The presidential election is coming up in 2016 and with this comes all the excited voters. These voters wildly throw their support towards various candidates. Since there are enough candidates to start a baseball team, there are varrious types of voters. Some voters look more for the entertainers that might go to war with every country, but hey, at least they are fun to watch on TV. Others look for people who they think are actually suited for the presidency, and some people do not even vote.
The die-hard voters watch the news year-round and live for elections. The die-hards treat the news like football fans in Alabama treat the Iron Bowl. Screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs at the TV is just a way to show their support or
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These non-voters know more about what Kim Kardashian did today than what is going on in the world. Even though they live in America, the election does not really affect them. It is not like they have to live with the consequences if they do not like who is elected, or the president makes any big decisions that impact their life. After all keeping up with the Kardashians is more important than who is president. The Kardashians even make really big decisions like what color to dye their hair or what shoes to buy. This is more important information than terrorist groups overseas or the country being trillions of dollars in debt. Why even vote? Unless one of the Kardashians ran for president. The four types of voters may seem humorous at first until you realize that you probably fall into one of the categories, but the even scarier part is that these four types of people decide the future of America. This is why some of our candidates are polling so well and haven’t struck out yet. Too often people whine and complain about the state of the country, but when election comes around they make an uneducated vote or do not even vote at
For instance, Menand writes, “The fraction of the electorates that responds to substantive political argument is hugely outweighed by the fraction that responds to slogans, misinformation...random personal association.” Mass voters mostly pursue the wrong or irrelevant information that are irrelevant to the election; thus lead them to vote for the candidates which they do not really want. Their choices mostly lack rationalities. Many voters who are slightly informative think that they are participating in a certain issue and considering the value of the candidates; yet most of them do not have adequate information and knowledge in understanding the meaning of political terms. Voters lack judgment on their government and candidates, their minds are easily being brainwashed by a small amount of people who has informative approaches in participating governmental issue, and affect their
2016 is slowly approaching as 2015 comes to an end and thus ushers in a new president at the end of the year! The 2016 election will be held on November 8th, 2016 and will be the 58th quadrennial presidential election. With each presidential election comes the controversy on the basis of how they were elected. Primarily, the public’s opinion on the Electoral College and how it is the actual determining factor, in who is chosen for the presidency. The problems that may spring forward will be what the Electoral College actually is and how it works, why the Founding Fathers created the Electoral College, major criticisms on the Electoral College, and why it should be abolished.
"Miller light and bud light…either way you end up with a mighty weak beer!" This is how Jim Hightower (a Texan populist speaker) described the choices that the U.S. electorate had in the 2000 elections. This insinuates that there is a clear lack of distinction between the parties. Along with numerous others, this is one of the reasons why the turnout is so low in the U.S. elections. In trying to explain the low figures at the U.S. elections, analysts have called American voters apathetic to indifferent to downright lazy. I disagree that the 50% (in recent elections) of voters that fail to turnout to vote are lazy and that they have just reason not too. I will also show that the problem lies within the system itself in that the institutional arrangements, electoral and governmental, do not create an environment that is conducive to mass participation. I will address these main issues and several others that have an effect on voter participation. In doing so I will compare America to other established democracies.
The United States national elections have been experiencing a steady decline of eligible voters showing up to vote. This steady decline has been ongoing since experiencing a significant increase in voter turnout from 1948 through 1960. Over the years there has been significant, meticulous research done to try to pinpoint the cause of the decline in voter turnout over years. All of this research has led to the production of an enormous number of literatures written on the perceived causes. The vast amount of literature produced has led to a number of competing explanations about this decline. The quest for the answer to the question of, why this decline in voter turnout, is very important for an overwhelming majority of Americans and our democratic system because the people/voters can only truly be represented by our government if all eligible voters go out and vote. For this paper I will examine four theories that attempt to explain the decline. The four theories that I will discuss are voting barriers, campaign contributions, negative campaign advertising, and finally the cultural explanation. However, through thorough exploration and critiques of the strengths and weaknesses of these four theories, we will find that the cultural explanation theory is currently the most persuasive theory in the group. Finally, I will also explore some reasons as to why citizens do vote as well.
