Voter turnout in Canadian elections has been declining for decades at all levels of government, particularly among young people (Adsett, 247). This phenomenon brings about concern involving the engagement among Canadian youth, or lack thereof, in formal political activity. In fact, it is argued that civic duty among young people is considerably low compared to older counterparts. Due to changes in political interests and contrasting attitudes towards politics among different age demographics, youth are less likely to involve themselves through traditional forms of politics. As a result of this decline, Canadian youth are unable to shape social agenda, particularly surrounding youth issues, as political parties will not address the needs of …show more content…
(2003) Change in political era and demographic weight as explanations of youth ‘disenfranchisement’ in federal elections in Canada, 1965-2000, Journal of Youth Studies, 6:3, 247-264
To better understand the current problem of declining voter turnout among Canadian youth, this paper examines trends in turnout rates of Canadians within different age demographics in federal elections between 1965 and 2000. Through the use of the Canadian Election Study (CES) and analysis of literature, it discusses the role of political era and demographic change in shaping trends in youth voter turnout. This study concludes that the reduction in support for Canadian youth and the shift in demographic weight resulted in the estrangement of Canadian youth in politics.
This study provides access to extensive research and data on the role of the political era and demographic weight in shaping political platforms. The example of Trudeau’s shifting electoral campaigns during the Trudeau era provides an explanation for the eventual marginalization and alienation of youth in Canada, highlighting the effects of shifts in demographic
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Through the secondary analysis of the Comparative Youth Survey (CYS 2006) and the European Social Survey (ESS), Quintelier determines that level of education and youth engagement in different forms of political activities explains differences in political participation between young and old people. As well, contrary to popular belief, young and old people only slightly differ in their political
In the Huffington Post article “Why Partisan Voting Makes Accountability Impossible”, Todd Phillips analyzes how social groups and political ideology heightens the response we have toward the candidate that represents our political party. Phillips states that social groups will vote for a candidate because of their loyalty to the political party, and not because of their issue advocacy. This loyalty is emphasized due their attachment to their social group. During times of an election, politicians will have different policies and stances on issues that can be seen as being more liberal or more conservative. However, this does not deter partisans from voting for their a candidate, since their loyalty lies within their attachment to their political
The 1965 Immigration Act, which resulted largely from the civil rights movement and Democratic Congress of the 1960s, played a vital role in the change in demographics of the United States (“History of U.S. Immigration Laws,” 2008). Replacing the existing system of assigning specific countries a limit on the number of people that could immigrate to the United States each year, the 1965 Immigration Act established quotas for each hemisphere: 170,000 immigrants a year for the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 a year for the Western Hemisphere (Hatton, 2015). Although the limit was expanded to 700,000 immigrants a year in 1990 and has been adjusted many times in the years since (“History of U.S. Immigration Laws,” 2008), the 1965 Immigration Act has been the most significant of all of the immigration reform legislation because it allowed more immigrants from individual countries to come to the U.S., a
In my essay I will provide three reasons why I do not believe Texas is operating within a democracy-a political system where the many rule. According to Author Robert Dahl, a democracy should provide opportunities for effective participation, equality in voting and inclusion of adults. There are socioeconomic factors- such ethnicity, education and income which are mentioned by author of our textbook, that impact voter participation. To begin, let’s look at the role a person ethnicity plays in a democracy. Next, examine the level of education and how it correlates to voting.
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.
Therefore, Canada is becoming less democratic as younger generations are seemingly becoming less interested in various aspects of Canada’s
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.
The United States currently faces a severe problem with one of their governmental processes. In the democratic system of the United States, politicians are elected by voting from the citizens, in most cases. The problem the United States is facing is that people are no longer voting in elections for officials. This problem is discussed in the article, “In praise of low voter turnout”, written by Charles Krauthammer. The main idea behind this article is that voters are no longer interested in politics, as they were in previous generations.
The increasing numbers of Latino youth who obtain college degrees are become active in politics, with the biggest trend of Latino population is youth and growth we can only hope for even more support in politics. “For the first time ever, Latinos accounted for one in ten votes cast nationwide in the presidential election, and Obama recorded the highest ever vote total for any presidential candidate among Latinos, at 75%” (Barreto and Segura 145). The Latino vote is becoming a crucial element to politics because of their size in population. . “While turnout declined nationally from 2008 to 2012 (by 2%), among Latinos there was a 28% increase in votes cast in 2012 (from 9.7 million to 12.5 million) and Obama further increased his vote share among Latinos in 2012 compared to 2008” (Barreto and Segura 145). In recent polls
It is clear that American voters tend to avoid local elections and off-year elections. Run-off elections are also likely to register lower voter turnout as compared to first-round elections. The larger the gap between first round elections and run-off elections, the higher the decline in voter turnout. Moreover, there are lower percentages of young people voting as compared to the older population. This is an important point to note since it highlights that young people do not have information guiding them on the importance of voting.
In the case of constituencies, many in the political sciences notices that in constituencies with small and loyal electorates to one particular party, they can be simply marked off as “safe” by the party (Leduc, 2009, p. 22), effectively disfranchising those who casts dissenting votes as the riding electorate population already favors that particular party, likely leading those dissenting voters to simply abstain. Conversely, when a riding is deemed “hopeless”, due to already favoring another party in its demographics, a party may abstain from effective campaigning and mobilization of its voters, and respectively its voters would also not see the value of voting (Gallego, Rico & Anduiza, 2011, p. 160). It can be suggested that both these occur during elections, because of Canada’s stubborn adherence to this electoral system. Minorities are not safe from these disproportionalities as well, as Gwendolyn Moncrieff-Gould (2015) observes that due to the heavy concentration of immigrant minority groups in urban centers (85%) where riding populations are high, and the existence of lowly-populated rural constituencies that are dominated by whites, by simple mathematics minorities suffer a lower value of their vote per capita compared to their white
In this day in age, 16- and 17-year-olds are as well informed and engaged with political issues as older citizens. They spend most of their time in class learning about the government,
Yet, to avoid this, we can teach them how not to be swayed at school. According to the Electoral Reform Society, they support young citizens at the age of 16 in how to vote and what decision making they should do. If teenagers get the support from authorized adults who can lead young adults to the right path through society, I believe we can trust their opinions. The Fulcrum exclaims that the Ontario Government already recognizes that 16 year olds can understand the issues and independent judges on them. From this, we can say that adults keep full eye on young adults and what kind of thinking they have towards politics so it is safe for teenagers to start voting.
Most younger voters dont pay attention to what is going on in the world around them,. They don't bother to watch the news or read the news paper; therefore they don't make informed decisions. Younger voters often don't bother to go to the voting polls to vote, becuase they are to busy doing their own thing which shows a lack of civic responsibility, and intrest in the well being of our great nation. Older voters tend to be more aware of
could we set up a shool program or class that teaches youngsters the importance if voting? we need them to be educated that they can know for themslef's what it is they want or expect for there country. Now, to list some pros. Lowering to age for voting would get those teens
FACTORS AFFECTING VOTER TURNOUT IN CEBU CITY I. Introduction Rationale The scientific investigation of elections is called psephology; this term exudes from the Greek word for "pebble." (In antediluvian Greek city-states, individuals voted by depositing hued pebbles into containers.)