As described by our textbook, voter turnout is “the proportion of the eligible citizens who actually cast ballots” (Newell 142). Measurement of voter turnout can occur in two ways— the percentage of registered voters voting or the percentage of the voting-age population voting. Voting-age population is the preferred measure because it eliminates variations in state voting requirements and elections that can influence voter turnout (Odessa College). The results of voter turnout can be daunting for U.S. officials when in comparison to other countries.
The U.S. is not known for high voter turnout. Consistently, the United States has fallen short in comparison to other “well-established democracies” (Fair Vote). United States has one of the lowest
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voter turnouts of any of the comparator countries, while Australia and Belgium have the highest (Friedman). Compulsory voting—making voting mandatory—is practiced in countries such as Australia and Belgium (Santhanam). This has the largest impact on the countries high turnout. This raises another question, “If the fear of a fine could cause such a magnificent surplus in voting, what is the cause behind the scare turnout in the United States?” The most obvious answer would be the lack of repercussions for not voting, however, it is much deeper. Electoral Competiveness, election type, voting laws and demographics all impact voter turnout in the U.S (Fair Vote). Demographics include age, race, gender and socio-economic status. It is shown that under most circumstances more women vote than men do, and more elders vote than younger members of society do, more Caucasians vote than minorities do, as well as that there is a larger number of wealthy voters in comparison to those in lower socio-economic status. Our textbook shows that the presidential election of 2008 defeated all of these odds. Do these factors affect turnout in Texas? “According to a 2013 Texas Civic Health Index report by the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas, Texas ranked last in voter turnout in the 2010 election” (Baddour). “Turnout topped 55 percent in Alaska, 52 percent in Colorado and 50 percent in Iowa… fewer than 30 percent of voters in Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Utah bothered to cast ballots” (Wilson). Much like the “U.S. vs. other countries” comparison in the “Texas vs. U.S.” comparison, Texas fell towards the bottom as well. Although the reason behind the depletion in turnout is similar to the cause of low U.S. turnout, it can be narrowed to two distinct reasons. Being a high poverty and minority state are the two primary causes of low turnout in Texas.
Poverty levels in Texas have had an everlasting influence on voter turnout. As mentioned in our textbook, in 2010 the U.S. Census Bureau ranked Texas with the sixth-highest poverty rate amongst all 50 states. Living in a state of poverty, entails a lower educated society. “The low overall state turnout rate is at least partly caused by the tendency of Black and Latino citizens to stay home on election day” (Newell 143). This low turnout has a rippling effect on politics because “when minorities do not vote, it hurts the Democrats” (Newell 144) and thus the state becomes controlled by one party. Yet, there are minor adjustments that can increase voter turnout in …show more content…
Texas. As mentioned by Morse—political consultant for “Forbes”, numerous actions to increase voter turnout.
Similar to Morse, I believe introducing same day registration, opposed to the current 30 days prior requirement will allow more individuals the opportunity to vote, likewise increasing voter turnout. Another option would be moving Election Day to Monday and making it a federal holiday. By allowing the day off, the working class no longer will be concerned with having to request time off in order to attend the polls. Proper education of citizens—not just minorities—is yet another factor that can increase turnout. More often than not, members of society claim, “their votes do not matter”— that is
false!
When America was first established, they had the highest voting turnouts ever in American history. Ever since, America’s voting turn-out has dropped (Fortin). The reason for the high turn outs were because American colonists wanted change from the British’s electoral system. As history writes, American colonist rebel and over time becomes one of the greatest countries ever. Today, Americans are one of the worst countries in vote to registration as they rank 120 in the world (Pintor). Over the summer, I got to learn more about Ohio’s electoral system and voting turn outs in a first hand experience. A decreasing number of voting to registration is not only a national problem, but a local issue as well and there are creative ideas in fixing these
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...
Voting is one of the citizens’ rights living in a country. In the past, not everyone can vote. Voting used to be for only white American men. However, our ancestors fought for that rights. Eventually, any American who are older than eighteen can vote, despite their race or gender. In addition, voter turnout is used to keep track of the voting. It is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Unfortunately, the voter turnout has been decreasing over time, and it means that there are less and fewer people who actually show up and vote. This essay will discuss the voter turnout in Harris County, Texas.
