Voting and Elections in the United States

The United States has an electorate evenly matched to the complexity of its government. As other nations have joined the brotherhood of Democracies, our level of political engagement has seemingly suffered in comparison to that of our fellow Republics. There are numerous explanations as to why we have comparatively low voter turnout, with suggested culprits ranging from weak political parties, inscrutable, complicated ballots, voter cynicism, and voter deterrents, such as voter ID laws and pre-registration. While there may be some truth to each of these rationales, I suspect that a country with a unique, diverse history has an equally unique system of democratic participation.

The voting public originally consisted of the active participants of the Revolutionary movement. Educated, land-owning rebel rousers had more than a passing interest in the running of the incipient government of the nation they had just won for themselves. In the new days of the Republic, the electorate was comprised of the portion of the public as it is today: those who are both self-interested enough in the process to engage in it, and those with the lifestyle that facilitated participation in the political process. Namely, accomplished tradesmen and farmers with the means, time, and transportation to arrive at a polling location on the appointed date.
 As the First Industrial Revolution made itself felt in the United States, we gained the first large wave of European immigrants to our shores (many were refugees from war the war-torn European continent of the Napoleonic Era). This increased, exponentially, the number of eligible male voters of sufficient education to engage in the political process of our nation. Many of the newcomers settled into g...

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...the future increase with jobs, families, and community ties, they will turnout more. Having said that, I hold onto a naive hope that my generation will wake up sooner rather than later, and start realizing they are not acting in their own interests by eschewing their civic duty.

The reaction of the voting population to the current political climate is hard to predict. Will they react to economic stagnation, debt, and the rigged game that big government and big business create by mobilizing and having their voices heard, or will they give up and stay home? My money is on the moxie of my fellow countrymen showing up. I would be very surprised should turnout be depressed during the political fights that seem to be shaping up for our near future. The only thing I can be sure of is that my husband and I will be at the Red River Church next November casting our ballot.