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Voter Turnout In Presidential Elections

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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. Fundamentally, the Supreme Court ruled that “corporations, unions, and other groups may engage in unlimited political spending …show more content…

Unfortunately, through the freedom granted to corporations/the wealthy through Citizens United, this spending will “distort our democracy, tilting the playing field to favor corporate interests, discouraging new candidates, chilling elected officials and shifting the overall policymaking debate…in the direction of giant corporate interests,” (Sanders and Weissman). This is one of the many reasons American citizens feel a general distrust toward “Washington” and “Wall Street.” The people in power will remain in power with no new opportunities for anyone else. Congress and the States should retain the highest powers, certainly not highly profitable corporations. Citizens United “is about dominance…by wealthy people and corporations and about legitimizing a…system that is unrepresentative, money-driven, corrupt, outmoded, and dysfunctional,” (Kairys). The wealthy are given more speech rights, leading to more representation and inequality when America is truly about democracy and equality for all. If Citizens United and its components remain lawful, America will continue to digress from a democratic

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