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Voting and its effects
Voting and political participation
Voting and its effects
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Voting is very important in a democracy. It is important in a democracy because voting can be a symbol of popular support, and voting is a demonstration of consent of the governed. According to my research, Nearly 137.5 million Americans voted in 2016 and that is just 61%. Since we have low turnout. We have been always thinking about making vote mandatory. So should the vote required or just encourage people to vote? I think forcing people to vote and passing laws for a compulsory vote is not a good solution. The reason why it is a bad idea is that it doesn’t improve democratic climate, non-voters uninformed, and also requires a database. For these reason, Americans should not be required to vote. According to International IDEA, Only 40 countries
Recently, only 60% of registered voters have actually voted in presidential elections. This brings up the question: should Americans be required to vote? This question receives very mixed answers. Many Americans believe that they should have the choice and the freedom to vote or not; many Americans also believe that mandatory, or required, voting is simply a civic duty. Currently, American citizens are not required to vote. Citizens seem to like this system, but because voting is not mandatory, the amount of citizens that vote in elections is rather low. Americans should not be required to vote because it forces people to vote that are uninterested, makes citizens unhappy, and damages other people’s votes.
Should America have compulsory voting? In my opinion, compulsory voting is a good way to increase the voting turnout. People currently don't like to vote because they don't have the time, or are just too lazy. If the government gives them an incentive then they will be happy to take time off to vote. Also, a reason to fear not to vote should be installed, like an annoying fine. When only a few people vote, the voter satisfaction is low. But when everyone puts their idea in, the satisfaction rises because the actual majority will win.
John Adams once said "You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." For many generations, our ancestors have fought for the right to vote. It started with the Civil Rights Act in 1964 which made it mandatory that white schools integrate black children into their institutions. The outcome of the 1964 election was a landslide, favoring the democrats, which broached the issue of civil rights legislation. In 1964 “only 7% of eligible black citizens in Mississippi were registered; in Alabama the figure was 20% (Kernell, et. al 2014, 162). The low voter turnout rate was because people of color were required to take a literacy test. This all changed when President Johnson
Without mandatory voting, some people chose not to vote because they do not care, or are uninformed. Forcing these people to vote could lead to random choices when voters do not take responsibility to study the candidate's position on specific topics. "It may increase the number of informal votes, ballot papers which are not marked according to the rules for voting," _ Matt Rosenberg_. Compulsory voting may lead many people to not truly vote, but to put their name on a ballot and turn it in. While this is possible, a greater number of potentially interested people would also vote. If people are required to vote, the country will obtain every eligible voters’ opinions. Some of the citizens may not care who is elected, but they still can have a say if they want to. Without mandatory voting, the people who do not want to vote, do not and went about with their life. "Because a majority of the voters are turning out to cast ballots, the formation of the government can be a more accurate reflection of what the population of any nation wants," _Asia-Pacific Economics_. In a government with two different parties, the majority of the citizens decide how they want the government to be formed till the next election.
There is a way that is already put in use to increase voter turnout in Australia is to make voting mandatory. People in Australia are forced to vote or they will be fined, or even jailed if they do not vote repeatedly. It is very effective in term of improving voter turnout; however, there is still some argument against it. One of them being people would only vote because they have to, so they are ignorantly voting for the candidates just to be done with it. I completely agree with this idea. The voter turnout can be really high, but it would be meaningless if the people just vote to escape from the punishments. Yale Law School Professor Stephen Carter also suggested that, instead of punishing people do not vote, we should reward people who vote. It is the same with the mandatory voting. I think it will only be effective in increasing the voter turnout, but the results will not. People should vote voluntarily for the best and fair outcome. To have more people voting, I believe we should take a look at why people do not vote. We must assure people that if everybody thinks their vote does not count, then no one would vote. We should be able to change their attitude about their own votes. If people cannot vote because they are busy with work or schools, we should have a national day off on the election day. By doing so, much more people will be able to participate in voting. There should also be
There are a number of various ways that can be used in order to address the ever-growing problem of democratic deficit in the UK, which is based around factors such as the low participation rates and general apathy towards politics in the wider public.
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
To enforce voting to be mandatory , this will prompt more Americans to pay attention to the choices for their representatives. Mandating would stimulate the demand side, motivating voters to understand and acknowledge who they are voting for. Therefore , voting is to be a responsibility than a option.
George Herbert Mead’s perspective of symbolic interaction theory “relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction. It analyzes society by addressing the subjective meanings that people impose on objects, events, and behaviors.” I have applied Mead’s theory to an opportunity I was given a couple weeks ago, to tour the San Luis Obispo County Jail. Prior to the tour, a jail was merely a strange concept to me; something I had seen in movies and television shows. It was something that I had never given much thought to, because I had just accepted it for how it was. The tour provided me with a lot of insight into how a jail is run, along with how much work and organization it takes to keep it
On the contrary, citizens should be required to vote. For example, text 1 line 20 states "A democracy can't be strong, if its citizenship is weak"; therefore when being forced to vote against our own will, it is to strengthen our nation. In addition, if the turnout rates are high, then political parties reaches out to the citizens. As a result, the voices of the less educated and the poorer Americans will be heard and not ignored. Not to mention, William A. Galston states that voting evens out the inequalities stemming from income, education, and age in text 1. Most importantly, mandatory voting only benefits us a nation and individually. Clearly, compulsory voting should be enforced.
Have you ever wondered if america should have compulsory voting? Ever since World War II our presidential elections have not included 65% or higher in voter turnout. Voting is important because, voting lets the citizens express their feelings towards the subject, it also lets the government know if it has support from it's citizens.Our low voter turnout rates are causing people to question the legitimacy of our government. Places such as Australia and Peru deal with this by using compulsory voting. Compulsory voting is where it is required to vote and if you do not vote you would be punished in some sort of way. So should America have compulsory voting. America should not have compulsory voting because
The United States of America has been practicing a democratic government since the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. Since then American citizens have been given many rights and responsibilities. These rights and responsibilities include voting, serving in the military, jury duty, paying taxes, and many others. Jury duty and paying taxes are mandatory and are responsibilities of all citizens. However, serving in the military is only mandatory when there is a draft. Since jury duty, paying taxes, and serving in the military, during a draft, are mandatory, the belief is voting should be too. Some even call it a citizen’s civic responsibility (Compulsory voting, 2015).
The Importance of why we should Vote Election time is always one of the most controversial topics of the year. Basically, when a new beginning starts and changes in many ways. In ways that could result either good or bad for us. Its having to be in a moment where our vote does count and how it makes an impact to our future. We decide the way things go and how we support the change we want in our society.
Should Voting be Mandatory? “On Tuesday, November 8, 2016 Donald Trump got 46.4% and Hilary got 48.5% in the presidential election. Donald Trump won because he got 306 electoral votes and Hillary got 232.” (cnn.com) According to the United States Election Project, “An average of 59.7 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots.”
According to the U.S. census, only 61.8% of registered voters cast ballots in the 2012 presidential election. This is a very poor statistic compared to Uruguay's 96.1 percent voter turnout in 2009 or Rwanda's 89.2 percent in 2010. Where were the other 38.2 percent in 2012? Some couldn't find their polling station, some were out of town, and others were merely too busy (Weil). Bill Vaughan once said, "A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election.