More handpicked essays just for you.
The pros of civil disobedience in a democracy
The effects of civil disobedience
The effects of civil disobedience
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
People Should Not Be Blamed For Not Voting
Over the generation, voter turnout has steadily declined in democratic countries like the United States of America, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Some people insist that people who do not vote should be blamed since they should have the social responsibility for not participating in improving their society. Also, they assert that people do not vote should not criticize the government because they did not vote. However, people who do not vote should not be blamed since the social environment is discouraging them not to vote, voting is a right, not a duty of a citizen, and not voting can be used as a tool to improve the society.
First of all, the whole society is demoralizing people from voting,
…show more content…
It is an undeniable fact that numerous human beings have fought for their right to vote. However, it does not satisfy the qualification for vote to be a duty of the citizens. Human beings’ will was establishing and gaining freedom to ballot, not making it a rule and duty of the citizens. This indicates that citizens were given their option and choice whether to vote(). If people are not interested in politics so that they do not have enough information to compare each candidate, they are more likely to make more irrational decisions rather than choosing inappropriate people. This can lead to a terrible consequence which will seriously harm and interrupt overall aspects of the society. This indicates that those people have to pass over the choice to other people who have enough information and proper subjection, rather than just voting without any information or concern. Freedom of speech, press, and religion doesn’t mean that people should have religion and should express their voices toward the society. To sum up, as people have many kinds of freedoms, the right of voting is just a freedom to vote, not a duty to
Contrary to what may seem logical, majority votes under a compulsory voting system do not necessarily represent accurate opinion. Rather, compulsion encourages apathy, characterized by “a lack of concern, enthusiasm or interest” ("Definition of Voter Apathy"). In essence, voter apathy “occurs when voters decide that they really don’t care who wins or loses” ("Definition of Voter Apathy") due to “a general feeling that a person’s vote doesn’t matter or even a distrust in regards to how the election is actually being run” ("Definition of Voter Apathy").
The Chartist movement (a working class political movement) in 1840 believed “People had no one else but themselves to blame for the actions of their politicians” (Nash). What Mr. Nash and the chartist movement believe couldn’t be more on the spot. This country has gotten to the point where people find it hard to walk down their street to the elementary school where the voting polls are, and take a few minutes to cast a vote. A vote that millions of people around the world wish they were able to have them selves. With all the political suffrage that goes on through the world and people forced to love a leader, these no-shows should be thankful to live in a democracy. A place where elections aren’t rigged and the people are truly heard. This is why the topic of voting turnout needs to be raised. Also it’s very annoying to hear people complaining about our President when they did not even vote. It’s a very bad habit to not vote, and it needs to change with the younger citizens of this country. Helping younger people see the importance of voting needs to start with technological and educational ideas while expanding all the way to social event ideas. Only then will America’s ability to find answers to voting turnout increase.
Regardless of the political environment, it is the responsibility of voters to take initiative in becoming politically involved. However, the current electoral system in the United States is not one that fosters voter participation, but instead often discourages voting altogether. This is evidenced through the lackluster voter turnout in the United States, which is amongst the lowest of any democratic nation. While it is convenient to blame this lack of democratic participation on a lazy and apathetic public, the root of the problem lies elsewhere. The current system of winner-take-all elections, strategic gerrymandering, incumbency advantage and governmental unresponsiveness to constituent desires is enough to deter even the most politically consci...
In fact, according to Elections Canada, during the 2011 federal elections, only 61.1% of Canadians exerted their duty as citizen. Hence, some think compulsory voting can remediate the situation. However, mandatory voting is what really could hurt democracy. By forcing every eligible voter to go to the polls, misinformed voters will randomly cast their ballot. Sceptics may believe that by fining individuals who refuse to go to the polls, there will be less ignorant voters. For example, in Australia, where voting is compulsory, Australians who do not cast their ballots have to “pay a 20$ penalty” (Australian Electoral Commission). However, by financially penalising citizens who do not exert their duty, many will be so dissatisfied by the incumbent government that they will simply vote for a party that would not make voting an obligation. These people would ignore the party’s other policies instead of being informed on all the challenges that the country faces and how each party plans on solving them. Nonetheless, the elections are an occasion to elect a leader whose ideologies on many aspects, from immigration to the environment, matches the voter’s most. As a responsible voter, one has to know the policies of each party and has to try to obtain enough “social-scientific knowledge to [assess] these positions” (Brennan 11), which takes a lot of time. Therefore, compulsory voting would make voters more informed, but only on a narrow aspect while ignoring the other issues that should be taken into consideration when choosing the party they will vote for. All in all, mandatory voting would hurt democracy despite the higher participation
Should we have the freedom to chose weather we vote or not? Currently the United States allows citizens not to vote, but some believe that this makes our politics undemocratic. Some think forcing people to vote is against the freedoms we have today. In the following essay, I will give the views of Arend Lijphart and Austin Ranney about these topics.
