Ninety million people. Ninety million eligible voters did not take part in the presidential election of 2016. Can you imagine what even half of those votes could have done to the outcome of the election? Either presidential candidate, Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, could have won by a landslide. Voting is a critical part of our democratic culture; a part only 57.9 percent of eligible Americans took part in last November. Is it possible that this large group of large non-voting US citizens never considered some of the reasons why voting is a civil duty? Beliefs and values; they define what makes us who we are. By age eighteen we are conscious of these personal aspects and are able to act on them. Choosing not to vote is, in essence, choosing to …show more content…
65,000 people died fighting for our right to vote for our own leadership. Those people refused to allow someone else to make all of their decisions for them. After the Americans won the Revolution and enabled white men to have the right to vote, another group of people decided to stand up for themselves. Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. are just two of the many people who spoke out for African American rights. One of those rights being the right to vote. Martin Luther King Jr. died trying to get these rights, but the amendment that allowed African Americans to vote was eventually passed in 1870. Even after all of that, there was still another group of people who were being denied their right to vote; women. The women of America went through unimaginable strife to earn their right. Many women were imprisoned and force fed for three weeks in order to get what they deserved. Now how can you dishonor their nobility by choosing not to vote? Would all of those men and women who suffered and died to give you this privilege, this responsibility, support your decision to not go to the
...adults compared to older adults were less likely to respond that voting was extremely important for good citizenship (133). He concludes that it is too late for the generation of young adults that do not feel voting is an important civic responsibility, however, that it is not too late to convince them that politics matter by showing them that they are giving their opportunity to make important decisions that may impact their lives to others who have different ideas. One may agree with Wattenberg’s idea that habits follow people throughout their lives instead of changing as they cycle in life. His personal accounts are an impactful way to illustrate the importance of building a sense of duty at a young age and carrying that responsibility throughout one’s life.
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...
According to a study done by Nonprofit Vote only “an estimated 58.7% of eligible voters turned out to vote” ("Voter Turnout" ) in 2012’s presidential election, which is below the 62% that was achieved in 2008. (Ginsberg 306). According to the United States Census Bureau in 2012 71.2 percent of Americans reported that they were registered to vote, but only 61.8 reported that they actually did so. ("Voting and Registration"). While each source didn’t report the exact same statistics in America these percentages are considered highs in political participation. Even worse, in midterm elections voter turnout is normally closer to 33% and even lower for any local elections. (Ginsberg 306). While we may consider any of those statistics good for America, looking at world democracies we are trailing far behind, in many “European countries and other western democracies [the] national voter turnout is usually between 70 to 90 percent.”(Ginsberg 306). The question is then asked why don’t American’s vote, which is then an...
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
Most sixteen-year-olds have already had many firsts. Kamenetz states that by the age of sixteen, most people have already had, “first jobs, their first drinks, and first sexual initiations” (Kamenetz). Since they are already given so many responsibilities and opportunities, it would make sense to include an option to vote. Sixteen-year-olds could then add voting to their lists of
In 2012, only 58% of the population voted in the primary elections. That is a very low number compared to all the other countries. According to William A. Galston’s article, “Telling Americans to Vote, or Else,” he states, “Jury duty is mandatory; why not voting.” I agree with his statement. Pursuant to the online business dictionary, jury duty is “one of the highest duties of citizenship.” In jury duty, you are making a very important decision. You’re making the decision to prove if someone is innocent or guilty. The idea of jury duty correlates with the aspect of voting. You’re a part of the decision process to pick the next leader of our country. As well as jury duty, voting should be added to one of the highest duties of U.S
As of the ratification of the 26th amendment in 1971, the voting age in the US is 18. As I turn 18 this coming summer I now have the chance to participate in elections local, state, and national wide. The history of youth voting has changed over time with that more 18-24 year olds are voting as time goes on. The question comes to mind about voting in that why would someone want to vote and if it’s just a waste of time. I believe that if people have the chance to vote, then they should which is why I am going to vote in elections to come in the future.
