The young student is fidgeting in line at the polls ready to make an impact on history. The reason such a young person is able to vote is because of the Motor Voter Act, which allows for citizens to register to vote when they register for a driver’s license. This young citizen is just one of the many who have taken advantage of their civic duty; however, it was not always so. Young people were not allowed to vote until the 26th amendment had passed in the late 1900’s. This amendment allowed the legal voting age to be lowered to 18 years old, yet this didn’t come at a small price. The citizens had to rally and petition, much like the current 16 and 17 year olds. At this time, these younger citizens are following in the footsteps of their older counterparts, because they too …show more content…
At this age teenagers are highly politically invested. In addition, they understand that to not to be informed would result in the feeling of voting apathy. As student, we understand what hangs in the balance during elections, because that is our primary focus in history. I, myself, serve an example through my personal experience as a senior taking AP Government. I completely understood what was at stake, and I was very aware of each candidate's planned policies. For this reason, I had desperately wanted to vote because I understood what was going not just between the candidates, but as well as the propositions. I felt as if it were my civic and moral duty to vote for president as well as propositions, because I was so invested in each aspect of the election. In addition, I would go on to say that I relinquish the idea that as a 17-year-old I ‘“dilute” the value of the ballots cast by “older, more experienced voter”’(Shin). Rather, I feel as I am making a positive impact because I'm not going in as an ignorant teenager, but instead as an educated
...adults compared to older adults were less likely to respond that voting was extremely important for good citizenship (133). He concludes that it is too late for the generation of young adults that do not feel voting is an important civic responsibility, however, that it is not too late to convince them that politics matter by showing them that they are giving their opportunity to make important decisions that may impact their lives to others who have different ideas. One may agree with Wattenberg’s idea that habits follow people throughout their lives instead of changing as they cycle in life. His personal accounts are an impactful way to illustrate the importance of building a sense of duty at a young age and carrying that responsibility throughout one’s life.
It is our civic right and duty to actively participate in governmental affairs. This recent election really highlighted the divide in opinion regarding the importance of governmental participation. “To many, our democratic system seems so broken that they have simply lost faith that their participation could really matter,” West writes in his essay entitled The Deep Democratic Tradition in America. Young people feel unimportant and irrelevant, which explains the lack in turnout from young voters ages 18-29. However, it wasn’t just young voters that didn’t turnout. Millions of eligible voters didn’t show up for the 2016 elections. A democracy without active participants is a democracy bound for
It’s very unsettling to know that there was a six percent decrease in young voters (ages 18-29) in the 2012 election compared to 2008 (Circle Youth data). In 2007 the National Conference of State Legislatures publicly released a report and data set on voter turnout in democratic countries. This is a quote from that report titled Getting out the Vote, “It should be noted that in 1972, 18-year-olds were added to the eligible voting population, thus decreasing the percentages. Nonetheless, voter tu...
Research has brought about an abundance of reasons why youth are becoming less engaged in the political process. Education, absence of political knowledge, the media and family influence, indifference to election campaigns, inadequate amount of change, and lack of motivation are all possible factors in influencing the youth voter turnout.
Political inactivity on the part of young Americans stems from one fundamental source -- a general cynicism of the American political process. This disdain for politics is further perpetuated by a lack of voter education and a needlessly archaic voting procedure that creates barriers to voting where they need not exist. While many of these existing problems can be rectified with relative ease through the implementation of programs such as Internet voting and better voter education, such programs create only a partial solution.
Should We Really Give Children the Vote? Sixteen year old Vita Wallace is an activist for children’s rights. In her argument, “Give children the vote,” she attempts to show that an injustice has been made to citizens of the United States. Wallace’s major claim, or thesis (McFadden, 2003), is that citizens under the age of 18 shouldn’t be denied the right to vote on account of age.
The United States of America is known as the nation of freedom, a place to make dreams come true, and where equal rights are followed. However, our education in history shows a different perspective. The citizens have had a complicated time convincing the mind of Congress on modifying the rights of the people. Before, women could not vote to choose the future of America, yet after many marches, the women who rose up to speak with great fervor accomplished their goal of making it possible for women to vote. The Presidential Election is a time for people to vote for the leader of the country. As I turn 18 yrs old, I have the opportunity to vote for this country’s future. What led me to the desire of voting was hearing Donald Trump’s negative
Voting participation is one of the most common controversies in today’s society. Thom File of the Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections, 1964-2012 states that, “Voting rates, which represent the number of voters relative to a given population or subpopulation, have varied across recent election cycles with the general outcome being that voting rates increase with age. In every presidential election since 1964, young voters between the ages of 18 through 24 have consis-tently voted at lower rates than all other age groups, although young-adult voting rates have fluctuated from one election to another (Young Adult Voting: An Analysis of Presidential Elections,
“Illiterate citizens seldom vote. Those who do are forced to cast a vote of questionable worth. They cannot make informed decisions based on serious print information. More frequently, they vote for a face, a smile, or a style, not for a mind or character or body of beliefs. Sometimes the can be alerted to their interests by aggressive voter education
As President Franklin D. Roosevelt once put it, “Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country” (Roosevelt 1938). In their book, Running from Office, Lawless and Fox argue that a “high-quality, well-functioning democracy demands that the next generations hears – and then heeds – a call to public service” (3). While this assertion is certainly true to some degree, the real problems of democracy will arise when young people disengage themselves from politics altogether. Despite having low interest in running for office, young Americans still show significant interest
The United States has never required its citizens to vote in midterm and general elections. Because of that, America’s voter turnout has never been significantly high. Within the past 50 years, the presidential election has never exceeded 65%, while midterm elections have never exceeded 50% (Hudson 144). In fact, the 2014 midterm election had the smallest voter turnout since World War II. One reason of why there is a relatively low voter turnout for elections is the lack of motivation. Some citizens may think their voice may not have a significant impact in the Electoral College system, so they don’t participate at all. However,
In this paper, the reasons why young people do not vote will be explored and solutions as to how to get them to vote will be proposed. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), there are five main reasons why young people don’t vote. The graph presented uses census survey data from 2010 for citizens 18-24. The graph was broken down into two groups, those who are and are not in college. The first reason cited was being away from home or out of town, 23% of college students stated this and only 5% of people not in college stated this.
Every 4 years we get a new president and U.S citizens go out and vote for whoever they believe is good enough to win the presidential election. The only way to vote is by being 18 years old or older or else you can’t vote. In my opinion I think it's very important to go out and vote because in this case it affects our every aspect in our live such as school,healthcare, and homeland and a lot more other things in our lives. By people going out there and voting it’s showing your opinions on how you think that the government should operate. In the next paragraph I will talk about who I voted for and why I believe she should win.
Many people think of the 206 million eligible voters in the United States and think, “How could one vote possibly make a difference?” Or perhaps some find themselves too busy, while other non-voters are simply uninterested in politics. With a combination of all excuses, about 75 million people that were eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential election chose not to. That’s 75 million unheard voices! 75 million unrepresented individuals make up approximately 36% of all eligible voters. That number of people could easily change the outcome of an election. When put in perspective and fully understood, it’s realized just how important it is for every eligible voter to vote, and do so responsibly. The significance of voting is commonly misunderstood. Voting determines things from the president of the United States, to a small town mayor, to representatives, which all in turn determine everything from war, to taxes, to a child’s education. This country was politically formed into something previously unknown to the world, and with citizenship to this great country and democracy, comes great responsibility. It is a right as U.S. citizens to choose to vote or not; however, it is a duty and obligation to do so, for the sake of those who have fought, for friends and family, and for this country as a whole.
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.