Obstacles Of Voting In The United States

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%. That is because U.S. government not only does not require people to vote but also it places a number of restrictions on voter eligibility. Unlike in other western democracies, registering to vote is not

An eligible voter cannot vote without first registering. This places an added burden on eligible voters because those who forget or failed to register are unable to cast their votes. Studies have shown that voter turnout start to decline after registration was instituted. Interestingly, the U.S. is not the only democracy that has a registration requirement; other western countries also require voters to register. The different is, in countries with higher voter turnout, registering voters is the responsibility of the government, whereas in the U.S. it is the individual's responsablity. Also, the time and locations of registration are not well publicized, and many people do not know when and where to register. In addition registration laws in the U.S. are established by state governments, and some states have laws that make difficult for citizens to qualify because they have to prove eligibility by having lived at a certain location for a certain length of time, usually between 30 and 50 days. It is obvious that the voter registration system in the U.S. is outdated, it is in need of a major