Voter Turnout In The United States

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.

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.

In Australia voter turnout doubled, going from “47% prior to the compulsory voting law... [to] voter turnout hover[ing] around 94%-96%” (source 1). Increased voters does mean a more accurate sample size of the population of the country. However, those voters who did not come before are now on equal footing with the men and women who studied and thought about the right candidate for the country. After all, a vote is a vote, and if half the voting population strikes through the first bubble and walks out the door, the first bubble candidate will win unfairly, and clearly not in the true interest of the people.

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.

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 concept of voter turnout is simply the total number of people that voted in a given election. The number of people that show up to vote during a given election is usually compared to two metrics, VAP and VEP. Voting Age Population takes into consideration all people that are older than the voting age in a given area, which is 18 years old in the United States. Voter Eligible Population uses the VAP and subtracts those over the age of 18 that aren’t eligible to vote, which includes and noncitizens and felons. VEP also includes American citizens that are overseas at the time of the election.

In the world of politics, voting is one of the most vital aspects to politicians, the local community, and the state. It gives the people who live in the communities a chance to let their voice and opinions be heard through their choice of who they want to represent them in political office or to take care of their town or city. Although many share this opinion, there are people who do not care to vote and do not get involved in politics. What is the underlying reason for this group of people to distance themselves from political affairs? Registering to vote can be a deterrent for many people because it requires effort to file all the correct paperwork and stay in good standing, which may be the cause for low voter turnout within Texas.

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.

We often assume that the reason behind the low voter turnout in the U.S. is due to institutional challenges (i.e. voter ID laws, registration, costs). Therefore, reformers most often focus on offering and improving various forms of convenience voting to increase turnout. Skeptics such as Graeme Orr argue that “voting whenever, from wherever, is a ‘lifestyle’ option.” Another skeptic, Adam J. Breinsky, argues that convenience voting has “perverse consequences on election reform” and that encouraging political engagement is more valuable than pursuing institutional changes. Although convenience voting offers flexibility and comfort, it is imperative not to overlook what Election Day is supposed to be: a communal event.

From the 1867 to 1963 Canadian federal elections, the voter turnout has been relatively high. Since then, voter turnout has been descending where in the 2011 election only 61% of Canadians decided to vote. In the

Spillane also states that the reason for this number is not because this age group is lazy, 87% of the group volunteered or donated (Spillane). There has been a drop in the participation of young adults, more specifically college students, in elections but something needs to be done. Voting is one of the ways that we let our representatives know

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.

“ 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.

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.

Wisconsin was highly effected by the voter’s id laws. It is estimated that 10,000-15,000 did not vote in the presidential election because of the voter id law (Berman, 2017). The strategy