Pros And Cons Of American Democracy

As citizens of the United State of America, one of our most important rights is that of which to vote. By voting, the general population has a say in who its leaders are. Votes for local, state, and even federal representatives directly reflect who the constituents want in office. However, America’s highest office is not elected by a vote of the people. Instead we use a confusing and outdated system called the Electoral College. Our president is not elected by the people, but by 538 electors who can legally vote for whomever they choose. Several times in our nations history an elector has voted against the people’s will. Three presidents have been elected into office by the electoral college and

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.

United States. The question that Roberts tried to answer was, “Why is voter turnout so low in the United States?” One of the basic premises of the article was that high voter turnout was a good and desirable thing. He argued that that high voter turnout is crucially important and something that should be sought after in presidential elections. The article also presented several possible solutions to the problem of low voter turnout.

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.

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

The citizens of the United States of America populate a very privileged nation relative to the majority of developing countries. Americans are able to exercise a multitude of rights. Despite having freedom to the most basic of rights, Americans do not take full advantage of their liberties. One such instance relates to American’s right to vote in elections. Presently, U.S citizens of differing heritage, skin color, gender, and social standing has the liberty to vote for the authoritative figures who will run their government at the local, state, and nationwide scale, yet very few U.S citizens are present at voting polls during off year elections. The cause of the nationwide absence at the polls is reflective of U.S. citizens’ distrust of the political system and their state of ignorance concerning current national issues.

Voter turnout is always an important aspect when it comes to a measurement of participation from the citizens for the election. Compared to other democracy countries, the U.S. does not have a high voter turnout for elections. Against other developed countries that have a democracy government, the U.S. ranked 31 out of 34 in voter turnout (Long). The percent that the U.S. has for its voting-age population that participated in the most recent national election was 55.7% while the percent of registered voters that participated was higher at 86.8% (Desilver). There are various reasons why the U.S. voter turnout is how it is. Different countries conduct their elections in numerous ways that make them unique. The U.S. uses an electoral college for the national election. Americans have often discussed disapproval for this system since it is not a guarantee that their vote will

Sadly, majority of Americans do not follow politics and who is running for presidency. Americans have become too comfortable with thinking that the world will become great on its own and that they are not needed in helping to extend life on Earth. Other democracies have higher turnouts because their voting days are generally held on weekends and the area expresses the concerns for voting. The problem is cultural and institutional. Culturally because Americans are greatly influenced by their peers and if their peers show a small interest in voting so, will they. An example is a parent that does not vote as they hold no interest; therefore, their child once reaching 18 will not want to do the same. Intuitionally because rules and laws are better

The 2016 election was one that most would consider the most “in your face” election The United States has ever seen, and still only 55.7% of eligible citizens voted (Bureau, US Census.) According to the Pew Research Center, the US ranks 31 out of 35 when compared to other developed nations around the world (Pew Research.) As a country, our voter turnout is much lower than most other developed nations. In Pennsylvania specifically, we rank just 23rd out of 50 states for voter turnout. Looking at the top ten states, (Minnesota, Louisiana,

In 1832 roughly 57.6% of the total United States Population voted in the presidential election. This percentage contented to rise until 1876 when a record high of 81.8%. Since then the percentage has hung around the 40% to 50% mark. The 2016 election was estimated that 55.5% voted. Belgium, Sweden, South Korea, and Denmark all have voting turnouts in the 80%. America is often referred to as the poster child for democracy. President Obama stated “We’re the only advanced democracy in the world that makes it harder for people to vote”. But in all honesty registering to vote 15 days before isn’t that hard. In some countries if you are a citizen you are automatically registered to vote. This could possibly take out a huge step in the process. Many people would like to vote, but miss registration. Besides voter registration many people believe that it is just a lack of interest. Others

The author also made valid points on why people should use their right to vote. He stated that “If you can vote and do not, you have no right to complain about the results and the policies you do not like.” (Page 11). There has been a dramatic decline in participating voters since the 1980s, which the author states here “Among that population in the U.S. that is eligible to vote, we rank next to last in voter participation among 21 industrial democratic nations of the world… In the 1980 presidential election 74,000,000 did not vote. In the 1988 presidential election 90,000,000 did not vote! It was the lowest since the 1924 election of Calvin Coolidge. It was worse in the 2000

In the United States, everything seems to be done better than anywhere else in the world. The USA has great sports and music, many different cultures, a high literacy rate. These are among the things that make America the greatest country in the world. However, Election Day and voter turnout isn’t very respectable. In fact, the USA came in at 138 out of 172 countries that hold public elections, per the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Many people in the US that don’t vote provide a majority of reasons for not voting, such as: too busy, not interested, or illness/injury, according to statisticbrain.com.

Not once in all of American History have more than 50% of all registered US citizens cast their vote in support for the next president of the United States. On Election Day, more than half of the country stay home on election night. There are many different reasons for this. For example, people just don’t have time to go to the polls on Tuesday or they’re too busy to register in the first place. However, the largest reason why people don’t go to the polls is because most people simply don’t care about the election. There are 3 main reasons for this large amount of voter apathy.

The United States uses a system of voting to put their role of having a democracy into play. It is considered to be more of a political right rather than a civil right as some people make it out to be. Voting can be a complex process and the people who choose to participate and not participate changes based on different variables; like the type of election, ethnicity, age, gender, and even education level. History has shown that it was even harder for people to vote because of things like literacy tests and poll taxes as well as meeting all the qualifications. On top of all those, eligible voters still find reasons to not vote, which can be mainly why the turnout is so low in the US.