In 2012, the year of the latest presidential election in the United States, the population of citizens capable and legally allowed to vote was 235,248,000; however, only 129,235,000 voted, making the voter turnout of 2012 54.9%. This statistic, being only slightly over fifty percent, makes the opinion of the other half completely irrelevant. The outcomes of the presidential election do not accurately portray the opinion of the nation due to the low voter turnout. Due to the lack of time, the complication of registration, and the opinion of voters that their individual vote does not matter, the voter turnout of the United States has been negatively impacted; however, these issues can be resolved through effective means of changing the mindset …show more content…
In everything from apps on phones to car electronics, Americans insist on everything to be as simple as possible. So, when things are not up to those standards, people complain. The Voter Registration process, a major limit to people not being able to vote, can be viewed as complicated. This complication can be eliminated through an increase in online voting and voter registration. By casting an online ballot and registering electronically, the complicated process of voting in booths and the anger causing length of lines is eliminated. This new process could lead to increased internet traffic which impacts the speed and efficacy; however, the internet errors and delays will and can be detected and mended faster than a voting poll machine breaking. One simple website with the input of a social security number and proof of identification would allow citizens to partake in voting without feeling like it is overcomplicated. The security of this website would be very high guaranteeing to the citizens that their information would be kept …show more content…
Even though the citizens do not vote up to global standards, they participate in other means such as voicing their opinions. These low voter turnout stats may be altered using a compulsory vote law, national online voting to eliminate complications and hassle, and increasing the education about the government process of elections of citizens to prove that everyone’s vote does matter. The suggested solution that would have the strongest impact is the compulsory vote law which requires citizens eligible to vote to participate in the voting and election process. Through these suggested solutions, the causes of not voting, lack of time, the complication of registration, and the opinion of voters that their individual vote does not matter, will be eliminated and the voter turnout will raise to acceptable standards and enable the candidates to have full citizen
In recent years, “requirements for photo identification have been hotly debated” (Drew A16). There are many different views of both political parties. While mostly Democrats are opposed to these laws, the main proponents who have been promoting voter-ID requirements are Republican state lawmakers claiming that they are needed to help prevent voter fraud. “Republicans say that large jumps in the immigrant population have also prompted them to act to safeguard elections” (Lizette A1). In other words, Republicans are claiming that fraudulent voting is an issue in the electoral process and having to provide further identification such as a photo ID is a solution.
To remedy the digital divide, people are allowed to request a paper ballot to be sent to their residence. This applies to civic engagement, because it may be important for people who are trying to get others involved to use online and paper methods. After the study was completed, Cann found that there is very little difference between the knowledge gained from the paper voter guide and the postcard. Cann used several measurements of knowledge to determine how voters gained information from the two methods. Measurements included recognition on the ballot, recall of candidate names, recognition of candidate information, ballot issue information, combined with subjectiveness level of informedness and voter turnout rates.
Concept: The Importance of Voting Article: “Patriot Connectors to Discuss Importance of Voting” My article began by introducing a group named the Patriot Connectors, and the entirety of the article expressed the group 's views on why people should vote and exactly how important voting is to American society. The group states that not voting or not even being registered to vote in essence, undermines America 's representative democracy. They attribute the lack of voters being related to the fact that many feel that their votes do not matter in a government system they see as unfair or rigged. The article relays the fact that voting is something citizens learn to do.
Hasan Ibrahim GOVT 2305 Professor Moore 29th November 2015 The America Votes Act of 2015 “The America Votes Act of 2015 allows qualified voters who do not have identification documents required by their state to sign a sworn statement authenticate to their identification in order to cast a basic ballot at the polls.”