Many people think of the 206 million eligible voters in the United States and think, “How could one vote possibly make a difference?” Or perhaps some find themselves too busy, while other non-voters are simply uninterested in politics. With a combination of all excuses, about 75 million people that were eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential election chose not to. That’s 75 million unheard voices! 75 million unrepresented individuals make up approximately 36% of all eligible voters. That number of people could easily change the outcome of an election. When put in perspective and fully understood, it’s realized just how important it is for every eligible voter to vote, and do so responsibly. The significance of voting is commonly misunderstood. Voting determines things from the president of the United States, to a small town mayor, to representatives, which all in turn determine everything from war, to taxes, to a child’s education. This country was politically formed into something previously unknown to the world, and with citizenship to this great country and democracy, comes great responsibility. It is a right as U.S. citizens to choose to vote or not; however, it is a duty and obligation to do so, for the sake of those who have fought, for friends and family, and for this country as a whole.
The most widely known reason or excuse for not voting is because voting is held on a Tuesday. Many Americans work and get caught up in the daily routine of work, school, family life, or simply forget at the end of the day. A lot of Americans argue that if voting was on the weekend they would vote. Personally, I feel this is a weak excuse and they could make time to vote. You cannot be penalized by an employer for taking time off to go vote. On the weekends, they could make excuses that they had family events, travel, chores, etc., and those reasons would keep them for going out to vote too. Another reason U.S. citizens are thought to not vote is because it is a two-step process to vote. You must register first and then vote later. In other countries you can register the day of and cast your vote immediately following. Another contributor to low voter turnout is because it is not a law to vote in the U.S. In Australia and Belgium, it is the law to vote and you can be fined for not voting. By implementing such a law in the U.S. would take away from what many people feel like is a vote; “not voting is a vote” and this would take away from their
The foundation of democracy rests in the hands of the people. Voting and political participation are essential privileges of a democracy. Not being able to vote for whatever reason is a denial of citizenship. However, in recent times voting has become extremely difficult for a majority of the country. Voters have the right to express their voice for change through voter registration reform and compensating the lower class and middle class.
In this paper, the reasons why young people do not vote will be explored and solutions as to how to get them to vote will be proposed. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), there are five main reasons why young people don’t vote. The graph presented uses census survey data from 2010 for citizens 18-24. The graph was broken down into two groups, those who are and are not in college. The first reason cited was being away from home or out of town, 23% of college students stated this and only 5% of people not in college stated this.
This is a low number since there is 22 percent of voting age population who did not register to ballots. People who already reach the voting age but decided not to register themselves can be affected by low education level. People who have low education level lack of information about voting and how their vote could give huge impact and big change in their daily life related with government. Moreover, not only uneducated people who will not vote, poor people also tend not to give their right to vote. Poor people will consider how much time they will spent to come to the polls and give their vote to people that they think will not give much impact on their life.
Voting definitely matters, but how would you feel if you were penalized for not voting? In a democracy, voting keeps the government running, and in tact. People have the chance to choose who will make decisions for their country, and it shows that the government has the interest of the people. However, voter turnout has decreased drastically in the past couple of decades. Should voting for all Americans be mandatory?
While having the privilege to vote, many Americans choose to not vote for reasons such as registration requirements, limited number of political parties, the belief that their vote won’t actually count, and for some, simple apathy. One of the number one reasons why Americans do not vote is because of the registration requirements. Voting is a process and there are requirements to do so. People who go to vote must be citizens of the United States, meet the state’s residency requirements, be registered to vote, be eighteen years or older, and have some sort of identification etc. When
Did you know that only 58.5% of people from the ages of 18 through 24 are registered to vote? What happened to the other 41.5%? Did they forget to register? In some cases that may be it, but most of the time it is that people believe that their vote does not matter. These low registration numbers are important because they show how the citizens of the United States feel towards our government and feel towards our democratic voting system.