Non-voters contributing to the vote count will really make the difference by how votes determine who will be their representative. Since we calculate by the voters who actually voted and didn’t vote, would impact a huge difference in polls and the outcome of the elections. In source #2 (Why You Should Be Legally Required to Vote) by Noah Berlatsky, stated , “In the 2012 presidential election, only about 57.5% of eligible voters cast ballots. The 2014 midterm election had historically low turnouts. Only 36.4% of the electorate voted. That means nearly two-thirds of us didn’t bother to go to the polls.” If we implemented mandatory voting, these numbers would increase the number of turnouts in voting and essentially impacting the difference in how non-voters will make a difference if they partake in the elections. Each vote are important and casting our votes is a responsibility for our country to the
Shenkman, R. (2008). Just How Stupid Are We?: Facing the Truth About the American Voter. New York: Basic Books.
Austin Ranney does not dread that low voting is hurting American democracy. Arend Lijphart believes that democracy is meaningless without voting. The fact that to many people do not vote for Presidential or Congressional elections concerns him. With numbers like 49 and 55 percent of the eligible population voting on Presidential elections, Lijphart questions the actual democracy in America. Low voting turnouts is giving large groups more control over government ideals. Lijphart thinks the best way to solve this problem is to raise turnouts in a variety of ways. Things like weekend voting and easier ways of acquiring absentee ballots will increase the number of voters. Also, having multiple elect...
...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).
Assuming that they are left out and forgotten by the system, these nonparticipants feel resentment for the isolation, and perpetuate the vicious cycle of inactivity. The "silent majority" of the American people is now accepted as the status quo, the way things have always been and will be. Voter turnout is now the litmus test of 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.
I am responding to Micheal Schudson’s essay titled “America’s Ignorant Voter”. He makes several arguments against whether America having relatively ignorant voters poses a problem to our society, and whether it’s becoming worse over the years. One of the arguments he poses as to why Americans seem so clueless about political matters is due to the complexities of our nation’s political institutions.
When I believe in a certain person or idea, I vote for that person or idea. That vote goes toward shaping the place I love into what I think is best for us. The moment that we decide that we need to restrict certain voters, is the moment we put power into a small subset of individuals. These individuals may or may not have America's best interest at hand. There are so many times we hear a politician has special interest because of financial backing from some multi-million dollar company.
In 2013, the self-titled visual album BEYONCÉ sold almost eight hundred thirty thousand digitally in the first three days, while her sixth number one and second visual album, Lemonade, only sold four hundred ninety thousand digitally in the first week. Although Beyoncé’s second visual album wasn’t numerically successful, both show a vulnerable, an artistic, and a controversial side of Beyoncé. Both albums have surprising visuals and stunning lyrical content with either an obvious meaning or a meaning we have yet to figure out, such as the famous line, “You better call Becky with the good hair.” (Beyoncé, “Sorry”). BEYONCÉ and Lemonade show that Beyoncé tries to better herself as an artist and make herself more vulnerable.
Voter turnout has been declining in the United States throughout history through the potential voters’ personal choice not to vote and ineligibility. According to research a large percentage of individuals are not voting because political parties fail to appeal to the voters and this leads to the voting population losing interest in the campaign, while others postpone registering and by the time they realize their delay the election is upon them.
This presidential election has opened my eyes to things that I normally wouldn’t even think about. Let’s be honest politics is not a common discussion amongst college kids whose main goal is to figure out how to keep their C average and not fail a class. This presidential election has taken many minds away from their school work and made them focus on the candidates and their issues. There are four agents of political socialization that have shaped my views on what I would look for in a candidate to be president of the u.s., and as I break them down you get an understanding of which political party I lean towards and why.
Here in America many people have become obsessed with their appearances, weight, and their styles. Everyone has seen all these beautiful people on the front of magazines, on television, and on social media. Many people want to look perfect for example, so many people are obsessing with the Kardashians. The Kardashians are very well-known for their appearance. These things many people envy and want for themselves. This is why so many people want to change their appearances, weight, and style. Majority are becoming obsessed with some type of brand name item. Everyone hears all the name brands on the radio, on T.V. and what other celebrates are using. Women want the best of the best for their faces, so it might be make-up or moisturizer, while