How many times have you found yourself complaining about the government? It isn’t hard to, as the government never generates decisions that everyone agrees with, but what have you done about it? Well, if the answer is nothing, you aren’t alone. Only about 37% of eligible American citizens voted in the important 2014 election (McDonald). Fixing the issue of low voter turnout won’t be a one-step process, but it has the potential to transform American politics forever. American citizens should be required to vote in all general elections to greatly increase voter turnout in order to increase the influence of democracy and improve American politics. Low voter turnout has become an epidemic among American voters. With each passing election, …show more content…
First of all, let’s explore what compulsory voting actually is. “Compulsory voting can be defined very simply as the legal obligation to attend the polls at election time and perform whatever duties are required there of electors” (Birch 2). Numerous countries impose sanctions on those who do not vote- these sanctions usually are fines, while some even require a small amount of jail time (“International IDEA”). Those worried about potentially unfair sanctions by the US Government must remember that when this country was founded in 1776 our founding fathers had legitimate, long-lasting rules for this country, so our government surely will not have trouble creating fair rules and regulations. Surprisingly, this American concept of mandatory voting has been a reality for Australians for nearly a century now. Australia’s society, political structure, and government are synonymous with America’s except for one fundamental difference. In 1924, Australian parliament enacted mandatory voting after only 90 minutes of debate, and it’s gone largely unchallenged ever since (Weiner). This begs the question: Why can’t mandatory voting work in the U.S? In his article, Eric Weiner notes that “Australia, along with Belgium, is the only ‘mature democracy’ that requires citizens to vote and actually enforces the law. Americans certainly relate to Australians. “We share similar historical narratives…a frontier spirit, and a laid-back nature...” (Weiner). On average, 48% of the entire American electorate- American citizens eligible to vote- actually cast their ballot on Election Day. That number has dipped to as low as 37% and has only reached a peak of 67%. (McDonald). Thus, even on a high turnout election day, just two-thirds of Americans vote the president and other important
In document C, John W. Dean who was legal council the the U.S. President Richard M. Nixon said, “While compulsion of any kind is a restriction, so is the compulsion to drive only on the right side of the road. Requiring citizens to vote is no more restrictive than requiring them to register for the draft. And it is far less restrictive than requiring us, for example, to attend school; to serve on juries, possibly for weeks or months at a time; to pay taxes; or to serve in the military when drafted”(Dean). That shows the multitude of laws or requirements in America that are less important than voting, but are required. Voting is for the good of the country, yet people won't vote, but won't bat an eye when they are forced into jury duty.
Firstly, the idea of compulsory voting that involves every citizen having a civic duty, rather then a right to vote, which has been introduced in over 20 countries worldwide, a good example being Australia. In Australia, the system has been a success, producing an impressive turnout of 94% in the 2013 election, which therefore means that the Australian government will have a much higher level of legitimacy compared to the UK. However, critics of compulsory voting argue that such a system is undemocratic by itself as it does not provide a citizen with a choice on whether to vote or not, resulting in a serious debate around the issue. However, I must agree with the critics of the system, as the people voting because they have to, are likely to be less passionate and well informed about the person they have to
The Electoral College system should be scrapped and be replaced with popular vote because it is unfair. By abolishing the Electoral College and replacing it with popular vote, it would represent citizens equally, it would allow citizens to elect their president just as they elect their governors and senators, and it would motivate and encourage citizens to participate in voting.
In America, voting for the President is a privilege and a lie. Many Americans think when they go to the polls in November, they are voting for the President of the United States; but really, they are voting for a group of electors who have pledged to support a nominee for the President. The Founding Fathers were concerned that presidents would always come from a populous state and wondered whether the public would have the knowledge of various candidates necessary to make a wise selection. They did not have access to technology like the internet or smart phones as we do. In most states, as the result of the election, the state awards all its electors to the winning candidate (Belenky 1308). A Presidential a candidate must win 270 Electoral
First, one reason why Americans should be required to vote is that it will educate the citizens. Evidence supporting this reason is in “Unequal Participation: Democracy’s Unresolved Dilemma, American Political Science Review” Aaron Lijphart stated that “By compelling people to vote, we are likely to arouse in them an intelligent interest and to give them a political knowledge that do not at present possess.” This evidence helps explain why Americans should be required to vote because when citizens are required to vote it gives them a political understanding that they didn't have before voting. Most citizens will research
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.
...er to understand why voter turnout is so low. As a society we must take into consideration all of these and find ways to promote higher turnout rates, whether it be through social reform programs to increase citizens socioeconomic status, more education, better political environments at the home and community level, or less restrictions on voting. In order for our society to effectively and efficiently function we must participate in our democratic system at higher percentages than an average participation of roughly 40 percent.
