Everyone Has the Right and Obligation to Vote in America

Voting is an opportunity given to Americans. As Americans we live in a democracy. Americans live in a democracy that is subjected to vote; a democracy where people have fought for the right to vote on many situations and for the rights of Americans to not be infringed. However, sometimes people just do not vote. Perhaps, reason being is some Americans are not familiar with the background of America and where voting all started. Maybe, some Americans think it all boils down to the electoral votes and their vote simply is not significant. Maybe, it could be that they possibly do not care for politics and do not intend on involving themselves around something they do not understand. There are many reasons why Americans choose to vote and many reasons why Americans choose not to vote.

Furthermore, starting with the background of how voting and elections arose in America. There was soon a law passed that would allow the states to administrate a presidential election this election could happen anytime in the thirty-four days before December. In the colonial times voting was a right given to people who paid taxes, people who owned a certain amount of land or people who had their fair share in their region. The voting rights in these times were restricted to only white men with the certain qualifications. From then the voting was simplified to how the states required people to vote. In this period African Americans were granted the right to vote only in selected states. In the 1800’s the voting rights were pushed to the limits, asking to allow men who did not own land or pay taxes to vote, along with immigrants who knew they would become citizens later in life. According to the writers for dosomething.org (2012), “In 1870, the Fifteenth ...

... middle of paper ...

...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).

In conclusion, voting is an opportunity to express oneself. Voting has a background that is long and drawn out. People in the colonial times went through a significant amount of laws and regulations about who could not vote, and who could. It led to Americans receiving our voting rights, still today. However, many people may not vote, it is important to know the background, the reasons for voting, and the reasons why people choose not to vote.