Low Voter Turnout

The way is doesn’t reflect popular vote is because people think that their vote doesn’t matter to the voting of the president. The way it lowers the turnout is because it makes

Hey jackson! I completely agree what you said in your discussion. The low voter turnout should not be worried about and that it is a good thing in general. The people should not vote if they are not interested or are not educated on the election. As you said, If you introduce and educate the people on politics this should help the low voter turnout in time.

Some issues that contribute to low voter turnout in Texas is socioeconomic which include poverty and education, and race. Poverty is a big deal in Texas and what one may realized is that people

The concept of voter turnout is simply the total number of people that voted in a given election. The number of people that show up to vote during a given election is usually compared to two metrics, VAP and VEP. Voting Age Population takes into consideration all people that are older than the voting age in a given area, which is 18 years old in the United States. Voter Eligible Population uses the VAP and subtracts those over the age of 18 that aren’t eligible to vote, which includes and noncitizens and felons. VEP also includes American citizens that are overseas at the time of the election.

This shows that there are barriers to voting. Nevertheless, the primary system is a not a very good system because this system doesn’t represent all the people of the

Voter Turnout in Texas As stated in the prompt voter turnout in the state of Texas is amongst the lowest in the nation. Many people seem to be confused or in awe as to why Texas has such a low voting rate. The truth in reality is that there are quite a few reasons why the turnout in Texas is so low.

Voter turnout in the 2014 midterm election hit American democracy hard. The country’s average turnout was 36.3%—the lowest it’s been in 72 years. Worse yet, no state exceeded 60%, and in the great state of Utah, only 28.8% voted.

However, there are several ways to combat this problem. One way to get more voters to show up at the polls is have election officials mail ballots to all registered voters. This makes it easy for registered voters to select their candidates on their own time. This method to obtain more voters is in place in two states currently, Oregon and Washington. This method has proved effective because “in the 2010 midterm elections, just [Oregon and Washington] exceed 70 percent participation” (Koas).

Many statistics change over the years, however, one that has been steadily decreasing is the voter turnout. Which is odd considering the overall population has increased roughly 3.3 million every year. Many theories have been proposed to attempt and increase these numbers and encourage more people to vote, but none have really been put into action. There must be a better way. First lets cover possible reasons why the turnout has decreased.

Voting to elect public officials is one of the most invaluable right available to a citizen in a democratic society. The act of expressing a preference for certain candidates enable individuals to exercise their collective power in electing representatives who truly stand for their interests. Through voting, people realize the basic principles of democracy and establish a government of the people, by the people and for the people. In countries where voting is a compulsory duty of every citizen, voter turnout is between 70% and 90%. In addition, voter turnout in the U.S. is only 50%.

Gerrymandering, the deliberate manipulation of a Congressional district for political purposes, has exploded in the two decades. Its use allows for a suffocation of political voices, and reduces elections to games and arbitrary district lines. Those that decide district patterns can decide the fate of elections, slicing and dicing communities to establish favorable election math. Ordinarily, districts get gerrymandered to lump together the most dangerous voting population into a handful of districts (forfeiting those votes), and then winning solid majorities in most other districts. These methods establish safe seats for the party who controls redistricting.

“ While compulsion of any kind is a restriction, so is the compulsion to drive only on the right side of the road.” ( “Is It Time To Consider Mandatory Voting Laws? Worsening Voting Statistics Make a Strong Case.” by John W. Dean.) One way voter turnout can increase is by compulsory (required) voting.

This is strictly why the Electoral College should be taken off the amendments and if not abolished. The Electoral College has failed three times in history, and the loser ended up winning because of state votes and not popularity votes. If we get rid of the Electoral College we will be able to vote directly, and citizens votes will be equal without having to worry about candidates cheating any kind of system for personal gain. Getting rid of the twelfth amendment will solve this issue like I have stated above, If we do not act; candidates will keep on deceiving the system. We’ve been trying to get rid of the Electoral College for the past couple years now, but we as the people have failed to act and therefore they will put it to the side and say “Don't worry, we will get to it”.

However, one of the key characteristics of a healthy democracy is a high voter-turnout. If people do not turn up on Election Day, it is likely that they do not see the point of holding elections or the conditions are not suitable for them to vote. People vote because they believe that their vote has the power to make changes in the country. Voter apathy often develops when voters do not see voting as a way of voicing their concerns. America therefore continues to tread on risky ground, if a way of increasing voter turnout is not found.

As a result, most voters could become disinterested in the democratic process because they have no meaningful way to express their true preferences. What could be worse is three