Registering To Vote

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.

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

Being able to cast my first vote in the 21st century is a privilege. My generation needs to accept their patriotic responsibility and vote because many reforms are needed in order to carry us into the new millennium. Voting reforms are necessary to inspire political participation for other modifications and adjustments needed in areas such as health care, education, and Social Security, all which we as young people will face in the future. Participation in elections is necessary to facilitate and enable progress, but our present day system of voting is expiring by frustrated Americans.

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

When the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (also known as, the Motor Voter Act) was passed, I believe it may have had a postive effect by facilitating the registration process. However, people have become significantly lazy in the past few years. Even though this act made it very easy for peoplet to register to vote, I believe many feel as though their personal vote is insignificant or maybe they just really don't have an opinion in politics. But in reality, their vote would definitly make a difference. I feel as though it is a privellage we as a people get to vote for our leaders of the country and many may have forgotten that with all of the political wars and arguing going on around us today. When I am able and the next election comes

To every political system there are many positives and negatives and one critique of compulsory voting systems is that informal and uninterested voting is increased. It has been advocated that compulsory voting brings a large amount of “uninterested voters” to the polls and in turn cast votes that are clearly inconsistent with their own political values compared to those who are more informed and motivated voluntary voters (Selb and Latchat, 2009). In this case the primary concern is when people are forced to vote they will either pick a candidate at random or spoil their ballot which consequently, does not make the outcome of the election representative of the people’s interests. If certain individuals are not interested in politics they should not be forced to contribute in one of the most salient political statements practiced in Canada (Selb and Latchat, 2009). They have the right to choose their level of political participation.

Whether protecting and expanding voting rights through permitting more valid vote identifications is a controversial topic during the presidential election of 2016. Many people believe that the current voter ID law makes young, women, minority groups, and seniors hard to access to the ballot box, and thus, should be revised to broaden lists of acceptable forms of voter ID. On the other hand, the supporters of the Voter ID law argue that the law is effective to eliminate undocumented immigrants and noncitizens to make a fraud when voting. Janell Ross, in her article “Hillary Clinton declares war on Voter ID,” uses examples and professional language to demonstrate the negative sides of the Voter ID law in a polished manner. In the article, “Here’s what Donald Trump thinks about Voting,” Zachary Roth uses strong reasons to make a clear argument on the necessity of implementation of the Voter ID law. A valid and persuasive argument should be able to appear to reason, writer’s character, and emotion. Therefore, although Ross and Roth both clearly present their opinions in a professional manner for the audience, they lack validity in providing credible sources to back up some of their ideas.

Up until the early 1900s, obtaining suffrage for all was a long-standing, turbulent battle that many had devoted their lives to. Once the racial and gender barriers were shattered, the participation in the political process on a national and state level greatly increased; citizens were finally able to express their partisan viewpoint through vote. Unfortunately, current voting laws in the US do not provide every of-age citizen with the same satisfaction; convicted felons in Texas can not contribute to society through the ultimate method of political communication: vote.

An individual can register to vote online through the state department website, by filling out the application. A resident can vote in person at the designated registration site. An individual can also register to vote by mail by obtaining a voter registration application by requesting it or by printing the online application, completing and mailing the application back to the county’s office. The registration process must be completed thirty days prior to election day. To vote Pennsylvania created these laws to make sure every qualified citizen have equal access and opportunities; registering thirty days prior to election day, ensures that there is no procrastination in the registration process because there are a lot of citizens in

In this essay, I would like to discuss the major obstacles to voting, recent changes to overcome voting barriers and the political influence of changed rules. Low turnout in the U.S. reflects that there are obstacles for people to voting and changes to overcome these obstacles may also bring new problems to different social groups. I will elaborate on these aspects in the following parts.

The Motor Voter Act increased voter registration by mandating that every state offer voter registration when individuals get their drivers license or apply for welfare services. However, a noticeable increase in voter turnout did not occur. In order to increase voter turnout, similar to how registration increased, the actual voting system could be simplified and made easier for individuals. This way it doesn't seem like too much of a hassle.

Staci L. Rhine describes the history of voting registration procedures in her article “An Analysis of the Impact of Registration Factors on Turnout in 1992” (1996). She reports that until the 1960s, states had the full responsibility of establishing requirements for registration and administering elections (Rhine, 1996, p.173). Federal reforms have been effective at giving states guidelines to follow to make voting easier for citizens (Rhine, 1996, p.173). However, due to voter fraud issues in major elections, states have had to implement the new aforementioned measures (Ash & Lamperti, 2013, p. 15). In 2011, states which had previously allowed for same day registration, or Election-Day Registration, began legislation to remove this outlet (Weiser & Norden, 2011, p. 2-3). Many voting rights advocates wholeheartedly support EDR, and states, which had this form of registration in place generally, had higher turnout rates than those who did not (Weiser & Norden, 2011, p. 25). So, without Election Day Registration, many young individuals, and those who move around often are denied their right to vote, simply because circumstances prevented them from registering earlier. Furthermore, the advent of the photo identification requirement in numerous states makes the voting process more difficult. Studies have shown that 11% of the population, approximately 21 million individuals, do not own photo IDs, and these

The two events I would not attend would be the National voter registration (9/17/15) and The U.S.M.C. Recruiting day (10/21/15). While these are wonderful events to experience, these simply don't peak any interests of mine. The United States Marine Corp is a fine military branch to serve in; Having a brother who served four years in that very branch. But as someone who has an established career, and currently is attending college to make a career change, Joining the armed services would be counterproductive. As far as voter registration day, Which is an excellent idea, getting people registered to vote is something I completely support. As a registered voter, there is no need for myself to attend, but would be interested in volunteering to

Voter turnout, as well as election results, depend upon and are effected by several different factors. Everything from family status to beliefs about abortion can determine how a person will vote. In my presentation, however, I focused on three aspects that effect voter turnout and elections. I found, in my research, that a voter's age, sex and party identification greatly factor into how a person will cast his or her vote.

Voting is a vital portion of conducting everyday life. Americans have more freedom than many other people in countries around the globe; therefore, it is pertinent to express that freedom in many ways. Up until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, many people of color, gender, and all other classifications in the United States fell under one umbrella: not having the ability to vote. (massvote.org) As far as Americans having the ability to vote, 218,959,000 people have the eligibility to vote as of August 16th, 2015. Out of that significantly large number, 146,311,000 are actually registered to vote. (statisticbrain.com) This large gap in people with the eligibility to vote, and actual registered voters, is very alarming. As an American, it is the right and duty of a citizen to exercise all attainted rights by voting in all elections, even if the favored party seems to lose to no avail. (theodysseyonline.com)