Politics, Political, And Political Politics

Voting has been a core part of our government since the very beginning, however, many citizens chose not to take part in this essential participation. To prevent any one person from gaining too much power voting was put in place as well as checks and balances in the system by the founding fathers. While not everything is decided by voting because our government is a Constitutional Republic, voting is by far the most important way a citizen can participate in the government. Therefore, it’s baffling that people chose not to vote. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” While we can all agree that voting is important there is a debate on whether it should be mandatory. Voting should be an optional but important way to participate in the government.

One factor that decreases voter turnout is the misconception that a person’s vote does not matter. Alienation is a feeling of personal powerlessness that includes the feeling that the government does not care about individual people. These people believe that the government will not respond to their concerns even if they do vote. The problem is that a large portion of the population shares this attitude. People can have negative

One study ranks the U.S. 120th on a list of 169 nations compared on voter turnout (Pintor, Gratschew, & Sullivan, 2002). While during the last decade many initiatives have been undertaken to increase voter participation, concerns

I believe that the low voter turnout in most elections is appalling. Why do people want to willingly give up their voice in our governmental system? Fewer than 37% of all eligible voters actually cast a ballot in the last presidential election. Many claim ignorance of political issues, but I believe that must stem from laziness. If people would

There are many of us who are disillusioned by the American Political system, over the years we have become increasingly cynical, viewing politicians as extensions of Corporate America, the good OLE boys from the South and the Eastern Elite. For such politicians, politics itself was a life long destiny, full of ambition, finesse, and struggle for power, yet a severe lack

Hearts sinking, fists clenching, frustration building up, American voters prepare for yet another painful presidential election. American elections are notorious for candidates bashing each other, constant television and telephone ads, and above all, shockingly low voter turnout. The list of reasons citizens do not vote goes on forever, but at the top of this ever-long list is one fact: voters in America simply do not believe that their votes matter in the grand scheme of things.

The overwhelming lack of trust in the government and uninformed voters is covered in Ch1 of WTP. Harold Lasswell said, "Politics is the struggle over who gets what and how". A direct effect is an uneducated voter and even worse a higher number of people that just will not vote to show that they do not approve nor care. The results of this misguided thinking are often more and more people left behind when the pie is sliced… who gets what and how. The trust in the Government continues to decline because people feel helpless to what laws are passed and who is elected. This brings self-justification to the ideas of' "we are losing out rights and becoming blind sheep." Yet, in this information age, the lack of responsibility of research and footwork for information will cost "them/us" to continue to be absent when it's time to be heard. At the speed of the free internet, we have access to just about anything, yet it is difficult to find reliable and natural information for politics and the news without a little effort, yet many can find their favorite song before it comes out. Personally, I feel this strain as well, but I understand that "I" can make a small difference but "US or WE" can make change by investing a little

Low voter turnout in the United States is due to poor rules and regulations, demographics,

Voter turnouts in the U.S. are spectacularly low compared to most other democracies. Turnout has not reached over 70% in the last century while other developing nations and quite a few third world nations have registered higher turnouts. During the 2016 presidential election, only about 55.7% of the population cast their votes according to newly released Census Bureau figures. The U.S. trails far below compared to the other developed nations hovering over 80% which were, Belgium (87.2%), Sweden (82.6%) and Denmark (80.3%). How could this be? Is the U.S. political system built in a way where many people believe that their votes don’t matter or should compulsory voting be enforced? There are many factors that go into the results of voter turnouts in the U.S.

Distrust and dissatisfaction with the government has always been a common sentiment in modern political life. Every Congress and president throughout history has had their fair share of critics and detractors. This has held true in the past and will continue to hold true for the remainder of our democracy. An underlying distrust of government has been a constant in American politics since the country’s birth. This sentiment can be traced back to a uniquely strong emphasis on personal liberty, coupled with the revolutionary fervor with which the nation was founded. Latent anti authoritarianism is a defining characteristic of the American experience. The marked increase in cynicism over the last few decades is a separate phenomenon, however.

We may live in a country that encourages voting in political elections, yet the level of voter turnout in America is relatively small and continues to decline. Compared to other countries with democratic governments, the United States falls very near the bottom of the list with its percentage of voter participation. One explanation for this disturbing phenomenon states that the American system requires more effort from voters, asking them to participate in “more elections for more levels of government with more elective offices at each level than any other country in the world” (Schudson 159). In most other democracies, the citizens may be asked to vote only 2 or 3

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

In Michael Nelson’s Why Americans Hate Politics And Politicians, the author presents some very compelling evidence as to why Americans generally detest modern government. He cites several historically recent political scandals as potential explanations for the public’s mistrust of politicians. He blames the modern American political culture as well as the various public media hosts who frequently diabolize politicians and denounce their political actions. He also alludes to the common American theme of displacing blame from oneself, onto another group of individuals serving as political scapegoats. I felt that his arguments were thoroughly grounded in facts, as well as the various statistical poll results that he presents. I also feel that his arguments are still relative to the political world of today, as public opinion has not changed that much since this essay was published. Americans still share a general hatred for politics, even though the American public is often to blame, and not their elected officials as they wish to believe.

There are a few reasons why people choose not to vote. Firstly, it takes work to register to vote. In the U.S it is up to the individual to sign up for voting. They have to go to a specific building like a governmental building or a library just to fill out the paperwork. In other countries, if you are a citizen of that country, you automatic get signed up. Right before an election, there is such a thing known as a one stop shop in which people can register to vote and vote at the same time. This usually happens a little earlier than the election as these people get to vote early. While there is a major turnout of voters with this, it actually has lowered the rate of voting.

As stated previously, there is quite a low number of U.S. voters showing up to the polls, which damages the efficiency of the American democracy. United States was ranked 31st out 35 countries for number of voter turnout this last August. The last several decades of data shows only 53 percent of eligible voters showing up for U.S. presidential elections, compared to Belgium’s 87 percent or Turkey’s 84 percent voter turnout. The problem with small voter turnout is summed up by this quote “our legislature is a reflection of our voters, but our voters are not a reflection of our citizens.”