Counting Votes : The Machineries Of Choice

Voting has not always been as easy as it is today. It is interesting to examine how far America has progressed in its process of allowing different types of people to be able to vote. Voting was once aimed at a particular group of people, which were white males that owned their own property. Today, most people over the age of eighteen can vote, except for the mentally incompetent or people who have been convicted of major felonies in some states. The decline of voter participation has always been a debate in the public arena. According to McDonald and Popkin, it is “the most important, most familiar, most analyzed, and most conjectured trend in recent American political history (2001, 963)” The question is, how important is voter

Rhetorical Analysis: The primary audience for this paper includes every citizen aged eighteen and above eligible to vote in the United States. The proposed topic mostly concerns these individuals due to the fact, they are affected by presidential voting institutions. Throughout this paper, I will be arguing in favor of the Electoral College, with an end goal of persuading my audience of the benefits of the system.

America is facing an all-time low in voter participation. Since 2014 the voting population has decreased by “thirty-six and four-tenths percent” (DelReal). Many theories explain the stigma of voting in America. According to the Wolfgang “the leading theory is: many minority voters are discriminated upon and do not believe their vote will count.” Many laws created infringe on the rights of Americans, however, when citizens do not vote the government seizes control on controversial issues , which in turn creates solutions that are less than satisfactory to the civilians.

After research-filled, highly targeted, and negative campaigns, the results of the 2016 Presidential Election stunned the world. But were these results really all that surprising? America was prepared for a change in policy and election projections were incorrect due to the fact that there existed many “under cover Trumpers”, whom voted their conscience but were not willing to openly admit their political beliefs for fear of condemnation. The 2016 Presidential Election results open many areas for research into the legitimacy of the Electoral College, civic engagement, and campaign strategies as well as raises concerns over the fear American people possessed in defending their political values.

Over the last few decades, we have seen a shift in voter participation, and involvement in the election arena rather it be national, state, and or local levels. According to Time Magazine, 2014 mid-terms voter turnout was at a 72 year low. At only 36.4% of U.S, eligible voters voted in 2014 mid-terms, down from 40.9% that voted in 2010 mid-terms. Analyst views the decline as the “millennial generation” coming into effect, which clearly indicates the age group (18-33) seems to have a significantly lower turnout rate compare to the older age groups. With less participation in state and local elections, we now face decisions such as elections in South Carolina being cancelled if the incumbent as no challenge, according to Cindi Scoppe associate editor at “The State”. This doesn’t provide ample explanation considering that the mid-terms elections do in fact represent a significant portion of state-level elections, which ultimately allows individuals to experience policies being implemented at a much greater effect. So the questions arise are we happy with single file candidates ascending to the elected office with no election? Is it the lack of interest or it doesn’t matter who’s in the seat? What does this say about the public responsibility for electing these people as our representatives to make decisions that impact our daily lives?

Many refer to the United States of America as a democracy: a republic that is of the people, by the people, and for the people; where ideals such as truth, justice, and equality reign. However, if one looks closer with a more cynical lens, they might find that this is nothing more than a half-truth. For America is not truly a democracy, as many say it is, but rather a strange mix of a constitutional republic with a dash of democratic ideals. Nowhere is it more evident that America doesn’t truly rely on democratic ideas than in the system of voting used to elect the “Leader of the Free World”: the Electoral College.

The book “The Persuadable Voter” by Sunshine Hillygus and Todd Shields examines voters decisions and actions with a focus on persuadable voters. Hillygus and Shields define the persuadable voter as a reasoned voter who vote might change, is undetermined or may not agree with their party. Persuadable voters are often used synonymously with independents and those without a strong partisanship towards one party or the other. Persuadable voters have been often simplified without much examination that goes into what causes these voters to be persuadable or influenceable. Hillygus and Shields question modern myths about persuadable voters and offer their own thoughts on the topic. The authors found that the persuadable voters

People came out to vote, in spite of their disagreement with the morals and the ideas of the candidates. I volunteered on election day, and went canvassing in a low-income neighborhood as part of a Get Out the Vote Drive. I was frankly disgusted and disheartened to feel the atmosphere set by the election. Residing in the majority of houses I visited was an American citizen who did not have any positive anecdotes about the two main candidates. They were doubtful of both of their abilities to serve. When these people casted their votes, they were supporting the candidate’s respective party, rather than the candidate themselves. Many are unaware to the fact that these candidates are not their only options. In the recent election, there were about 10 presidential candidates on more than 20 state ballots. Perhaps the electorate would give one of these less known candidates a victory if they truly desire for their voices to be heard in other ways than by the two main political

Abraham Lincoln said, “Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” Voting is our “civic duty” and this speaks to the idea that the future is ours, so we need to play a part in shaping it. Voting is our chance to do something to benefit our society through the democratic process, but it doesn’t stop there.

