The United States of America, almost since its conception, demonstrated a shining example of what a successful democracy should be. As citizens of a democratic country, we have the privilege to choose our leaders and the opportunity to have our voices heard. Many countries around the world operate by dictatorship or royal lineage. In these countries, citizens are not granted the freedom to elect officials. Often times, these people face grave consequences if they speak out against their leaders resulting in arrests or other penalties.
You would assume, with this knowledge, that Americans hold the highest voter participation. In a study from the 2012 Presidential Election by ABC, the number of American citizens actively involved in government elections dwindled dipping below the 2008 and 2004 election results. With numbers like this, are we tarnishing our shining example of a successful democracy?
When I turned 18, voting became one of the things I could not wait to do. I mean, why not? So many others before me fought hard against social and political injustice, so that every man and woman, regardless of color, could have equality. For me, finally exercising my right to vote did not just mean adding my voice into a vast sea of citizens’ voices. But this became my opportunity to see the mountaintop that Dr. King spoke of. When we vote, you and I become a part of history, a collective American History. This is our generation’s mountaintop, our American Dream. Our Founding Fathers dreamt of an America where every man—created equally—endowed the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Their American Dream however did not grant women the right to vote, but due to the efforts championed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan ...
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...more accessible and convenient. Establishing these polling places serves as a great opportunity to engage students with local and federal government happenings.
Being an out-of-state student shouldn’t mean forfeiting the right to vote or making the process to cast a ballot difficult. I am in full support of legislation that will make it easier for college students to vote in state and federal elections where they attend school. On-campus precincts will certainly push for convenience amongst college students, especially those students without transportation.
One of the best things about the United States is our democratic practices. We are a country run by its citizens. If we do not vote, then we have no right to complain about the decisions our leaders make. If we do not use our privilege, we have no say over the future of our lives or the future of our country.
Evidence of this is according to the United States Election Project by George Mason University, when required to vote the percent of voters 18-29 years old increased. The more education a person has the more likely they will vote. In 2004, 56.4% of students with a high school diploma voted but in the same year 72.2% of students with some college or bachelor’s degree voted. Therefore the difference is between students with a college or bachelor's degree and a high school diploma is 15.8%. This evidence helps explain why Americans should be required to vote because if compulsory voting is applied then young voters’ percent will increase since most of young voters go to school and don't want to pay a
Most Americans feel the United States of America is a beacon of democracy and raw capitalism, the leader of the “free” world. The founding fathers had every intention of turning the new world into a full fledged democracy, devoid of any monarchy or source of totalitarian power. The constitution itself demands that our government be “of, for and by the people”, and be divided into complex units of checks and balances, designed to thwart any potential power struggle by one specific branch. In essence, the constitution of the United States is a perfect blueprint for democracy in its purest form, with power and control in the hands of its citizens. Unfortunately, this is not the case today. By giving up the right to print its own currency in 1913, the US Government bequeathed its powers to a select few, who have owned and operated this country ever since. They are the true masters of US domestic and foreign policy.
They are more likely to research the issues and make an informed discussion. We should place focus on each person’s vote rather than each person’s vote being clump into their state’s vote. Why would someone take the time to vote when to them it does not matter? They see their vote going to a group of votes to decide the outcome of their state not the outcome of the whole race. If we could give the people the chance to see their vote as a discussion to the whole race I can see them taking the time to vote. There will be less of the attitude my vote doesn’t could why should I vote. This would be a way to get more people involved and to further advance the country. If we have people involved in electing the president then we have people that are involved in our country and would fight to keep it going. I feel that we should focus on getting more people involved in the country and one way to do that is to get rid of the Electoral College and continue with the popular vote.
People rule by voting for the person they chose. American people are, as capable of self-control and of learning by their mistakes. “American hitherto had been ruled by an elite brains and wealth”.
The United States is run by a democracy. There are many pieces to democracy that must be in good health in order for democracy to be effective and work. In this essay I will critique some of the most important parts of democracy in America and go deeper. I will first focus on the strengths of United States democracy and then I will dive into categories of democracy that I believe to not be thriving. I believe that the current conditions of United States democracy are becoming a hindrance to this nation, because the opinions and freedoms the public possess are being stripped away through poor media, education, and economy.
