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Voting rights in the united states essay
Voting rights in the united states essay
Voting rights in the united states essay
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Voting, a right many people have fought and struggled for, but sadly far too few people vote. According to the 2008 US Census Bureau, only 63% of all people registered to vote did. That looks good because over 50% voted but that's not until you find out that only 72% of America registered to vote. That means that the other 28% sat at home doing their own business when their country was deciding who would be their new leader for the next 4 years. Truthfully, only 45% of Americans are even voting, even though they could change the whole country for the better or for the worse. There were wide gaps betweens the amount that can vote and those who do it. People who reach the requirements are able to vote yet only 45% - 50% vote. For 30 years, voters
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
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
The Chartist movement (a working class political movement) in 1840 believed “People had no one else but themselves to blame for the actions of their politicians” (Nash). What Mr. Nash and the chartist movement believe couldn’t be more on the spot. This country has gotten to the point where people find it hard to walk down their street to the elementary school where the voting polls are, and take a few minutes to cast a vote. A vote that millions of people around the world wish they were able to have them selves. With all the political suffrage that goes on through the world and people forced to love a leader, these no-shows should be thankful to live in a democracy. A place where elections aren’t rigged and the people are truly heard. This is why the topic of voting turnout needs to be raised. Also it’s very annoying to hear people complaining about our President when they did not even vote. It’s a very bad habit to not vote, and it needs to change with the younger citizens of this country. Helping younger people see the importance of voting needs to start with technological and educational ideas while expanding all the way to social event ideas. Only then will America’s ability to find answers to voting turnout increase.
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.
“Just Vote.” That phrase has been tossed around for years but what if people don’t want to vote? The United States of America is a democracy but many people do not vote. Since World War II, no presidential election has ever involved 65% or more of registered voters. Have you ever thought about the people that don’t vote and why they don’t vote? Here are three reasons why Americans should not be required to vote: Sometimes people can be irresponsible, government should not force us to vote if we truly don’t want to, and we need to respect people’s wishes.
...gister to vote. The ability to vote is having the ability to make a difference in the country and having a voice.
During the year of 1870, on the 3rd day in the month of February, the 15th amendment was ratified. The 15th amendment prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Basically, giving all United States citizens the equal right to vote. Thousands of brave men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend the United States constitution that holds our rights. Not to mention all the hard work from several people it took to pass congress. So why not make voting mandatory? Mandatory voting will benefit the United States citizens by allowing everyone to exercise their rights, therefore, entitling us to have a say in the electoral process, possibly making a change to improve our country.
The United States is an inspiration of liberty and hope for nations around the world. It is a nation with citizens who have the unalienable rights of, “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” and a model for how democratic nations should be ordered and maneuvered due to its intrinsic values that are held. Democracy is a system of government where the citizens are responsible for shaping their nation to represent who they are and what they stand for. The people have the ultimate power in the nation. However, as no pure direct democracy exists in any nation, an indirect democracy arises, where people vote to elect representatives, who then in turn make the greater part of decisions for the nation.
Since the establishment of our great country, Americans utilized the ballot box as a freedom of expression. Voting is a basic right that many of us take for granted, some even viewing it as a “God given right.” As citizens, we expect the right to vote. Many oblivious to the fact that voting is a privilege that can be revoked. The process, commonly referred to as disenfranchisement, is the principle reason for my summary. Today more than ever, one of America's post-election concerns is voter turnout. Usually, the numbers are bleak, especially during local elections. As a society, we cannot afford to turn our back on one of the pillars of a democracy. If elected officials are to represent segments of voters, then people from all lifestyles need to be able to participate in the process. As a Republic, our elected officials carry the message of their constituents, uniting many voices into one. This is not the case for some segments of society. Major findings show that over an estimated 5.2 million Americans have lost the right to vote. (Lance 2008) Many of these Americans are members of minority groups. The process that makes disenfranchisement possible has been in practice for centuries. The law states that once you have become a felon you lose your right to vote. This applies even after their release into society. Further aggravating the issue is society’s current tough stance on lawbreakers, which has converted what were once misdemeanors into felonies. The result has been record amounts of prison inmates across the United States, resulting in millions of Americans who hold no voice in their future. The argument made is that these men and women have been reduced to living in the shadows of society. On the other si...
In order to completely understand how far society has come and the amount of work that still must be done, in regards to being able to exercise our voting rights, we must first understand some of the voting barriers that minorities had to face in the past. It was not until 1870 that the 15th amendment was passed, declaring it unconstitutional for an individual to be denied the right to vote based on their color, race or previous condition of servitude. However, the 15th amendment only applied to male individuals, it did not guarantee the right for women to vote. Instead female voters had to wait an additional fifty years until they were granted the privilege to vote. In 1920, the 19th amendment was finally passed, stating that regardless of gender every American citizen had the right to vote.
Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Black Walnut Tree” published in 1979, uses a tree as a metaphor to convey the prevailing impact of history and ancestry. Lucille Clifton’s poem, “at the cemetery, walnut grove plantation, south carolina, 1989” published in 1991 is about the history of enslavement in America, and the importance of recognizing those affected today. This essay will dissect the differences in respect to how the authors write about history, revealed through their selective use of punctuation, and which lines are emphasized in the poem. The different ways the authors approach writing about history reveal key differences in how the author’s perceive our interactions with history: Mary Oliver approaches writing about history in her poem using uniform structure and conclusive punctuation, conveying
Have you ever been persuaded into voting? Well, you should have your own say on where your opinion goes. Voting is a right that every citizen in America over the age of 18 can do. Many people have become aware of the fact that the number of voters had reached its all time low. But as the newest voting season comes closer, we should still have a voice and the freedom to decide what we do. Which is, take a step against making America a compulsory voting country, because it proves unnecessary and there are other alternatives than mandatory voting.
The American Political System The American political system is a federal system, which consists of
The action of voting is such important role in how our country is going to be developed, especially effects on the economy, foreign relationships, society, etc. People are becoming much involved in politics, which is extraordinary because it means that the people are understanding how important their vote is and how it brings change to the issues that truly bother them. Many citizens don’t vote because they are either lazy or too busy, they either have jobs, classes, families, or other responsibilities take care of, but voting is a responsibility that should be attended. Voting could be the thing to prevent awful political leader’s to be put in office who are not focusing on what’s truly important, which is the people, which means that
that right has taken longer to be available. It 's important for all of us to vote so that we can practice our full duty as U.S.