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Essay on importance of youth participation in elections
Importance of voting among youth
Voter apathy in us
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Political apathy and the fact that less and less people, especially young people, vote affects the country and its state of democracy greatly. When more people do not believe that their right to vote can actually achieve something and make a difference the voter outcome will decrease. The united states pride itself on the fact that all citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote and change what they do not like about our government. The people of the united states were given the right to vote because the founding fathers did not want the people of the united states to be oppressed by one leader and gave the people the right to change the government by electing someone new. The whole idea of the united states being a “representative democracy”
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, in voting for a policy referendum that would affect how millions of dollars would be spent in the coming years.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The three theories of representation in Congress are: delegate, trustee, and politico. First is the delegate model of representation is the philosophy that legislators should represent the preferences of their constituents. Next is the trustee model of representation is the philosophy that legislator should consider the will of the people but act in ways they perceive best for the long term interest of the nation. Finally, is the politico model of representation it is a mixture of the two, it is delegate on which constituents have intense views, and trustee on issues that are important for national interests.
Research has brought about an abundance of reasons why youth are becoming less engaged in the political process. Education, absence of political knowledge, the media and family influence, indifference to election campaigns, inadequate amount of change, and lack of motivation are all possible factors in influencing the youth voter turnout.
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...
Contrary to what may seem logical, majority votes under a compulsory voting system do not necessarily represent accurate opinion. Rather, compulsion encourages apathy, characterized by “a lack of concern, enthusiasm or interest” ("Definition of Voter Apathy"). In essence, voter apathy “occurs when voters decide that they really don’t care who wins or loses” ("Definition of Voter Apathy") due to “a general feeling that a person’s vote doesn’t matter or even a distrust in regards to how the election is actually being run” ("Definition of Voter Apathy").
The scenes in creation being intellectual, the put together of constitutional democracy was very empirical. The Constitutional Convention was convened to formulate the constitution. What had to be clear was that the only way to assure a functioning constitutional democracy was the public's discussion. In philadelphia the delegates compromised. The outcome was to integrate states with large populations and states with small populations with a bicameral legislative branch. Also compromises that guaranteed say from both slave owning states and non-slave states could be listened to. The Bill of Rights
Adding this all up, I have concluded that the United States democracy is unhealthy, yet I still believe there is hope. If I had to give the current condition of democracy a letter grade, I would give it a C. I got this grade because even though the United States maintains many civil right and liberties, a strong number of interest groups, and diverse political parties, it just isn’t enough to carry the poor conditions of ideologies, voter turnout, education, economics, and media. Democracy is surly not thriving in America, but at this point, there is still hope.
Many Americans hold different opinions or theories on how our government works. Some even take to writing what they believe in the hopes of finding someone with a similar view. There are three well-known theories of American Democracy, the elite theory, the pluralist theory, and the hyperpluralist theory. Each of these approaches all hold the relatively same belief, that Americans need someone powerful to govern and take control. Of the three theories, the elite theory best explains the American political process.
Direct Democracy vs Representative Democracy The term Democracy is derived from two Greek words, demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning rule. These two words form the word democracy which means rule by the people. Aristotle, and other ancient Greek political philosophers, used the phrase, `the governors are to be the governed', or as we have come to know it, `rule and be ruled in turn'. The two major types of democracy are Representative Democracy and Direct
America's Democracy The United States of America is a republic, or representative democracy. Democracy, a word that comes to us from Greek, literally means the people rule (Romance, July 8). This broad definition leaves unanswered a few important details such as who are the people, how shall they rule, and what should they rule on (July 8). Defining the answers to those questions means defining a model for a democratic system.
These were the five fundamental principles women were not allowed to vote until August 18, 1920 when the 19th amendment guaranteed all American women the right to vote. The voting act of 1965 block barriers from state levels to allow African Americans to exercise their right to vote. Additionally how people could have individual freedom that did not infringe on the rights of other citizens. Equal protection under the law must apply to all people to equal protection. Which is still a
For Americans, the word “democracy” itself is strong enough to conjure up notions of a nation unhindered by an oppressive government where citizens are able to engage in the freedom of speech, press, and religious choice and practice. So powerful are American pro-Democratic sentiments that it is a common thought that any other country that does not prescribe to a liberal democracy is somehow inferior. Yet as time marches on, the feelings of superiority by American citizens become more and more unfounded. For, right before our eyes, the very notion of democracy, that Americans become braggarts about, is disappearing. While the U.S. government boasts of the freedoms it affords its citizens, it corrupts such an image through repeated non-democratic actions. While citizens cherish the affordances of a liberal democracy, many do not make the effort to support such a system; taking it for granted that no matter what, a democracy is a self perpetuating entity. In this paper I will argue that the liberal democracy that supposedly defines American government is a declining entity due to overt acts against the principles of democracy by the United States government and also due to the decline of civic engagement by United States citizens. The fact is, no system of government can be perpetuated if the government and its citizens do not work to keep their ideals alive and in practice.
The United States government could be described as a representative democracy. This form of government puts power in the people’s hands by letting them vote for their representatives. United States citizens vote on presidents, congress members, etc., which allows some power to be placed in the hands of every citizen. A representative democracy allows us to have a say in who represents our beliefs, values, and standards for the country. As stated in How Congress Works, a representative democracy is a way “in which the people would choose elected representatives to carry their voices to Washington.”
It is human nature to separate into different groups. This is a rollover of the initial human instinct to operate with a pack mentality to survive. The problem that arises with this is determining how a group that large will function. There are many different options, such as a dictator or monarch, but one seems to prevail in the modern world: representative democracy. Yet, representative democracy has many downfalls that prevent it from being the best way for a group of people to operate. Representative democracy leads to leaders and rulings that are separate from the needs of the people, it causes rampant corruption among its ranks, lead to legal corruption, and grants corporations a dangerous amount of power. Representative democracy is not a
Elections aim to preserve our democracy in a number of ways, and they are effective in doing so from the way they are currently set up. Our elections take place under representative democracy and are efficient, have minimal transaction costs, and strive to reduce agency loss as much as possible (491, 7th Edition). The roles that elections serve are to maintain a stable representative democratic government without having any agency loss, which is accomplished by: 1.) Allowing citizens to vote and choose for any representative that represents them, 2.) giving those delegates more of an incentive to be responsive agents through the opportunity of keeping/improving their jobs, and 3.) encouraging citizens to keep a close eye on the delegated representatives