There are several ways in which democracy and representation in American could be greatly improved to hold true to the statement “government of the people, by the people, for the people” as stated in Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. One area, in which several Americans see an opportunity for improvement, is through the current voting system.
According to “The Infrastructure of American Democracy is Dysfunctional” not even 55% of U.S. citizens in the eligible voting age vote in the presidential elections. If just over half of Americans are taking the opportunity of democracy to vote for those who represent their country nationally, then it seems prudent that most citizens would not be satisfied with issues that are addressed.
In addition, when “every voter in every state has a roughly equal chance to cast a ballot in a timely manner” then votes among each state, race, age, status etc. will also even out to represent every citizen in every state respectfully. This is necessary to have fair representation of each state, proportional to the population. In order for an American citizen to know that his/her vote truly counts, each person must also have an equal opportunity to vote. If voters in Florida are standing in line for hours to vote, then it is discouraging people from wanting to vote. In addition, there is no universal system to register teenagers prior to their 18th birthday. This in turn, creates difficulty for those 18-24 to vote, especially when in college or for those who turn 18 close to Election Day. These issues require an improvement in the current voting system to increase representation of all Americans through an increase in voters.
Overall, it is known that “United States makes it hard to vote” for several reasons. The fact that citizens cannot register onsite creates difficulties for those turning 18. This creates a lack of voters in the 18-24 age range. In addition, Election Day does not take place on a weekend, nor is Election Day a holiday. These factors alone make voting especially difficult for those who work and are unable to make it to the polls on time. All of these factors influence why there is a lack of voters in America. By modernizing voting, several of these factors to improve democracy and representation in American can be improved through improving the current voting system.
According to “The Infrastructure of American Democracy is Dysfunctional” not even 55% of U.S. citizens in the eligible voting age vote in the presidential elections. If just over half of Americans are taking the opportunity of democracy to vote for those who represent their country nationally, then it seems prudent that most citizens would not be satisfied with issues that are addressed.
In addition, when “every voter in every state has a roughly equal chance to cast a ballot in a timely manner” then votes among each state, race, age, status etc. will also even out to represent every citizen in every state respectfully. This is necessary to have fair representation of each state, proportional to the population. In order for an American citizen to know that his/her vote truly counts, each person must also have an equal opportunity to vote. If voters in Florida are standing in line for hours to vote, then it is discouraging people from wanting to vote. In addition, there is no universal system to register teenagers prior to their 18th birthday. This in turn, creates difficulty for those 18-24 to vote, especially when in college or for those who turn 18 close to Election Day. These issues require an improvement in the current voting system to increase representation of all Americans through an increase in voters.
Overall, it is known that “United States makes it hard to vote” for several reasons. The fact that citizens cannot register onsite creates difficulties for those turning 18. This creates a lack of voters in the 18-24 age range. In addition, Election Day does not take place on a weekend, nor is Election Day a holiday. These factors alone make voting especially difficult for those who work and are unable to make it to the polls on time. All of these factors influence why there is a lack of voters in America. By modernizing voting, several of these factors to improve democracy and representation in American can be improved through improving the current voting system.
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I definitely agree with your stance on this issue. The current system isn't working as well as at could, and something should be done to make it more efficient. A study was done (I forget where/when, otherwise I would post a link,) about organ donation programs. The researchers found that if the program was opt-out (every citizen is automatically enrolled, but has the option to opt out at their will) the amount of organ donors was substantially higher than an opt-in program. Do you think this could work for the voting system? If people didn't have to go through the (often confusing) process of registering and were simply provided a card when they turned 18, would voter turnout increase?
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your points, but while I think that the infrastructure is definitely lacking (difficult registration, inconvenient voting times), I think that the larger issue is the fact that a lot of people just don't want to vote. It's hard, if not impossible to have a representative system when the only people who vote are not representative of the population at all. The percentage of young people that vote is significantly lower than that of older Americans, so is it any wonder issues that are important to them carry much more weight?
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with what you are saying. I think the United States government should propose or find a better way to make voting available to those eligible. However, I also believe that many people who do not vote believe that in a way their vote is "meaningless". This has come to be as many states claim that the population is already democrat or republican and therefore some people feel it is waste of time to visit a voting station. This shows a significant problem in the U.S voting system itself.
ReplyDeleteI guess I will be the fourth person to agree with what you are saying. As an American citizen it is a right to vote, whether or not you want to vote or not is your choice, but you should get the opportunity. Like you said above individuals should not have to wait hours in line at the polls to vote. Our current voting system is flawed and needs work.
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