The United States is notorious on the international scale for having one of the worst voter turnouts in the world. By pushing us to be obligated to take part in the happenings of our nation, this clause has advocated for the most fundamental piece of democracy: voting. Voting is what puts the power in the people’s hands and builds the nation’s ideal of popular sovereignty. Although it is true that we are not a direct democracy and that we do not vote ourselves on the creation of laws, we are absolutely in control of who does and does not make our laws. We are a representative democracy, and it is our duty to make sure we elect officials who share our values and act according to our will. We must never forget that our government and its officials work for us and never the other way around. To decide who we want working for us, we have elections. It is perhaps our most important role as citizens to actively investigate who we put into office. It is imperative that we find our best men and women to run our nation. This clause tells us to not only take an active part in our government but insinuates that we vote and do so

Carmela D’Amico of Salon.com writes a piece entitled “Enough of the ‘US vs. Them’ binary; Why I’m writing in Bernie Sanders on Election Day” in reference to the presidential election of 2016. In her article D’Amico captures her audience of potential voters with her opinion of the candidates and the overall election itself. D’Amico states that she does not belong to a political party henceforth declaring herself an independent. While keeping a light-hearted tone, D’Amico is able to stress the importance of voting not for the satisfaction of one’s party, but to satisfy the needs of this country. D’Amico states this as her purpose for writing in Bernie Sanders on Election Day as choosing from “the lesser of two evils” only restricts the freedom that we as Americans were given.

The 2016 presidential election is one of the most important and controversial elections in living memory. Republican? Democrat? The country seems to be almost evenly divided on political, moral, and economic problems facing the United States and the world. Trump, Clinton, and the other candidates are working to inspire the American People to vote to “grow stronger together” or “to make America great again”. Numerous citizens of the country have announced that they are leaving the country if the candidate that they dislike wins the presidential election. Many people are turning these dark days into a game- who will vote which candidate. When driving, working, and even reading some people have been playing an almost perpetual game of Guess Who

Voting relies on the quantity of votes cast for a leader, and it is this quantity which is the prime tool of the destruction of quality in society. She argues that this is because most voters “lack utterly in originality and moral courage.” 7 This commonly leads to the election of a leader who doesn’t reflect the will of the people. In contemporary politics, this thought proved to be true with the election of Donald Trump in America. The “majority represents a mass of cowards” who would willingly follow a leader who reflects their own ideas and beliefs. A secret ballot allows people to hide Goldman believes that the prevalent issue here is that the needs and opinions of the minorities are outnumbered by the obliviousness of the majority. This mass ignorance is due to the condemnation of independence of thought in society, as discussed in Minorities.

In our country today, we are so fortunate and blessed that we have the rights we have. Voting is very special because we get to exercise a right that many countries don’t have. Many countries have one ruler that dictates how everyone is going to live, how their economic system is going to work, and how they will worship. The United States is blessed to have democracy, where we have freedom of religion and the right to vote for the people who we believe stand firm on our similar platform. On November 1st, turning eighteen years of age, I was looking forward to my first time to vote. The year leading up to the election my eyes were opened to the fact that there is much division in the United States. The country has forgotten the “Pledge

At a City Hall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio when asked about the topic of mandatory voting laws (Jackson 2015), President Obama stated, “If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country.” (Stephanopoulos 2015 p5) (Evidence: Testimony) He is right, if everyone voted the political map in the country would be completely different---and not for the better. Compulsory voting can potentially cause the nation 's true political viewpoints to be misrepresented, thus hindering political progression, by making voters feel obligated to choose candidates that may not represent their ideas and forcing the politically disengaged to select random ballots.