Pros And Cons Of Convenience Voting

In 2012, the year of the latest presidential election in the United States, the population of citizens capable and legally allowed to vote was 235,248,000; however, only 129,235,000 voted, making the voter turnout of 2012 54.9%. This statistic, being only slightly over fifty percent, makes the opinion of the other half completely irrelevant. The outcomes of the presidential election do not accurately portray the opinion of the nation due to the low voter turnout. Due to the lack of time, the complication of registration, and the opinion of voters that their individual vote does not matter, the voter turnout of the United States has been negatively impacted; however, these issues can be resolved through effective means of changing the mindset

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.

It is clear that American voters tend to avoid local elections and off-year elections. Run-off elections are also likely to register lower voter turnout as compared to first-round elections. The larger the gap between first round elections and run-off elections, the higher the decline in voter turnout. Moreover, there are lower percentages of young people voting as compared to the older population. This is an important point to note since it highlights that young people do not have information guiding them on the importance of voting.

Those most affected by voter suppression are the marginalized groups in society that have been targeted since the dawn of time. But have trends in voting rights always been this way? I argue that trends in voting rights fluctuate from progress to regression and that this pattern still holds true today.

Compulsory voting Mandatory or compulsory voting is the practice of making the entire population vote. Political scientists argue about which is preferred, and there are definitely reasons why people support mandatory voting. However, in this day and age, we have moved on beyond the ‘divine right’ of rulers to rule. Voting is the body of democracy, and freedom is soul of voting.

Every citizen has the right to vote, but not everyone does these days. It’s important that all people vote in the country and compulsory voting will assure that, because voting is not just a right, it’s a responsibility like Jury duty. Throughout the history voting laws had changed from time to time and from country to country and till now 30 countries around the world had used compulsory voting and got effective results and their countries developed due to good elections that were built in people’s opinion.

Abi H. Civic Reflection Issue 1- Change in Point of View: In Canada, voter turnout has become a major issue; as there is a large amount of the population that does not vote in elections. Back in 2008, a total of 58% of the countries` population voted in the election. This is a startling low number, which since has begun to increase only slightly in recent years. In a democratic society, voting is essential for it to function with its full potential. Doing so enacts one of your basic responsibilities as a citizen, as well as shows that you are staying involved in your community and government.

“ 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.

Barbara Boxer once said,“Every citizen of this country should be guaranteed that their vote matters, that their vote is counted, and that in the voting booth, their vote has a much weight as that of any CEO, any member of Congress, or any President.” This quote is a perfect example of why the Voters Suppression shouldn’t happen at anytime, though yesterday voters in the Wayne County District didn’t take advantage of voting at all. Voting should be offered to society and took under consideration if the requirements are met, every vote counts. Voter Suppression was a definite strategy used yesterday for several people not to vote, especially in Vermont voters and poll workers were faced with locked polling places, long lines, Power outage, and Ballot shortages. In Philadelphia a Republican inspector got caught entering a machine and pushing buttons for a voter.

Political participation is defined by the authors of Texas Politics as “all of the opportunities we have as individuals or groups, associations, or political parties to join in shaping common life”. (Pg.52) Chapter 3 of Texas Politics discusses political participation in great detail, addressing virtually all aspects related to the evolution of political participation. Cal Jillson divides the chapter into several sections: The Evolution of Suffrage, Modern Voter Registration and Turnout, Decision to Vote (or Not), Political Campaigns, and finally, Types of Elections (Chapter 3). Suffrage is strictly defined as the legal right to vote (p.54).

Over the course of time Americans have been  fighting for the right of freedom. There was a once a time when only white males who owned land were able to vote. However, now some individuals are requesting that America has a mandatory voting law. Mandatory voting is the creation of a law to obligate every American citizen vote. If any citizen does not vote, he or she may face consequences such as a fine. Mandatory voting can have many disadvantages and advantages, that can result in either creating problems or solving them.

If some citizens who are qualified to vote are denied the right to cast votes, it is considered as a severe abuse of political equality. The debate about the age of electoral majority has taken place for a long period; however, there has been moderately slight attention in the debate given to the exclusion of young people from the vote (Tremmel, 2015). Some of the critics of lowering the voting age to sixteen claim that the young people do not possess the capability and motivation of appropriately taking part in the elections. Some studies have shown that the turnout of the voters ages 18 years is relatively low, however, this cannot specifically attribute to the motivation to take part in the election (Wagner, Johann, & Kritzinger, 2012). This shows that this the issue of the age to the electoral majority is of significance and should be discussed.

Retrieved from http://www.fairus.org/facts/us_laws Justwan, F. (2015). Disenfranchised minorities: Trust, definitions of citizenship, and noncitizen voting rights in developed democracies. International Political Science Review, 36(4), 373-392. doi:10.1177/0192512113513200 Logan, J.R., Darrah, J., & Oh, S. (2012). The impact of race and ethnicity, immigration and political context on participation in American electoral politics.

Your vote doesn’t count. I realized the truth of this statement after a recent experience. Knowing the Hyde Park Municipal election draws closer, I work to complete my registration. My first time voting, I research the candidates and prepare my voter’s card. I become excited, when in reality, this preparation is in vain.

Voting represents the collective choice, during the voting process, individuals' preferences are taken together, and eventually they aggregate their diverse opinion into a social choice. Although there are many alternative voting systems, they cannot always deliver in all situations. The reason is stated by Arrow, and it shows that it is impossible to find a perfect system. Therefore, it is important to weigh up the strength and weakness, then choose appropriate method among various alternative