Minuscule Turnout In Presidential Elections

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 the last half of the twentieth century, voter turnout in federal elections has declined. During the same period, voter turnout has been higher in presidential elections than in midterm elections.

In our system of government we are privileged with the option to take part in the political process that runs the country. It is our right to vote that lets the people influence change in policy and set the guidelines that politicians must follow to be elected representatives. This precious ability, which is most coveted in most non-democratic countries, is taken for granted in our own.

America takes great pride in the fact that its citizens are able to vote for its leaders. Voter turnout is measured by total number of voters who cast their votes over the total number of registered voters. Voter turnout in the U.S. compared to other countries is comparatively

Overall, the 2016 voter turnout was lower than ever before. The United States is a country that has some of the lowest voter turnouts in history, and unlike Australia, the USA doesn't make voting mandatory. About 48 to 57% of citizens normally participate in the presidential election voting but in 2016 many American’s decided to opt out lowering the voter turnout to a mere 55% of the American population. When American’s didn't vote that decision most likely came due to the fact that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were both two of the most disliked presidential candidates in the past 30 years. We are also aware that presidential elections are more competitive in some states, and Republicans didn't seem to vote as much as people in swing

I believe that the low voter turnout can be a good and bad thing. It allows the people that enjoy the political aspect of voting and allows the people ,that are educated on the election, vote for the best man or woman. The bad part of low voter turnout is that this means that there are not enough people out there in the United States that are educated to the point in which they can vote for the next president and so forth. The people that do not usually do not vote are young, low income, and the biggest one less educated. I believe that if you do not understand the full grasp of the election and what it can have on the future of the United States, then I would not recommend that you should vote for the next U.S. president. I would like to summarize

It is believed that higher voter turnout favors the Democratic candidate. If turnout is high, then it would be expected that the percentage of Democratic votes would be high as well. This theory is based on the idea that Democrats have less of a voter turnout than Republicans, so low voter turnout would be beneficial to Republican candidates. This paper will explore this theory and will utilize data in order to confirm if this is, in fact, the case. This paper will also look into other reasons that might contribute to a higher percent Democratic vote, such as the percentage of African Americans in a state due to the fact that African American people tend to vote for the Democratic candidate. For this study, the hypothesis is that with a higher

Voter turnout is commonly regarded as one of the most distinct issues within American politics of the last century. Though the United States once averaged a turnout rate of 78% of eligible voters in presidential elections between 1860 and 19001, the average voter turnout of the 21st century has fallen to around 52%2. The cause of the marked decline throughout the 20th century is often attributed simply to voter apathy, but the issue is much more complex. Upon analysis, it is clear that a number of factors have contributed to the decreased rate of voter turnout, of which voter apathy is perhaps the least influential. The decline in voter turnout in presidential elections from the 19th to the 20th century is most likely a result of the instatement of the Australian ballot, the structure of the American election system, and an increased disillusionment with the government over the last century.

In my opinion, I believe that low voter turnout is problematic for U.S. democracy. I believe that should be viewed as a symptom of an unhealthy democracy because it essentially represents a democracy where the people do not believe in the system that is established, they do not believe that their vote actually matters, or they do not feel informed or comfortable to make their voice heard. These are just a few of the potential reasons for why there is such a low voter turnout in the U.S.

Since the United States of America established itself as its own self-governing country, one of the things that caused it to be salient and stand out from other countries is its relentless insistence on functioning as a democracy. Wars and protests have occurred so that every type of people, whether it was women or African Americans, may be granted the right to vote. Having a say in the American government is an honor and a privilege bestowed upon American citizens when they reach the age of eighteen. However, in recent years, statistics have shown that voter turnout and participation in recent elections has been rapidly and steadily declining, causing the United States to have the lowest voter participation in the world (“Is the System

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.

Another way to address low voter turnout is to lump elections together. According to a text (Dye & MacManus, 2015), when city and county elections are held separately from national elections they usually produce turnouts of 25 to 35 percent. When local voter turnout is low the implications extend much further than the ballot box. American lives are busy and continue to get busier each year, that’s why some states have adopted a vote by mail system. A vote by mail system would eliminate the need to get to a polling place during certain hours and wait in long lines. According to an article (Office of the Comptroller City of New York, 2016), Washington saw significant and immediate increases in turnout after transitioning to all mail elections

Blais 2000 and Gray & Caul 2000 said that in the most recent democracies the number of people who use their voice in election is declining. As what the journal claimed, this is also occurred in Canada. The journal reported that the turnout in small period of elections tends to decline slightly by only three per cent, and this is claimed important.

Another presidential election year rolls around for America and what will the vote decide? Sometimes equally debated and foretold, another issue exists that does not appear on the ballot. How many people will turnout at the polls to cast their vote for their governmental representatives? The patterns of American history would say that not very many will show up. “Indeed, voter turnout has fallen from its peak of 63 percent in 1960 to just below half during the last presidential election, in 1996. As a result, the world's leading democracy ranks 140th in voter turnout among democratically elected governments (Cooper).” They make this point at what seems like every election in recent

Question 1. Even in a presidential election, only about half of the eligible adults exercise their right to vote. What are the consequences of a low voter turnout? Does low turnout have any possible benefits?