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Obstacles Of Voting In The United States

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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 …show more content…

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 It is obvious that the voter registration system in the U.S. is outdated, it is in need of a major

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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.

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So, should Americans be required to vote?There are three reasons why Americans should be required to vote: voting is the least you, as a citizen, could do for your country, compulsory voting proves that the rate of votes go up, and if you make people vote it will give them knowledge about what they do not know. One reason why Americans should be required to vote is, because requiring citizens to vote is no more than requiring a male citizen to register for the draft at 19. Evidence

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(http://www.nbcnews.com/id/49701718/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/why-percent-americans-wont-vote/#.VwFIQ1XR_BU) The United States ranks 120th of the 169 countries for which data exists on voter turnout, falling between the Dominican Republic and Benin, according to a January 2012 study from the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. (Not all countries ranked were democracies, a factor that could skew the

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Voting is one of the many civic duties, as an American citizen, that is the most exercised. In the recent years, the voter turnout has increased from the previous years, but the turnout is still less than desired. In the 2008 presidential election alone, 61.7% of the eligible United States population voted and 53.7% of the eligible Texan population voted. This is much better than previous years, but still does not show a collective effort on the part of all eligible populations to vote. Americans have been known to have low voter turnouts.

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640 Words | 3 Pages

Democracy is a foundation of a country’s success. The idea of mandatory voting goes against the democracy of the United States. Mandatory voting is a violation to our civil rights and will become a law in the United States. Although many people believe that mandatory voting helps to strengthen a democratic government by making more voters participate in political process. However, mandatory voting violates the democratic United States by restricting people’s rights.

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119 Words | 1 Pages

Voter fraud is the act of a voter not listening to the American policy “ one person one vote”, and votes more than once. People can commit this fraud by registering under the names of deceased citizens, voting without citizenship, registering in multiple locations, ineligible voting, and more (U.S News). Voter suppression is a variety of tactics used to decrease the number of voters who vote in a particular election (Ballotpedia). It can be used as a technique to convince people to not vote. According to Aclu.org ,voter suppression laws make it difficult for Americans to vote “ particularly black people, the elderly, students, and people with disabilities”.

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244 Words | 1 Pages

Some states are already moving towards mandatory voting like Oregon. Mandatory voting would produce sincerely legitimate elections. It would prevent the alleviation of the different views of our politics. If voting was mandatory, more Americans would acknowledge and pay attention to the possible selections. I think that citizens need to be educated about the importance and history of voting and how it became a right before mandatory voting becomes implemented, so that citizens would understand why it is important to vote and therefore would be more likely to vote.

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Your vote is your voice. When we vote, we are actually telling elected officials and lawmakers how we feel about education, public safety, social security, healthcare, and other important

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940 Words | 4 Pages

This unfamiliarity and thought of the process being confusing deters the younger people from registering to vote in the first place. By removing this process, voters can just show up to cast their votes and move on with their day without worrying about this potentially confusing process. These three methods combined could increase the voter turnout for each

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324 Words | 2 Pages

There are several reasons for the low voter turnout at elections in the United States compared to the rest of the world, but the main reasons have to do with the culture. The current generation is growing up in a period of liberty, equality, and democracy. They are enjoying the fruits of uprisings done by their ancestors to secure civil rights and liberties such as voting rights. This makes it hard for them to appreciate and value their voting rights. For them it is part of their political system and they can do whatever they want with it.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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1552 Words | 7 Pages

Nevertheless, in America it’s our responsibility to vote. Voting is a way to express yourself and what your beliefs are. Your vote is your voice. Through voting you as a citizen of America get a say in who leads our country, it’s quite a big responsibility. While voting you access your freedom that so many lost their lives fighting for.

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114 Words | 1 Pages

Voting registration can be confusing if the wrong question is asked and the right answer is given. For citizens that have moved from county to county or from state to state, they may be interested to know if they are still eligible to vote, and the answer is almost always yes, so long as the person can prove residency. But registration itself is painless and takes little more than the presentation of identification. However, state websites and even election boards have proven to be vague about the correct form of identification. Therefore, to prevent registration requirements from preventing you from voting, make it a point to update your voter registration every time you

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789 Words | 4 Pages

First of all, I want to start off by saying that we don’t actually vote for the candidates themselves, but for electors who cast their ballots on our behalf into the electoral college . To vote in the United States you have to be at least 18 years old, a U.S citizen and be registered to vote. Voting is typically a problem in the U.S because so few actually vote. Voting can be affected by many factors, including: Education, Ethnicity, Age and Wealth . People who are less educated and poor aren’t as likely to show up versus those who are educated and adequately wealthy.

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474 Words | 2 Pages

we should never mandate voting as this could be used against america as well as screw up alot of people's life.forcing a vote will not only bring anarchy and rebellion, some people just have the right not to vote or not to care.as with the issue abouy voting booths, they are more secure then mobile voting, as well as less likely to be tampered with as opposed to

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