Election day operations play a huge role in increasing or in this case even decreasing voter turnout. In just the past primary elections the attorney general’s office received a record number of complaints ranging from issues with poll workers to broken machines. During the recent primary day, the office received more than 1,000 complaints compared to the 150 complaints received during the presidential elections in 2012.1 Broken machines and human error are inevitable problems that we try to minimize but we have to be realistic enough to expect, however problems such as those caused by improper training of poll workers or confusion caused by illegible ballots, should never occur. If voters are faced with issues such as polls sites opening late, long lines, broken machines that remain broken for hours, etc. New York may continue to see decreasing voter turnout as there is a possibility that these bad experiences can deter a voter from voting that day, or worse, ever again. Therefore, it is very important for the New York City Board of Elections to address these concerns dealing with election day operations, more specifically, enhancing poll worker recruitment and training and making the ballot design more efficient.
Perhaps the most important issue under election day operations that needs to be addressed is enhancing poll worker recruitment and
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However, the comptroller suggested it should be raised to at least $240 for a 16-hour shift or $120 for an 8-hour shift, which is equivalent to $15 an hour.4 Despite the fact that the legislation to raise minimum wage was passed at around the same time as the report by comptroller was posted, a better adjustment would be to increase wages to $17.50 an hour in New York
Beginning in America in 1787, the Electoral College was originally created during the Constitutional Convention to help make a fair way for the president to be elected without giving too much power to either the national government or individual states. Over the years, the Electoral College has undergone a few changes in attempt to make it more fair, but there is still much debate about whether or not the Electoral College is the most effective way to elect a president. Some people believe that the Electoral College does an excellent job of creating an equal distribution of votes across all ethnicities and social classes of America. In contrast, others think that the Electoral College does not give an accurate portrayal of the popular
Getting to polling locations can be a hassle, especially for the disabled, the sick, and people without transportation. In addition, voting becomes even more difficult for
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
in their state. In some states laws and restrictions, may apply to future presidential candidates on
In the following essay I will be talking about the disadvantages and advantages of partisan elections for state politics. I will also examine the last couple year's election results and costs. Finally, I will discuss if partisanship made a difference in the vote, as well as if a judge should be decided by partisan vote. In the next couple paragraphs I will talk more specifically about these topics.
The next President of the United States, the successor to William Jefferson Clinton and man who will lead America as the first President of the new millennium is George W. Bush, the Republican governor of Texas, the son of a former President. Or it’s Democratic Vice President Al Gore, President Clinton’s right hand man for the past eight years.
The minimum wage is intended to protect workers and fight poverty. In the United States, the federal government sets the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour although many states set higher minimums. There is currently a movement to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. This movement is called the “Living Wage Movement” (Living Wage Resource Center, 2016) or the “Fight for $15” (Fortunato, 2016) and purports to address the problem of poverty in America.
The special election process is not fair and therefore not adequate, because it is more difficult for working-class citizens and minority voters to participate in the election. Currently, elections take place on weekdays during working times. This decreases voter turnout, as many people are unable to leave work to go vote. Furthermore, this disproportionately affects working-class citizens and people who earn hourly wages. Voter ID laws, while practical, further decrease voter turnout because people who do not own adequate identification or who are not aware of the need for identification are unable to vote. Next, the lack of widespread voting centers makes it more difficult for voters to reach a voting center, especially working-class citizens and urban dwellers, many of whom do not own cars or other forms of transportation. Lastly, the language barrier also makes it increasingly difficult for minorities to participate in the voting process, decreasing voter
Many people in America find it difficult to even get to the ballot box on election day. Some say that they can’t get off from work because they live paycheck to paycheck and they would have to work overtime to make up for the pay they didn’t gain that work day. This is a problem that seems to be leading to substandard representation of those at, near or below the poverty line. Suggestions have been made to potentially make election day a holiday so everyone can get off working to go through the long ballot lines and I believe this could potentially be the right step to take to ensure more people are adequate representation. To make election day even more efficient, it would probably be a good idea to have mail-in ballots for every state along with election day being a holiday.
Out of the United State’s hefty population of about 320 million people, only about 68 percent of its citizens meet the voting age requirement. On the other hand, recent voting statistics indicate that only 146 million people are registered to vote, and even fewer of them make it to the polls. As a registered voter, it’s imperative to educate yourself through comprehensive research about the candidates, their views, and how they intend to run the country. Additionally, many sources confirmed my preconceived candidate choices by asserting Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders as the top contenders due to our similar ideals. However, further research shows that for some issues, such as raising the minimum wage, Clinton’s plan of action proved too disadvantageous for my liking. For this reason, coupled with many others,
The U.S Constitution gives the states considerable latitude in the way of conducting elections. The American citizens have many opportunities to vote. However, a turnout in American elections has dramatically decreased over the past several decades. In order to address this issue, majority of states have allowed absentee voting reforms. These convenient reforms are thought to increase the voter turnout in the elections, as well as to reduce administrative costs.
Data used for this term paper was obtained from Houghton Mifflin Company through the 1996 Voter's Data Set found as part of the Crosstabs package. The dependent variable (rows) I chose to highlight the 1996 U.S. presidential election voting pattern was the Final Voting Choice. The independent variables (columns) I chose were personal traits such as education, income, age, religious affiliations, race, and gender. The data made available by the Crosstabs program was compiled in a statistically scientific way by a national survey of citizens before and after the 1996 election. The objective of this research is to determine which of the personal traits of the electorate has a positive, negative, or an indifferent impact on voter turnout. Therefore, I have made the following five assertions in the below listed hypotheses:
Political campaigns are very significant in American politics and elections. It is the period before the electorate makes political decisions in the form of elections. The attention of the citizens towards politics intensifies as the date of the elections draws near. The salience of voters improves as the election date draws near and could manifest in the form of increased media attention. Political discussions, campaign interest, strength of the intention to vote, and knowledge about the candidates are other manifestations of increased salience of voters. Another indication of improved intensity is the effort put by the candidates and their political parties in the campaigns. Parties increase their efforts in the
Currently, the federal minimum wage sits at $7.25 per hour. (Alison Doyle). The debate is whether or not the minimum wage should be increased to $15 per hour. Larger states, such as California and New York, are preparing to raise their minimum wage to $15 per hour in the coming years. (Kate Rogers). Due to the size and population of states such as these, a minimum wage increase could actually be beneficial in increasing revenue and the standard of living for many employees. The majority of the United States is not as fortunate and vastly populated as states such as these. Therefore, an increase in the minimum wage could result in layoffs and reduced hiring. (Doyle). Overall, the minimum wage should not be increased to $15 per hour.