing in general. The people should not vote if they are not interested or are not educated on the election. As you said, If you introduce and educate the people on politics this should help the low voter turnout in time.
There are a number of differences in the demographics between the ones that are and are not politically involved. Older people tend to vote more than the younger people by their concern toward the government, as well as the number of white Americans voting more than the other minority races would. The educated will vote more than the uneducated by having more knowledge of the election, along with families with higher income of over $65,000 having time to vote than the low income ones of $35,000 or under. The ones who shows party identification would want to get involved in politics, whereas independent individual would not care as much. People who grew up with specific ideology would want to have a say in politics, in contrast to those who did not.
The world is full of problems, some are recognized, and others are not. You wouldn’t think that the world’s lowest voter turnout rate is found in the world’s largest democracy. But, surprisingly, it hasn’t gotten much attention. Ironically, the approval rating of congress is at just 15%. Americans aren’t voting, and they don’t approve of who gets elected as a result of their refusal to participate, I think there is a responsibility issue here.
There is not just one reason as to why voter turnout is so low, it is actually the collection of a few reasons. For example, some people stated that they were simply out of town, which in the U.S. you are only allowed to vote in your state of residence. Other elderly voters claimed to be sick or had a disability that prevented them from going to the polls to cast their ballot. Another reason could be that people had registration issues of some sort that didn’t allow them to vote. Then there are voters that are discourage that their vote is useless when it comes to voting on any matter.
Voter Turnout in Texas As stated in the prompt voter turnout in the state of Texas is amongst the lowest in the nation. Many people seem to be confused or in awe as to why Texas has such a low voting rate. The truth in reality is that there are quite a few reasons why the turnout in Texas is so low.
Voter turnout in the 2014 midterm election hit American democracy hard. The country’s average turnout was 36.3%—the lowest it’s been in 72 years. Worse yet, no state exceeded 60%, and in the great state of Utah, only 28.8% voted.
The factors of voting behaviour are age, location, race, class, education and issues. All voters must be 18 years and above to vote. Location determines a person’s voting behaviour as he/she can get involved in that tradition from family, peers and community. Race, class and education are the main influence of voting behaviour. There is less alternation government when there is a dominant race to keep its party in power.
The serious lack of voter turnout contradicts this responsibility. There are individuals who speculate that it would be beneficial to make voting mandatory, with repercussions for those who do not vote. At the beginning of the course, I had believed that voting should be made mandatory. I thought that it would inspire people to vote, and would increase the numbers of turnout that way.
The United States currently faces a severe problem with one of their governmental processes. In the democratic system of the United States, politicians are elected by voting from the citizens, in most cases. The problem the United States is facing is that people are no longer voting in elections for officials. This problem is discussed in the article, “In praise of low voter turnout”, written by Charles Krauthammer. The main idea behind this article is that voters are no longer interested in politics, as they were in previous generations.
They know that the real votes are going to come down to only the Electoral College votes. American citizens are lead to believe that by going to the voting polls, and filling in the little dot on the voter card for their own choice in which the next president will be will actually count. When in reality, they are only voting for who will be elected to vote for the next president. This is the choice of electors, and the selection is governed by state laws (Barbara A. Bardes).
“ While compulsion of any kind is a restriction, so is the compulsion to drive only on the right side of the road.” ( “Is It Time To Consider Mandatory Voting Laws? Worsening Voting Statistics Make a Strong Case.” by John W. Dean.) One way voter turnout can increase is by compulsory (required) voting.
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.
Throughout the recent years the majority of the able voting population are exercising their privilege to vote. Even during the presidential elections the voter turnout rate was 50% or less than that. The act of voting should be a personal responsibility of every citizen meaning it should be a obligation. But to specify on this statement, it should not lawfully required to vote because people also have the right not to vote too (and it would be weakening personal liberties) , but it should be a personal responsibility for citizens if they are to complain about how the government run rather than every citizen. A personal responsibility is when we are the cause of our own actions.
when talking abou politic, voting is an important thing to do, but there is a controversi abot it. On one side of the contoversi thre are the people who support the idea of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16. On the other side there are the people who do not support the idea of lowering the voting age fom 18 to 16. On the side of the people who do not support the idea of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 states that "Most younger voters do not bother to vote at all" nowadays mots younger people rather to play video games or navegate on social medias, they don't have time to think about the future of their contry. With this in mind, why would we want people who don't have time to think about the futre of their contry to vote.