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...
From its early period, the United States has obtained an indirect type of democracy, and has always had contentment that its citizens are allowed to vote for their representatives, especially the President. Nevertheless, the amount of citizens that actually vote in nationwide elections has decreased noticeably over the years. Voter participation and turnout has been declining in the United States throughout history. Voter turnout, the percentage of eligible individuals who actually vote (Ginsberg), to this day is lower than it was in the 1900’s. Since 1912, presidential elections have only had about 50 to 65 percent of Americans participate. This means that about half of United States citizens who are eligible and have the freedom to vote have failed to participate in presidential elections. At the end of the nineteenth century voter turnout started plummeting, reaching the 60 percent level by the election of 1912 (Teixeira, 1987). The declining rate of voter participation in the United States is due to voter registration and procedu...
For Americans, the word “democracy” itself is strong enough to conjure up notions of a nation unhindered by an oppressive government where citizens are able to engage in the freedom of speech, press, and religious choice and practice. So powerful are American pro-Democratic sentiments that it is a common thought that any other country that does not prescribe to a liberal democracy is somehow inferior. Yet as time marches on, the feelings of superiority by American citizens become more and more unfounded. For, right before our eyes, the very notion of democracy, that Americans become braggarts about, is disappearing. While the U.S. government boasts of the freedoms it affords its citizens, it corrupts such an image through repeated non-democratic actions. While citizens cherish the affordances of a liberal democracy, many do not make the effort to support such a system; taking it for granted that no matter what, a democracy is a self perpetuating entity. In this paper I will argue that the liberal democracy that supposedly defines American government is a declining entity due to overt acts against the principles of democracy by the United States government and also due to the decline of civic engagement by United States citizens. The fact is, no system of government can be perpetuated if the government and its citizens do not work to keep their ideals alive and in practice.
...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 1775, the colonists in the new world started to revolt against the British monarchy. The American revolution had begun. The colonists no longer supported the british government. After a gruesome eight year war, the new world finally gained independence from Great Britain. America was now a new country. As a new country in development, the people and the leaders in America decided to form a democratic government. This new government, a democratic one, was and still is based off of ideas of liberty, equality, citizen participation, and freedom. These ideas were used to write the Bill of rights and the constitution. They also are shown in citizen rights and responsibilities. 175 years after America gained independence, our democratic government is still standing strong. Why? Because the rights and responsibilities of a US citizen guards the basic ideas America was built on, and still stands for today.
Lastly, while it is great to have the personal freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution, it is important to remember that a certain level of responsibility accompanies those rights. Being an American requires civic participation, usually in the form of voting. One of the signs of a healthy democracy is the rate at which citizens vote. The government cannot be truly representative unless the members of the democracy use their voice via voting booths. For example, one cannot complain about a president if he/she chose not to vote at all.
According to the Huffington Post, North Carolina’s college students fall a victim. to voter suppression tactics. Parties implemented ID laws which did not recognize college. IDs as a valid form of identification, nor can out of state students vote without a valid. North Carolina ID.
Do you find it aggravating when men and women complain about the president? In the United States of America, nearly one hundred and thirty-nine million Americans vote a year, according to the United States Election Project. More than eight million Americans won’t vote on Election day typically, because many Americans simply don’t think their vote would matter but that's not true. Every vote counts just as much as anybody else’s vote This is the reason why I think voting should be mandatory. If the United States passed a law that requires American citizens to vote then this would change the percentage of voting tremendously and make a big difference in this country. Today, I will be discussing the benefits of having mandatory voting in the United States and how it can help our country.
The US is supposedly the most free, democratic, fair and just country. However, at the core is a h...
Around the world there are countries that still don’t allow some or all of their citizens to vote. However in America the right to vote is simply given to every American citizen over the age of 18. So you’d think that every US citizen over the age of 18 would be voting for everything, right? WRONG. Out of everyone in the US only 57% voted at our last presidential election. So out of the two hundred and forty-eight million people in the United States of as of November 30 who are eligible to vote only about 57% of the population will vote for the presidency. So out of two hundred and forty-eight million people only about one hundred and forty-three million citizens will cast their vote in the upcoming presidential election. And this is a vote