The Role Of Voting In The United States

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

Voting. What is voting? Voting means to bring awareness, to bring change, to be the part of the movement, and to be a responsible citizen of the country. Voting is a primary right and a duty of every citizen of the nation to being responsible for the change happening all over the nation and the world. Most citizens in any country are middle working-class families; the problem they are facing should solved by any of the president or government such as equal pay, low wages, job security, employment rights and similar problems.

The United States is often seen as a hallmark of democracy, due to the nature of peaceful presidential transitions along with the abundance of civil rights and liberties as outlined in the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution. However, on an average, only 60% of eligible voters participate in the presidential elections that take place every four years, and 40% turn out for the congressional midterm elections that occur every two years (Fair Vote). John Winthrop, a New England colonist during the early 17th century, told his fellow Puritans, “We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us” (Ushistory.org), but has this really lived out its meaning if American elections do not include the voices of everyone?

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

Voting is possibly one of the greatest civic duties that individuals can do for their government; by going out and intellectually voting for a candidate that represents themselves and those like-minded. However, it has become tradition in the United States for the American youth to vote in far less numbers compared to the rest of the eligible voters. According to a study done by Harvard University, young adults have not only have lower voter participation compared to the older population, but their participation had been gradually falling overall from 1968 to 2004. Consequently, this long standing practice has led to issues with underrepresentation of America’s youth and in my opinion has aided in the gradual fall of voter participation overall now and will lead to an even increased fall in the future.

Given the opportunity to vote is a very crucial task. Voting in the United States dates back to a time when the United States was first being developed and being a patriot actually meant something. The choice to vote is a very important choice that we the citizens of the United States have. By submitting a vote one is doing so much more than just selecting the next president. You are selecting a leader. Someone who you believe could lead this country in the right direction while having the capability of fixing any problems that may arise. During the 2012 election, it came down to two candidates: Democrat Barack Obama against the Republican candidate, Willard Mitt Romney. Two fierce men, going against each other for one common goal: the chance to become the next President of the United States. Throughout the campaign, both candidates took shots against each other in the means of commercials and online ads with the hope to cause a disruption in the other candidate’s ability to gain the presidency. The goal for each candidate was to gain voter’s trust and show the American people their credibility. With these attacking ads being broadcasted to millions of voters, it made it much harder for the candidates to gain the voters trust. By having such a compelling ad, voters would question their own views as the ads would change their views through rhetoric appealing.

What can be done to assure that United States (U.S.) citizens do not lose voting rights, but regain rights that have been lost? First, we have to look at the bigger picture of the whole world; then look at history; and then at ourselves. Over time, we have been through absolute monarchy, dictatorship, and slavery which were once legal in our United States (U.S.) government once upon a time. Today, these positions and institutions do not exist. Now, in today's government of the U.S. we have come a long way to make things exceptional among ourselves. Voting rights have helped a lot because they have given all of United States (U.S.) citizens a voice, whether positive or negative. So can you consider this discussion on this subject and

Your vote could change America. Voting is also a right for American citizens. One reason you should vote because you can, being able to vote is called freedom it is so important because not everybody has freedom but we do so go out there and use your freedom and vote like a true American. Another reason you should vote is because you show pride in your country if you don’t vote whose hands are your country in? Another reason you should vote is because voting is your voice and you have to speak up and let your voice be heard. Also your children are depending on you to make the right choice and vote to change America. Another reason you should vote is because we

Why vote for a candidate who isn’t qualified for the job? Hillary clinton if anything is over qualified for the job. She has taught at the university of Arkansas law school. She was also named one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in america by the national law journal in 1988 and 1991. She had served 8 years as the first lady, and as the us senator for new york. Hillary is the one for the job, because she knows what she must fix. Hillary has some strong points about college she wants to ensure no students have to borrow money to pay for tuition books, or fees to attend a four year public college in their state, to help the research about alzheimer’s and related diseases she wants to invest $2 billion dollars per year. She will create good-paying jobs by making the United States the clean energy superpower of the 21st century. Hillary will find a way to Give working families a raise, and tax relief that helps them manage rising costs.To help with gun violence protection, dealers and manufacturers will be held accountable. Hillary is also pro equal rights for lgbt americans, she opposes using “religious freedom” to justify cutting access to healthcare and

In American history, voting has been a direct involvement of the public with the government. Patterns based on the structure of voting have emerged to demographically section the voting population. Scholars have found that these voting patterns can be followed by studying the political activity of different religious groups. From the 1960s to our most recent elections, voting patterns among these groups have fluctuated as well as stayed constant. The reason for such changes, or lack thereof, can be credited to a number of social issues such as abortion, gay rights, and other major secular controversies as well as the historical context from where their political decisions arise. These patterns show that some people experience pressure from

Many people in America, who already have access to vote for many generations, don’t understand the importance of voting. In fact, a lot people can take it for granted, especially woman now a days who have access and the right to vote since 1928. Besides voting being fair to both men and women, many believe that its privileges aren’t still being given enough to people of a different race. Throughout the years of trying to make our government fair to many citizens, it’s hard not to feel many people being racially discriminated by higher superiority. Even though we have such laws for equal equality in America, racial discrimination is still continuing today, with people having trouble accessing to vote because of their race and laws against racial

Presenting two forms of identification to cast a vote within the United States is an easy solution that would still allow the majority of the population to vote, and would also help eliminate the potential for voting fraud. Those opposing this law, are mainly Democrats that feel stricter ID requirements at the polls would “suppress the vote of segments of the population most likely to vote for Democrats, but also the least likely to have photo ID-racial minorities, the elderly, and the poor” (Ginsberg et all 328). The elderly, most likely would not possess an ID, as they have the least amount of need for one, however, other groups including the poor have a constant need for identification while living in the United States. Events and occurrences

For example, Ben Miller, 16 year old Takoma Park City resident, believes that this opportunity to vote is in fact a “valuable privilege” bust as well admitted that “he has no burning issue motivating him”. If Miller, were to vote at an appropriate age, he would be able to experience the real world and view the outside issues that occur. Takoma Park officials had as well been dealing with low voter turnout, which eventually led to council member Tim Male questioning “How to get more voter turnout?”, which led to lowering the voting age. What official failed to notice, is that as long as there is no virtual punishment for not casting a vote, citizens will continue to neglect

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.

If the news was not manipulated to benefit one party’s best interests, society could manage to make choices which may make a difference to the growth of a nation. Voters can make better decisions when electing new leaders in office, people can band together to find justice for a single cause, and most importantly, people will feel more empowered citizens. As businesses drive the direction of a nation with limited coverage on stories, one's belief on a matter becomes discouraged from making changes. Thinking about the current candidates running for office. The media have exploited Donald Trump's behavior to minimize the pressing matter which include the actual principles each candidate intends to stand by as president. How does one decide who to put into office without understanding the consequences of their decision?