We Have The Right To Voting In The United States

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

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.

Who our next leader is can rely on the voice of only one person. Before America was born we didn't have a say in who our next leaders would be. The king was the king no matter what the people thought about him. Since then things have changed. Therefore, all Americans should vote because we need to exercise our right to vote, our leaders have a direct impact on our lives and, because if you took no part in helping to decide who our next elected officials will be you have no right to complain about who it is.

Abraham Lincoln said, “Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” Voting is our “civic duty” and this speaks to the idea that the future is ours, so we need to play a part in shaping it. Voting is our chance to do something to benefit our society through the democratic process, but it doesn’t stop there.

In the United State there are 5.6 million people serving their time behind bars with many of their rights stripped away. Among these rights is the right to vote. Is this a right that the states can remove? This fact brings to light three main questions. First, do American inmates have the right to vote under American laws or the Constitution? Second, how would allowing inmates to vote change the face of elections? Finally, should inmates have the right to vote based on ethical premises? Today, we will attempt to answer these questions.

During his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Barack Obama observed that there was not a red America or a blue America, but a United States of America. Such sentiment implied that every citizen, hailing from all fifty states, shares a common set of principles and rights that distinctly marks him or her as a member of this nation. Although unmentioned during that landmark speech, one may assume that universal suffrage is one such right that all Americans share, binding our diverse nation together. However, although voter intimidation and violence is much less prevalent within America as it was in the past, disenfranchisement remains a reality as a result of partisan manipulation of election-administration laws. As

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

Suffrage is most important right granted to an American citizen, but the road to provide suffrage for all Americans was a lengthy one. Early in America’s history, only property-owning white men could vote. After the Civil War, the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited “the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (Cornell). Only in the last century did the Nineteenth Amendment give women the right to vote. Now, all American citizens can express their opinion on matters of the state and nation. Take the most recent presidential election for example. The Democrats and Republicans are the two main parties, Clinton representing the Democrats and Trump representing the Republicans. On November 8, Americans voted, and Donald Trump will become the next U.S. President. But recall the 2012 election, where “only fifty-three percent of eligible voters actually casted ballots—that is 129 million people out of a potential 241 million citizens taking place in the election” (PBS). These statistics show that more than half of the American population did not care about their future or the future of the next generation. Ironically, many citizens who do not vote become the same citizens who complain about the state of their nation. These Americans do not fulfill their responsibility to choose leaders who will ensure that the same freedoms they experience today will be the same freedoms their great grandchildren will have years later. Americans must utilize this right to vote to preserve the freedoms they

Tensions and emotions are running high, and some days it feels like the United States may be on the brink of a Civil War. Millions of constituents are furious as the turn of events that have taken place, and they feel as though the electoral system has slighted them. Despite all the progress that has been made for democracy over the past century, the country seems to be moving backwards. In 2013, the Voting Rights Act was gutted, allowing for the voter ID laws to take hold. During this year’s election, the impact of voter suppression has had a staggering effect on the results.

I am going to be honest. Generally speaking, I have never been a very political person. When I was younger I didn’t care much about politics and up until a year or two ago the most I knew about politics was a basic idea of the ideas of each party, their symbols, that our president is a democrat, and that there’s a presidential election every four years. But, in the past year that has changed a lot. I turned eighteen, and eighteen is the year, the year we become adults, and the year us new adults gain the right to vote. Gaining this authority gives you a feeling that you don’t quite get when you get your license, or your first job at sixteen. So imagine my initial disappointment when the first election I get to vote in involves Donald Trump. But, as I have experienced the campaign in the past year, that disappointment dissolved and I knew I wanted to share what I picked up on.

Democracy has always been one of America’s most treasured assets. We have the opportunity to vote for whomever we want, regardless of race, gender, or party. We have the right to say what we feel and even take discourse upon that action. However, it is important to realize that the institution of voting is not as perfect as it seems. There are several problems, that when looked at closely, expose the flaws in our system. This is what I observed when I went poll watching at early voting polling places during the 2016 presidential election. As I was watching different people come to vote, I saw how problems which seemed trivial in the moment could actually pose serious threats.

Americans pride themselves on the right to be a part of the voting electorate, choosing the future of the country and the leaders who represent their core beliefs. Ironically, the “right to vote” has not been treated as a right in historical terms. Instead, it’s been treated more as a privilege. A privilege only available to those who were lucky enough to be born the right gender, skin color, and economic class.

All resident have the right to vote, yet numerous individuals do not take part in an election. At hand, there are numerous reasons why these citizens might not vote: a lack of understanding for political concerns, more engaged with daily life, a shortage of confidence in our government, laziness, or the contentment with the way things are. Nevertheless, when citizens struggle consequently to get a just and equal voting rights for all, it should be a legal obligation that every single United State resident turns out on Election Day to votes. Not taking the time to vote when having that right remains discourteous and disrespects to the men and women who have struggled for the right to vote .For the reason not to vote is to not value the part

“Vote?” “Why would I waste my time on such a pointless task?” This is often said by many young voters. Young people are not convinced that politics affects them. Many just don’t care. Good habits don’t form overnight. Young people need to wake up and realize that your vote really does matter. It is your right to vote, many people don’t have that option. When someone votes, they voice their opinion. That single vote can make a difference, whether it is small or big, a vote is a vote. Young people are not the only ones at blame here, politicians don’t know how to attract the younger generation to appeal them.