How many times have you found yourself complaining about the government? It isn’t hard to, as the government never generates decisions that everyone agrees with, but what have you done about it? Well, if the answer is nothing, you aren’t alone. Only about 37% of eligible American citizens voted in the important 2014 election (McDonald). Fixing the issue of low voter turnout won’t be a one-step process, but it has the potential to transform American politics forever. American citizens should be required to vote in all general elections to greatly increase voter turnout in order to increase the influence of democracy and improve American politics. Low voter turnout has become an epidemic among American voters. With each passing election, …show more content…
First of all, let’s explore what compulsory voting actually is. “Compulsory voting can be defined very simply as the legal obligation to attend the polls at election time and perform whatever duties are required there of electors” (Birch 2). Numerous countries impose sanctions on those who do not vote- these sanctions usually are fines, while some even require a small amount of jail time (“International IDEA”). Those worried about potentially unfair sanctions by the US Government must remember that when this country was founded in 1776 our founding fathers had legitimate, long-lasting rules for this country, so our government surely will not have trouble creating fair rules and regulations. Surprisingly, this American concept of mandatory voting has been a reality for Australians for nearly a century now. Australia’s society, political structure, and government are synonymous with America’s except for one fundamental difference. In 1924, Australian parliament enacted mandatory voting after only 90 minutes of debate, and it’s gone largely unchallenged ever since (Weiner). This begs the question: Why can’t mandatory voting work in the U.S? In his article, Eric Weiner notes that “Australia, along with Belgium, is the only ‘mature democracy’ that requires citizens to vote and actually enforces the law. Americans certainly relate to Australians. “We share similar historical narratives…a frontier spirit, and a laid-back nature...” (Weiner). On average, 48% of the entire American electorate- American citizens eligible to vote- actually cast their ballot on Election Day. That number has dipped to as low as 37% and has only reached a peak of 67%. (McDonald). Thus, even on a high turnout election day, just two-thirds of Americans vote the president and other important
The "silent majority" of the American people is now accepted as the status quo, the way things always have been and will be. Voter turnout is now the litmus test for 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. Thus, inactivity in voting threatens the very legitimacy of our government. In the recent November 7, 2013 midterm election, a few counties reported a mere 4% of eligible voters actually participated, in some cases to vote for a policy referendum that would aff...
"There is a reason for the country to embrace mandatory voting, and it may be the most compelling: democracy cannot be strong if citizenship is weak," _William A. Galtson_. Mandatory voting, or compulsory voting, is a law wherein citizens are required to vote, or suffer the consequence. Australia has had compulsory voting since putting it into effect in 1924. "The turnout of Australian elections has never fallen below 90 percent since the introduction of compulsory voting in 1924," _Australian Electoral Commission_. Achieving over 90 percent of the citizens voting for nearly a century shows that mandatory voting is working in regard to getting people to vote. Governments should have mandatory voting because the people will educate themselves
The Electoral College system should be scrapped and be replaced with popular vote because it is unfair. By abolishing the Electoral College and replacing it with popular vote, it would represent citizens equally, it would allow citizens to elect their president just as they elect their governors and senators, and it would motivate and encourage citizens to participate in voting.
Australia has one of the oldest systems of compulsory voting, and arguably the most efficient (Hill, 2010). Compulsory enrolment at the federal level was introduced in 1911 this later became mandatory voting in 1924 (Hill, 2010). Mandatory voting was introduced in Australia to combat the problem of low voter turnout and it was successful in doing so; 59% turnout in 1922 surged to 91% in 1925 after the first federal election (Hill, 2010). “Australia never had a rights culture understood in the classical liberal sense of individualized rights” (Hill, 2010. Pg.428). Australia was unified in 1901 and shortly after compulsory voting became mandate. The citizen’s of Australia have never known a...
First, one reason why Americans should be required to vote is that it will educate the citizens. Evidence supporting this reason is in “Unequal Participation: Democracy’s Unresolved Dilemma, American Political Science Review” Aaron Lijphart stated that “By compelling people to vote, we are likely to arouse in them an intelligent interest and to give them a political knowledge that do not at present possess.” This evidence helps explain why Americans should be required to vote because when citizens are required to vote it gives them a political understanding that they didn't have before voting. Most citizens will research
The Chartist movement (a working class political movement) in 1840 believed “People had no one else but themselves to blame for the actions of their politicians” (Nash). What Mr. Nash and the chartist movement believe couldn’t be more on the spot. This country has gotten to the point where people find it hard to walk down their street to the elementary school where the voting polls are, and take a few minutes to cast a vote. A vote that millions of people around the world wish they were able to have them selves. With all the political suffrage that goes on through the world and people forced to love a leader, these no-shows should be thankful to live in a democracy. A place where elections aren’t rigged and the people are truly heard. This is why the topic of voting turnout needs to be raised. Also it’s very annoying to hear people complaining about our President when they did not even vote. It’s a very bad habit to not vote, and it needs to change with the younger citizens of this country. Helping younger people see the importance of voting needs to start with technological and educational ideas while expanding all the way to social event ideas. Only then will America’s ability to find answers to voting turnout increase.