The general perception of voters is that they are ill-informed and ill-equipped to vote on complex measures. Nonetheless, Ethan Rarick argues that voters generally act rationally and that they “rely on cues such as endorsements from people or organizations they trust to make their decisions.” (143). By providing more information and resources to voters, more constituents will be able to vote wisely and
In Canada, we believe that democracy is the best choice to choose who leads our governments and with voter turnout descending, it seems as though that election results will not always represent what people want in terms of the leader of the government. Canadians, especially young Canadians, seem not to understand the importance of voting and how the results affect their lives. When Canadians decide not to vote, the motivated voters decide what all Canadians will accept as the party who will be the next government in whichever jurisdiction the election took place. With these reasons, I strongly believe that the importance of voting should be more emphasized to Canadians as voter turnout has been descending, it will stimulate stronger participation and interest in political activity and the importance of voting is not understood by the majority of youth in Canada.
The serious lack of voter turnout contradicts this responsibility. There are individuals who speculate that it would be beneficial to make voting mandatory, with repercussions for those who do not vote. At the beginning of the course, I had believed that voting should be made mandatory. I thought that it would inspire people to vote, and would increase the numbers of turnout that way.
Every citizen has the right to vote, but not everyone does these days. It’s important that all people vote in the country and compulsory voting will assure that, because voting is not just a right, it’s a responsibility like Jury duty. Throughout the history voting laws had changed from time to time and from country to country and till now 30 countries around the world had used compulsory voting and got effective results and their countries developed due to good elections that were built in people’s opinion. Voting is considered like paying taxes nowadays, even though it is a responsibility and a duty for them to do towards their country, some people support it and others don’t. The advocates of the compulsory voting argue that
Another solution to the low voter turnout would be to allow citizens to cast their votes online. Although this is susceptible to fraud, they can limit the votes per person by only allowing one vote per IP address or by issuing each registered voter an account login. This method would allow people to cast their vote in a matter of minutes at their own time. The last suggestion that could increase voter turnout would be removing the registration process to vote. Younger voters are not familiar with the voting registration process or they think it is too complicated.
By examining their respective statistical outcomes and implications on the political landscape, the perspective of system effectiveness can be determined. It is also important to understand that in the event of a change in electoral systems or any case of electoral reform, voter engagement and response to electoral issues and events will be altered compared to the original format and experience. Historically, in periods of increased popularity toward electoral reform, there are certain benchmarks that tend to stay constant. Voter turnout tends to follow a significant decline in such periods of time as well as significant increases in opposition support for electoral reform in the same period (Leduc, 2009, 23; Elections Canada, 2019). However, the Ontario Citizen’s Assembly, a group of randomized Ontario citizens designed to educate the selected group members and create a proposal for whether electoral reform in Ontario would be beneficial and the specific type of electoral reform that would be the most beneficial.
“ While compulsion of any kind is a restriction, so is the compulsion to drive only on the right side of the road.” ( “Is It Time To Consider Mandatory Voting Laws? Worsening Voting Statistics Make a Strong Case.” by John W. Dean.) One way voter turnout can increase is by compulsory (required) voting.
We pay our bills online, order groceries online, book a doctor’s appointment, make banking transactions, fix our car ride, and more. But we are yet to vote for the elections from our smartphones or iPads, isn’t it? By 2025 that should change. World governments are keen to implement online voting.
However, one of the key characteristics of a healthy democracy is a high voter-turnout. If people do not turn up on Election Day, it is likely that they do not see the point of holding elections or the conditions are not suitable for them to vote. People vote because they believe that their vote has the power to make changes in the country. Voter apathy often develops when voters do not see voting as a way of voicing their concerns. America therefore continues to tread on risky ground, if a way of increasing voter turnout is not found.
I decided to register to vote in the end of August. The whole process of registering was a lot easier than I was expecting. I went online to find the paper copy to print of and mail into the courthouse and found an online option for registering. I decided I would do that instead, because my handwriting is messy, I’m impatient, and I don’t have a lot of confidence in the mailing system. I was expecting a giant form about three pages long that I would have to fill out about myself in order to receive my voter registration and it was way shorter.
Voting represents the collective choice, during the voting process, individuals' preferences are taken together, and eventually they aggregate their diverse opinion into a social choice. Although there are many alternative voting systems, they cannot always deliver in all situations. The reason is stated by Arrow, and it shows that it is impossible to find a perfect system. Therefore, it is important to weigh up the strength and weakness, then choose appropriate method among various alternative