The Low Voter Turn Out in the United States

Since the United States of America established itself as its own self-governing country, one of the things that caused it to be salient and stand out from other countries is its relentless insistence on functioning as a democracy. Wars and protests have occurred so that every type of people, whether it was women or African Americans, may be granted the right to vote. Having a say in the American government is an honor and a privilege bestowed upon American citizens when they reach the age of eighteen. However, in recent years, statistics have shown that voter turnout and participation in recent elections has been rapidly and steadily declining, causing the United States to have the lowest voter participation in the world (“Is the System Broken?”). In other countries, such as Italy, Belgium, Austria, and Australia, voter participation is over 90 percent, while in the United States, it has been as low as 49.1 percent (“Ghosh”). Voter apathy has become a serious and urgent issue in the United States, engendered mainly by the younger voter population as a result of the popular idea that one vote will not make a difference, lack of information, and sheer lethargy. Potential solutions for this issue include catering to laziness, local support for voting, making voting a part of American culture, and changes in government. In order for the United States of America to run and prosper to the best of its abilities, the American people must be zealous about the government and have a deep desire to be involved.

As the voting system has grown to be more complex, Americans are losing the sense that their one vote will make a difference in the election, and therefore have refrained from bothering to vote, viewing it as a waste of time. This...

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... their voting power taken away from the (“Reframing Voter Apathy”), or perhaps it is simply because they do not like either of the candidates, and they feel as though casting their vote would be choosing the better of two evils (“Hoy”). For whatever the reason, Americans are simply just not fulfilling their duties and responsibilities as a citizen. Living in a democracy is much more of a blessing than some people realize, and yet they are refraining from taking advantage of all they have been given. If the people of the United States of America do not begin to raise their voting participation, then the democratic aspect of electing the president will begin to lose its effect and accuracy, and America will fail to function as intended. This is a problem that can be solved one person, household, school, business, community, town, city, state, and country at a time.