...eople not voting! Americans are becoming less educated on the issues that they are facing as well as the candidates running at the time of office. However, according Longley (2011) ”Still, 93 percent of infrequent voters agreed that voting is an important part of being a good citizen and 81 percent of nonvoters agreed it is an important way to voice their opinions on issues that affect their families and communities” (pg. 1).
In America, political candidates go against one another in a process known as an election in which citizens vote for the next person who "best" fits the position. In addition, there are various amounts of debates on whether a citizen should be compelled to vote. Although some argue if citizens should be required by law to vote, there are exceeding an amount of disadvantages.
According to (Doc B) not even 50% of the new population of voters in between the ages of 18-29 don’t Vote. If I am understanding this correctly the future of are country is not voting for a leader! Since 1952-2012 the voter turnout has decreased by 10% (Doc BE). Indications of voter turnout is decreasing are defined by statistics that prove that not very many people are not voting. Frequently associated with the people that vote the most have higher education than others. Citizens with a postgraduate education 84.2% of them vote, compared to a less than high school diploma of 39.5% (Doc B). Voting turnout is widely acknowledged as very low and exhibits that are population does not vote no more then approximately 57% of the registered voting
Thus, inactivity in voting threatens the very legitimacy of our government. In the recent November 7, 2013 midterm election, a few counties reported a mere 4% of eligible voters actually participated, in some cases, in voting for a policy referendum that would affect how millions of dollars would be spent in the coming years.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Voting helps our country make hard decisions, but others want no part in it. Forcing all Americans to vote is an extremely authoritarian decision to make. It stuffs ballots with inattentive voters. If the government forces us to do unnecessary activities, our buzz among foreign countries will begin to blow hot and cold. Not only will it be very undemocratic of our government to force us to vote, but uninformed voters will be flooding polls as well.
Voter turnout has been declining in the United States throughout history through the potential voters’ personal choice not to vote and ineligibility. According to research a large percentage of individuals are not voting because political parties fail to appeal to the voters and this leads to the voting population losing interest in the campaign, while others postpone registering and by the time they realize their delay the election is upon them.
Just one vote can have a lot of significance. People who usually don’t vote in the United States are young, lower income citizens, usually don’t have the time to vote because they're working hard to get towards the middle class, or just uneducated about voting. Older and wealthier citizens tend to vote. Just imagine the benefits of mandatory voting it would most likely reflect the opinion of the whole nation, especially including the poor who tend not to vote when its elective. Also, it will decrease the likelihood of special interest having undue and extra influence on government policy. My position on voting is that voting should be mandatory considering it is the American right to vote. By making voting a mandatory law, this will make the American have to go to the poll to vote for this too should be the Americans duties and as a citizen to
Voting has been declining over the years and as a result, governments are debating over whether or not people should be forced to vote. Canadian citizens should not be forced to vote; ultimately, this would have a negative impact on society. In an article explaining why people shouldn’t be forced to vote, Kirkup states, “We are, as far as is practically possible, free to do as we wish, speak as we wish and think as we wish because we have the vote. We choose the people who rule and make our rules, and we do so using votes that we cast freely” (Kirkup). People who live in democratic societies do so because they have rights but mainly they have freedoms.
Lisa Hill a professor at the University of Adelaide who spreads the yes, in mandatory voting, “If voting were mandatory in the U.S., people would be inspired to pay more attention to campaigns... ” (Junior Scholastic). Many might think their vote doesn't count, so government should express how it does and not make it a unpleasurable activity by making it mandatory. However much, there is truth in that point, an election simplifies down to one person over another other. My point still stands that unwanted force is never good and America should not accept that. It is human nature to show displeasure to forced activities that weren't done by will before hand. It isn't convenient for some citizens, and if registering for voting was much easier that there might be a higher voter turnout (Scholastic Magazine).If the government wants a higher turnout, than people shouldn't be making time for the government, the government should make more time for the people and not stripping us of our freedom.
The action of voting is such important role in how our country is going to be developed, especially effects on the economy, foreign relationships, society, etc. People are becoming much involved in politics, which is extraordinary because it means that the people are understanding how important their vote is and how it brings change to the issues that truly bother them. Many citizens don’t vote because they are either lazy or too busy, they either have jobs, classes, families, or other responsibilities take care of, but voting is a responsibility that should be attended. Voting could be the thing to prevent awful political leader’s to be put in office who are not focusing on what’s truly important, which is the people, which means that