Voter Turnout Analysis

Concept: The Importance of Voting Article: “Patriot Connectors to Discuss Importance of Voting” My article began by introducing a group named the Patriot Connectors, and the entirety of the article expressed the group 's views on why people should vote and exactly how important voting is to American society. The group states that not voting or not even being registered to vote in essence, undermines America 's representative democracy. They attribute the lack of voters being related to the fact that many feel that their votes do not matter in a government system they see as unfair or rigged. The article relays the fact that voting is something citizens learn to do.

Hasan Ibrahim GOVT 2305 Professor Moore 29th November 2015 The America Votes Act of 2015 “The America Votes Act of 2015 allows qualified voters who do not have identification documents required by their state to sign a sworn statement authenticate to their identification in order to cast a basic ballot at the polls.”

After performing their civic duty and voting for a candidate, Americans feel disappointed if their candidate wins the popular vote while failing to be appointed to office(Drew Desilver, Pew Research Center). Disappointment equates to a feeling of hopelessness which, in turn, deters Americans from voting in future elections. If a candidate can win without the popular vote, then does their vote even matter?(Drew Desilver, “Pew Research Center) Discouragement has even been shown by presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who stated “it’s time to move away from the electoral college and move to the popular election of our president”(Mahler and Eder, “The electoral college is Hated by so many. So why does it endure?”).

I believe that Americans should be required to vote. Compulsory voting allows everyone to have a say about who they think is fit in the government. It allows the polls to be more accurate and the number of votes increase. Required voting allows those who can 't or don 't have time to make it the day or time off work. Requiring people to vote is like a boss requiring his employees to get to work on time, it 's short and easy but also important and effective.

Your vote doesn’t count. I realized the truth of this statement after a recent experience. Knowing the Hyde Park Municipal election draws closer, I work to complete my registration. My first time voting, I research the candidates and prepare my voter’s card. I become excited, when in reality, this preparation is in vain.

For the past century, voter turnout in American presidential elections has significantly declined, likely due to the fact that Americans do not believe their single votes are important. In light of more recent elections, political donations from corporations, identified or anonymous, have infringed upon traditional, American democracy. Although corporate donations to political campaigns have little effect on the public compared to the newly pivotal role of social media, these donations are founded upon a ruling that is classist, undemocratic, and corrupt, leading to unprincipled politics. This ruling is Citizens United, passed January 21, 2010.

In Canada, we believe that democracy is the best choice to choose who leads our governments and with voter turnout descending, it seems as though that election results will not always represent what people want in terms of the leader of the government. Canadians, especially young Canadians, seem not to understand the importance of voting and how the results affect their lives. When Canadians decide not to vote, the motivated voters decide what all Canadians will accept as the party who will be the next government in whichever jurisdiction the election took place. With these reasons, I strongly believe that the importance of voting should be more emphasized to Canadians as voter turnout has been descending, it will stimulate stronger participation and interest in political activity and the importance of voting is not understood by the majority of youth in Canada.

Have you ever asked yourself "how would the world be if there was no structure to allow people to vote for the person who is leading their country?". How about "Does my vote really count ?" or "does the opinion and choice of me, one person, really make a difference?". These questions aren't simply answered but should be seriously thought of by anybody who is a citizen of a country which has an established government and truly cares about the wellbeing and future of the country that they live in. I will be focused on the importance of voting for the president themselves is important. Individuals whom are over the age 18 and have a vailidated citisenship of the country they wish to vote on, have the opretunitiy to vote on several different ascepts of the government.

Abi H. Civic Reflection Issue 1- Change in Point of View: In Canada, voter turnout has become a major issue; as there is a large amount of the population that does not vote in elections. Back in 2008, a total of 58% of the countries` population voted in the election. This is a startling low number, which since has begun to increase only slightly in recent years. In a democratic society, voting is essential for it to function with its full potential. Doing so enacts one of your basic responsibilities as a citizen, as well as shows that you are staying involved in your community and government.

Mandatory voting makes large numbers of people vote, which will make the country run more efficiently because the election was based on the hopes and aspiration of the people for the future leader. Voting should be made compulsory because its positive effects exceeds its negative

Another solution to the low voter turnout would be to allow citizens to cast their votes online. Although this is susceptible to fraud, they can limit the votes per person by only allowing one vote per IP address or by issuing each registered voter an account login. This method would allow people to cast their vote in a matter of minutes at their own time. The last suggestion that could increase voter turnout would be removing the registration process to vote. Younger voters are not familiar with the voting registration process or they think it is too complicated.

“ 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.

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.

This means the need for government outreach is even greater. There is a need for voter reform to engage more people to participate in elections. This includes reducing obstacles to registration and education on voting process so that there is more civic involvement (Comstock-Gay & Goldman, 2009, p.64). There is a need for the executive branch to create a position whose sole focus on civic outreach to ensure that all areas of the government are implementing and executing steps to increase civic participation (Comstock-Gay & Goldman, 2009, p.65). An open government that has transparency enables the public to begin to regain trust in its elected officials.

If some citizens who are qualified to vote are denied the right to cast votes, it is considered as a severe abuse of political equality. The debate about the age of electoral majority has taken place for a long period; however, there has been moderately slight attention in the debate given to the exclusion of young people from the vote (Tremmel, 2015). Some of the critics of lowering the voting age to sixteen claim that the young people do not possess the capability and motivation of appropriately taking part in the elections. Some studies have shown that the turnout of the voters ages 18 years is relatively low, however, this cannot specifically attribute to the motivation to take part in the election (Wagner, Johann, & Kritzinger, 2012). This shows that this the issue of the age to the electoral majority is of significance and should be discussed.