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...
"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.
Before getting into these theories I feel it is important to provide a few important definitions, as well as, some important information to assure we are all on the same page. First, I would like to address the term, voter turnout. According to the Merriam- Webster dictionary (voter) turnout is the number of people who go to or participate in s...
Only then will America’s ability to find answers to voting turnout increase. It’s very unsettling to know that there was a six percent decrease in young voters (ages 18-29) in the 2012 election compared to 2008 (Circle Youth data). In 2007, the National Conference of State Legislatures publicly released a report and data set on voter turnout in democratic countries. This is a quote from that report titled Getting out the Vote, “It should be noted that in 1972, 18-year-olds were added to the eligible voting population, thus decreasing the percentages. Nonetheless, voter turnout in the United States is lower than that of every democracy in the world other than Switzerland and Poland” (33.3)....
Among the many ways Americans can participate in politics, voting is considered one of the most common and important ways for Americans to get involved. The outcome of any election, especially at the national level, determines who will be making and enforcing the laws that all Americans must abide by. With this in mind one might assume that all Americans are active voters, but studies show the voter turnout is actually astonishingly low. With this unsettling trend it is important to know what statistics say about voter turnout as was as the four major factors that influence participation: Socioeconomic status, education, political environment, and state electoral laws, in order to help boost turnout in future elections.
A democracy is a type of government in which the people rule; it is adopted by many countries across the world (Kollman, 2012: 25). One way people influence the government is by actively participating in elections and nominating individuals whom they wish would serve the country. These people – government servants: mayors, senators, presidents, etc. - represent the people and their ideologies. Some countries honor the election system more than others and The United States of America is one of them. This is why voter turnout is important and has become an issue addressed by many political parties and their candidates with The United States having one of the lowest turnouts. There are many components that factor into this decline but the most important one is the time and more specifically the day elections take place (Shaw, 2014). I believe that in order to stress the importance of electing officials and encouraging citizens of the states to vote, Election day should be declared a national holiday and be moved from Tuesdays to Mondays (Kollman, 2012: 330).
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.
Voter turnout, according to the text, “. . .means the portion of the eligible citizens who actually cast ballots--not the portion of those registered, . . . (142).” Data reveals that the voter turnout of Texas is relatively lower than that of the United States as a whole. During presidential elections, voter turnout is higher than that of state and local elections. For example, the text states that in the 2008 presidential balloting, Texas voter turnout was about eight percentage points below the national turnout level(142). However, the voter turnout of the United States compared to that of other countries is lower than the global level. In a graph presented for voter turnout rate of registered voters, the United States is located on the bottom of the list. From U.S News, Flock states,“The U.S has one of the lowest voter turnout rates of any rich democracy in the world(Flock).” Factors that influence voting around the world, for example, may be the choice to submit a vote online, such as in India, rather than going into a v...
Texas residents have decisions of some sort almost every year, and in more than one case all through the 12 months. all through biennial in vogue races, the gigantic scope of workplaces and submissions brings about phenomenally long tickets. electorate, confronted with tickets loaded down with applicant names and issues unforeseen to them, astonished why they ought to vote. Even though it is moderately simple to qualify and enroll to vote in Texas, the genuine example of voting in the state recommends critical boundaries, and maybe an absence of adequate impetus, to voting. The necessities for voting in Texas are straightforward and few.
Sometimes who lacks a strong affiliation with a particular political party is called a swing voter. The voter’s behavior is not easy to predict in an election. Party lines may be cross by the voter. Many political parties or campaign try to win the heads and minds of swing voters, and make a hope to win the election. Swing voters play a vital role in election. Sometimes it is because so confusing for political campaigns because swing voters are undecided voters, and it is a fact that swing voters are really undecided voters. A voter who is ensuring about how they plan to vote in the election are undecided voters. There are many voters who do not have established their own personal political philosophy, and they are new
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.
Voter turnout continues to remain strong in a proportionally represented society, even among the electorate that voted contrary to the majority, because of the reported satisfaction with the electoral process (Lijphart, p. 286). Therefore, it is not the results of an election which impacts an elector’s likelihood to vote as much as it is the feeling of political efficacy associated with the electoral process. Individuals capable of voting are more likely