Adding restrictions of voting such as implementing fines will utterly change the prevalence of our nature in our country. In source #1 (“Telling Americans to Vote , or Else) by William A. Galston, mandatory voting is straightforwardly civic. A democracy can’t be strong if its citizenship is weak. And right now American citizenship is attenuated-strong on rights, weak on responsibilities. In 1924, Australia adopted mandatory voting and required costly fines if individuals didn’t participate to vote but why pay a fine that is equal to a traffic ticket than to not register a simple vote. As Abraham Lincoln states, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish
In the United States we are all guaranteed one vote per person. Everyone has an equal voice in electing the people that serve in the government. Every four years during the month of November citizens of America go to the polls to vote for a president and vice-president of the United States. Am I right? Not really. They actually vote for electors that then vote for our president. It makes me wonder, "Are we a democracy?" Having the Electoral College defeats its purpose. I oppose the electoral college for these three reasons, in election 2000 the president that lost the popular vote actually won, everyone's vote doesn't really count, plus the electoral college has disrupted elections fifteen times!
Recently, only 60% of registered voters have actually voted in presidential elections. This brings up the question: should Americans be required to vote? This question receives very mixed answers. Many Americans believe that they should have the choice and the freedom to vote or not; many Americans also believe that mandatory, or required, voting is simply a civic duty. Currently, American citizens are not required to vote. Citizens seem to like this system, but because voting is not mandatory, the amount of citizens that vote in elections is rather low. Americans should not be required to vote because it forces people to vote that are uninterested, makes citizens unhappy, and damages other people’s votes.
There is a way that is already put in use to increase voter turnout in Australia is to make voting mandatory. People in Australia are forced to vote or they will be fined, or even jailed if they do not vote repeatedly. It is very effective in term of improving voter turnout; however, there is still some argument against it. One of them being people would only vote because they have to, so they are ignorantly voting for the candidates just to be done with it. I completely agree with this idea. The voter turnout can be really high, but it would be meaningless if the people just vote to escape from the punishments. Yale Law School Professor Stephen Carter also suggested that, instead of punishing people do not vote, we should reward people who vote. It is the same with the mandatory voting. I think it will only be effective in increasing the voter turnout, but the results will not. People should vote voluntarily for the best and fair outcome. To have more people voting, I believe we should take a look at why people do not vote. We must assure people that if everybody thinks their vote does not count, then no one would vote. We should be able to change their attitude about their own votes. If people cannot vote because they are busy with work or schools, we should have a national day off on the election day. By doing so, much more people will be able to participate in voting. There should also be
The "silent majority" of the American people is now accepted as the status quo, the way things always have been and will be. Voter turnout is now the litmus test for political participation. Non-voters are becoming rampant in our democracy, with voter turnout hovering around a low 60% for general elections. At this rate, a candidate would have to win over 80% of that 60% vote in order to have true majority support. 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 to vote for a policy referendum that would aff...
"There is a reason for the country to embrace mandatory voting, and it may be the most compelling: democracy cannot be strong if citizenship is weak," _William A. Galtson_. Mandatory voting, or compulsory voting, is a law wherein citizens are required to vote, or suffer the consequence. Australia has had compulsory voting since putting it into effect in 1924. "The turnout of Australian elections has never fallen below 90 percent since the introduction of compulsory voting in 1924," _Australian Electoral Commission_. Achieving over 90 percent of the citizens voting for nearly a century shows that mandatory voting is working in regard to getting people to vote. Governments should have mandatory voting because the people will educate themselves
The Electoral College. It’s something you don’t hear people talking about often. Let me tell you what it is. An Electoral College is a group of people that cast their vote for a state. States usually have multiple electors. For example, California has 55 electors (making it the state with the most electoral votes), meaning they put in 55 votes in for whichever party they are for. California is a democratic state, which puts all 55 votes with the democratic candidate. Texas is the next state with the most electors, coming in with 38. Texas is a republican state, so the republican candidate gets Texas’ vote. The way a state is democratic or republican is from the winner takes all system. Let’s say Trump has 3 votes, and the Hillary has 4, the candidate that has more votes takes all the votes from that state, making them have 7 electoral votes. There is also something called a swing state. A swing state is when a state has an equal amount votes for either candidate.The swing states are Ohio, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Everyone has the right to vote, or not to vote in the years we live today. People decide whether they wish to participate in the nation’s future or just walk aimlessly and allow it to take its own path. Over decades, centuries, our country continued growing but just recently did it allow all to vote as long as they call this nation home. Run-on Sentence: Over decades, centuries, our country continued growing, but just recently did it allow all to vote as long as they call this nation home. However, large amounts of people still do not vote in any politics. Today everyone should understand what differences a vote could make like what can happen, why it matters, and benefits of voting.