In the United States we are all guaranteed one vote per person. Everyone has an equal voice in electing the people that serve in the government. Every four years during the month of November citizens of America go to the polls to vote for a president and vice-president of the United States. Am I right? Not really. They actually vote for electors that then vote for our president. It makes me wonder, "Are we a democracy?" Having the Electoral College defeats its purpose. I oppose the electoral college for these three reasons, in election 2000 the president that lost the popular vote actually won, everyone's vote doesn't really count, plus the electoral college has disrupted elections fifteen times!
In document C, John W. Dean who was legal council the the U.S. President Richard M. Nixon said, “While compulsion of any kind is a restriction, so is the compulsion to drive only on the right side of the road. Requiring citizens to vote is no more restrictive than requiring them to register for the draft. And it is far less restrictive than requiring us, for example, to attend school; to serve on juries, possibly for weeks or months at a time; to pay taxes; or to serve in the military when drafted”(Dean). That shows the multitude of laws or requirements in America that are less important than voting, but are required. Voting is for the good of the country, yet people won't vote, but won't bat an eye when they are forced into jury duty.
Approximately 200 years ago, our founding fathers of America began a tedious process of carefully designing and crafting an idea to solve the problem of selecting president. Soon, the idea of citizens indirectly selecting the president soon bloomed into the formation of the initial College of Electors. Although some individuals cherish this firm establishment, I firmly think the Electoral College fails to balance power and politically sustain our nation.
Unknowingly to many Americans, when they go to vote on Election day, they aren 't actually voting for their favorite presidential candidate but, they are actually voting to elect a group of state electors, who will select the president on the behalf of the general public. They have pledged to vote for a specific candidate in the Electoral College, which is the group of representatives that actually elects the President and Vice President. Currently, the Electoral College has 538 members who represent each state, equal to the number of representatives and senators that represent the state in Congress. One exception is Washington D.C. who still has three electoral votes, despite not having any representation in congress. For a candidate to win
Over the recent year’s American voters have brought back a way of voting that was used during the country’s old age of existence, this rediscovered act is known as early voting. Early voting started in the early 1990s, though the outcome has not had such a high consistency over the years it is still recommended to help the Election Day process in the country. Since voter turnout is not entirely consistent due to the process being constantly shortened by state laws, the argument against early voting is that it is a waste of taxpayers’ money, opponents believe it is ineffective. Although that is not the case, in his 2016 blog article, “A Brief History of Early Voting,” Michael McDonald inform readers on the brief history of early voting as he states how the rates of voters who has cast their ballots before election day has increased over the years, “from less than a tenth to about a third” (qtd. in McDonald) since the 1990s. This proves to show why the money being spent on this act is not simply being wasted. Although early voting has
Polling is known for its ways of letting certain audiences give their opinion on different subjects. The poll could be something as simple as “What’s your favorite color?” or “In your opinion, which band is better?”, but polling is also used in more complex situations; take the presidential election for example, the public poll gives American adults the chance to vote a certain individual into office and run our country. Public polling was first introduce by George Gallup who was a professor at the University of Iowa. After giving up his profession of teaching, Gallup went on to create two of his very own, and very successful polling companies; The American Institute of Public Opinion and Gallup. Gallup is considered to be one of the top polling
The Electoral College. It’s something you don’t hear people talking about often. Let me tell you what it is. An Electoral College is a group of people that cast their vote for a state. States usually have multiple electors. For example, California has 55 electors (making it the state with the most electoral votes), meaning they put in 55 votes in for whichever party they are for. California is a democratic state, which puts all 55 votes with the democratic candidate. Texas is the next state with the most electors, coming in with 38. Texas is a republican state, so the republican candidate gets Texas’ vote. The way a state is democratic or republican is from the winner takes all system. Let’s say Trump has 3 votes, and the Hillary has 4, the candidate that has more votes takes all the votes from that state, making them have 7 electoral votes. There is also something called a swing state. A swing state is when a state has an equal amount votes for either candidate.The swing states are Ohio, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
A few weeks into starting college, I received a call from my mother telling me something required my immediate attention. As it turns out I had been summoned for jury duty, approximately 150 miles, 2 hours, and a hundred dollars’ worth of gas away from where I was currently attending school. As soon as I found out what was happening, I got in touch with someone about rescheduling, something they would only let me do with proof of living out of state such as a driver’s license from another state, a lease, or a utility bill, none of which are things easily obtained by a college student living on campus, especially not with less than three weeks until they needed to be at court. Jury duty most simply explained as someone sitting in on a legal proceeding with a group of other people who then might be required to make a decision on aforementioned proceeding. While I understand that jury duty is considered a civic duty and is considered a compulsory obligation I also believe
Everyone has the right to vote, or not to vote in the years we live today. People decide whether they wish to participate in the nation’s future or just walk aimlessly and allow it to take its own path. Over decades, centuries, our country continued growing but just recently did it allow all to vote as long as they call this nation home. Run-on Sentence: Over decades, centuries, our country continued growing, but just recently did it allow all to vote as long as they call this nation home. However, large amounts of people still do not vote in any politics. Today everyone should understand what differences a vote could make like what can happen, why it matters, and benefits of voting.