The Cornerstone Of America 's Political System

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

With all adversities that was overcome the right to vote remains one of the few things that makes us all equal. No matter your color, wealth, gender, and religion. We all get one vote; which is one of the many beauties of our democracy. With this right comes a great deal of responsibilities that many citizens

When Congress passed the fifteenth amendment African Americans were given the right to vote, however state legislatures created laws to deter the undesirable vote from African Americans. The country sediment was to not have any undesirable or what they considered non American people voting. That is why when the Civil Rights Act of 1866 passes, it granted citizenship not rights to vote. Children of immigrants were also not considered qualified to vote. This society felt that the only eligible voters should be American men, because they considered themselves as superior and denied immigrants, blacks and women to vote to uphold social hierarchy. Each state varied in voter prerequisites and while there was not a specific guideline, there were restrictions to exclude certain members of

Voting rights have been intertwined with every part of our history. The fight for the right to vote started evolving before the American Revolution and hasn’t completely stopped. Due to taxation and ruling from King George of England, many colonists were upset with how they were living in the new colonies. They wanted freedom from a king and independence so they could choose how to live. But the American Revolution did not bring as much freedom in government as the people may have hoped. The creation of the Constitution, and the then Bill of Rights, enabled the people to have the limited government they desired. It did not include policies for social welfare and justice, but it was open to be edited in the future. When certain policies, like voting, where brought to people’s attention, cultural differences impacted how some people voted throughout history. The founding fathers were smart to leave the Bill of Rights amendable. Through amendments

The American Constitution, as outlined in the Preamble, boldly defines its purpose as “We the People” (U.S. Constitution). Reasonableness suggests that the framers of the Constitution would provide appropriate legislation enhancing the citizenship’s right to actively participate in government via public elections given such a definitive statement expanding on the power of the people. However, American citizens do not possess a constitutionally protected right to vote. During the drafting period of the Constitution, only white male property owners could vote, however, voting rights have drastically changed throughout the history of the United States. Through amendments passed over the past two centuries, the Constitution has changed

Today, in order to be qualified to vote you must be a U.S. citizen, at least be 18 years of age, and a resident in your state or county. However, In the 1890’s, these were not the only qualifications that took place in order to vote. Unfortunately, White primaries, poll taxes, and restrictions on voter registrations came into the picture and made it difficult for minorities to be able to vote. It wasn’t until The Voting Rights Acts of 1965, and The Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 that minimized the amount of racial segregation in politics in the south.

Living in a nation based on democracy, where a citizen’s voice is the equivalent of casting a vote in political elections, the majority of American citizens eligible to vote do not participate in elections. The rationale behind voter non-participation varies among individuals and demographic groups; however, they all share a connection regarding their feelings towards their treatment by the country's political system. Minority voters such as blacks and hispanics are a demographic group highly faced with disenfranchisement in regards to political elections due to oppression. North Carolina’s Voter ID laws are a prime example of how minority voters are being shut out.

It seems as though the younger population of voters have all grown up in a world where they have been influenced to believe that their one vote will not make a difference, and therefore they do not bother to take the time out of their busy schedules to cast their meaningless vote. In the last presidential election, only one out of four citizens between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four casted their vote (“Is the System broken?”). The opinion that one vote will not make a difference appears to be directly respondent to the younger generation of voters. This generation needs to be educated on the difference that one vote can make.

The Limitation that has been placed since the creation of the Republic on voting were cruel. The Impact of the Revolution which was in part over the issue of voting. Though limitation was grounded on religion test by 1790 all states had eliminated religious requirement for voting. Though the Constitution left the voting matter to the states to deal with. Certain Stated restricted voting to those who owned property, eldest sons over the age 21, poll taxes, or paid high annual taxes, African American, and women were denied the right to vote, ethical and literacy test was conducted, and African American were omitted. Though Black was given the right to vote, the voting ballot was forfeited and if an African American did vote they were beaten to death or beaten.

The United States of America implemented one of the greatest rights in our society. A few amendments to the Constitution states that every American citizen who is of legal voting age has the right to vote no matter of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It took many years, and many people have fought for us to have this privilege. And, to be more precise, it took one hundred years and five amendments to end voter discrimination. Despite all the sacrifices, many people choose not to vote thinking that one vote does not count, but that may have catastrophic consequences for people all over the world because U.S. is a major world power.

During this period of American history, white women were not equal citizens and could not vote. They were expected to be dependent on men throughout their lives. It was not until the early nineteenth century that property requirements to vote were removed for white males and age became the determining factor. Susan B. Anthony declared to a New York state constitutional convention that if the right vote is determined by the age 21, then “you should let down the bars, and let us women and Negroes in.” Women, black men, and many white men did not own property, so it made more sense when these groups were excluded from voting. However, women and black men turn 21 along with their white male peers, so social reformers argued that an arbitrary age barrier should qualify black males and females to vote as well. In regards to voting

In our day and age, society is blossoming with many advancements in civilization. And yet, society is also burdened with an equally frustrating amount of conflicts. From climate change to local soda taxes, society has many dilemmas to be solved and agreed upon by the people. One such important issue is voting. As America has experienced in its relatively brief history, voting has been an issue of great importance and the cause of much turmoil, as voting is a right many believe to have been granted unequally. The 15th Amendment for citizenship and people of color to vote, 19th Amendment for women’s suffrage, and a long period of social unrest eventually allowed all adult men and women of all ethnicities, race, and creed to vote. The 26th Amendment

United States’ voting is looked at through two different functionary systems, closed and open. Close and open systems are a method of looking at how external factors influence that system; I use this method to distinguish between the theoretical level of voting and how the voting system works when put into the real world (Heylighten and Joselyn 1992; Walonick 1993). A closed-system analysis of voting provides a foundational understanding of how the voting process works. This method of analysis allows for a theoretical understanding of how the voting process should work; essentially, it is an explanation of the structures, laws, etc. that allow the voting processes to be carried out in America’s democratic society. Looking at the voting process through an open-system allows for an understanding with external influences. This part of the first section analyses how the voting process works in reality. It addresses questions like, why do people vote and why should or shouldn’t people vote? Further, the open-system approach looks at who ends up voting. Overall the two approaches to understanding the voting process, open and closed systems, establish a foundation of knowledge later linked to the influences of education on the voting

The topic of the United States of America and the broken voting systems within is quite an extensive one, as well as one that deserves to be covered in much more depth and detail than a simple essay/speech can give. Although, on that note, I shall attempt to consolidate and deliver some of the many details on why this system is so broken, as well as why it should be fixed, and some proposed ways of doing so. First, I shall cover the topic of why the system doesn’t work and the many flaws that riddle the topic. Soon following, I shall describe to you some of the many proposed methods to fixing the issues.

Having the ability to vote gives a person the right to have a say in their government. High gas prices, high taxes, and many other problems that Americans face; can be avoided by electing certain leaders in political office. Every vote cast on a ballot counts, and also makes a difference in the election. In United States history, there have been significant events that have occurred in which one vote could have changed history. In the Presidential Election of 1960, one vote would have made Richard