In 2011, the Canadian election for prime minister occurred with the second lowest voter turnout in Canadian history, a low of 53.8 percent of eligible adults. This is the second lowest turnout ever in a prime minister election. This relatively low number is around the average for the United States. This low average for the US has been a huge problem, as more and more people have felt underrepresented. For Canada, the voter rates for the advanced polls is up over 26 percent from 2011 and 90 percent from 2008 for the upcoming election this weekend. This is due to the unsatisfactory reign of the conservative Stephen Harper. The question of how to get citizens to vote has long been an issue for the United States. In specific, the turnout of young voters is drastically lower than the other demographics. One reason that Canada's voter turnout is marginally higher is that it is not simply a two party election. Because their system has equal representation for the conservative and liberal parties, the New Democratic Party, and the Green party, more people feel like they are accomplishing something by voting for a party that is specified to their ideals. But this doesn't seem plausible for the very dominant forces of the Democratic and Republican parties.
Voter turnout is an omnipresent issue with American politics, and not many solutions have come up to fix it. And because of this, politicians have been playing into the ideals of the demographics that vote the most. This is one of the reasons that very little legislation is passed with the youth in mind. Some solutions that have been voiced include streamlining voting to make it easier, such as voting online and shorter voting lines, and getting people excited for elections in between elections. Some have even advocated for mandatory voting in presidential elections. While these solutions have been voiced, almost no action has been taken to fix this problem.
Are the solutions provided enough to get the greater public to vote?
What other solutions are possible to implement in to the rigid US dynamic?
Why does the US have some of the lowest voting numbers compared to other countries?
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/turnout.php
http://www.conferenceboard.ca/hcp/details/society/voter-turnout.aspx
http://globalnews.ca/news/2270738/elections-canada-reports-higher-voter-turnout-for-advance-polls-this-weekend/
7 comments:
Although Canada has large voter turnout as a result of the presence of numerous parties with varying platforms, the creation of more parties in the United States does not appear to be a viable solution, considering that the nation is already polarized and unwilling to compromise when there are just two parties. Among the other solutions that have been offered to combat voter apathy, very few our applicable in our large democratic republic. The United States should certainly not impose mandatory voting legislation, as that would be an infringement upon the liberty of individual choice; A person's decision to not vote is sometimes due to the fact that a person cannot afford to miss work to travel and vote, or because there is simply a lack of an appealing candidate.. This is often a result of candidates being heavily concerned with obtaining funds for their campaigns, making them more focused on pleasing their benefactors than their constituents. Thus, a possible solution to this issue would be campaign finance reform and a constitutional amendment nullifying the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, though given the current state of politics, who knows how long this would take.
Another solution could possibly be making Election Day a national holiday. Though this is a blunt way of fighting voter apathy (Many people would be motivated to vote simply because they have nothing better to do), it could eliminate the problem of people choosing to go to work rather than "waste time" at the polls.
Making voting available online may be a potential solution, but it must be created in a secure manner to protect against voter fraud. In addition, although online ballots would make voting available to more citizens, there is still the problem of combating political indifference in our nation. Overall, the problem of youth voter apathy is a self-perpetuating cycle; young people do not vote because much legislation does not apply to them, and a lot of legislation does not apply to young people because they do not make up a large portion of the voting demographic. Thus, a method of motivating young people to get involved in the political process is through more political education. Although we are currently in a government and politics class, we have been learning about history for the past three years of high school. I believe that in order to foster an interest in politics, more emphasis should be placed on current events and can important subject to learn in school, but three years of exclusively history (which is the case at our school) is not as important as educating students about current events, which they can directly relate back to their own lives. Creating a more politically active youth is the key to fighting voter apathy because if the United States gets people more involved in politics starting at a young age, they will carry that political interest on throughout their lives. If young people do not vote now, however, they are setting a bad precedent for their future in voting, which will further cripple our democracy.
Sources Cited:
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/democracyday
I believe that some of the options listed above could encourage more people to vote because it will help make the voting process easier and more efficient. One example would be finding ways to shorten voting lines. However, finding ways to successfully shorten lines would be extremely challenging. Another solution to lower young voter turnouts would be to give them an incentive to vote. For example, if you gave every registered voter a free 1 month Netflix trial then I am sure the turnout would increase dramatically. It might sound surprising to some to hear that the US has such a low voter turnout in comparison to other countries. One reason may be that the majority of the young kids aren't targeted in the election process. Most of the candidates campaigns focus on boring stuff when the young voter wants to be targeted directly. That is why Donald Trump is getting so much attention, he is an unqualified candidate who is an entertainer. I believe if we educated the public more on the importance of politics in our society then the voter turnout would definitely increase.
The options you presented in increasing voter turnout certainly have potential to help the issue, however I do believe that the greatest issue we must solve to boost voting in the United States is by educating and motivating the youth. Up until this year, I had never been encouraged to vote, nor had I known the process of which I had to go through in order to register. It was only this year that I had been introduced to this information and knowing I will be eligible to vote for the next election I am eager to register once I turn eighteen. However, this is does not apply for all seventeen and eighteen year olds, even some citizens in their twenties. For those who do not take a government and politics class, or a civics course aren't provided with the information needed to vote, or even the knowledge of political parties and policies. I believe these courses offer great value for our voting representation however not all citizens are educated in this way. The student above touched upon the idea that “the problem of youth voter turnout is a self-perpetuating cycle; young people do not vote because much of legislation does not apply to them” however in my opinion, if all of the youth were to be exposed to how relevant and truly applicable legislation is to their lives through education, there would most certainly be an increase in voter turnout. To continue, if say all Americans had full understanding through their education in regards to voting and how to go forth with the process I firmly believe voting turnout would increase drastically.
You also mentioned the rigid dynamic of the United States and posed the question as to why voting numbers are so low in the U.S. compared to other countries. You asked what other solutions are possible to implement in the rigid U.S. dynamic and I believe the problem is just that; the rigid dynamic of this country. In my opinion, when people like Donald Trump are candidates for the presidency this country questions our presidential race and the seriousness of it all. As media influence increases, voters are conflicted and question the system of rigid dynamics, that is often confusing and volatile. Now this is what causes a decrease in voter turnout, a lack of understanding of the system as a whole. However if all the youth were educated as well as the middle age and even the elderly who are not, I believe the outcome of voter turnout in year to come will be significantly impressive.
I agree that voter turnout is a huge problem in America. However, like the blog post author said, some of the solutions proposed in the article are unrealistic and may even be counterproductive. I have no faith in an online voting system. With more and more advanced technology, I think it is only inevitable that the system would be hacked by an American or another country and voter fraud would be committed. Its too risky and I don't think it would bring in many more voters. I also disagree with the implementation of mandatory voting as this would cause people who are not educated on the issues and the candidates. This would be worse for the country because many people wouldn't understand how important their vote and would simply think it's just checking off a box. While many recognize that voter apathy and lack of turnout are serious problems in our political system, when laws such as Voter Id laws are passed the government is sending a mixed message, as these laws make it harder to vote. This mixed message is also sent when early voting is restricted. If we impose more restriction, how can we expect a better voter turnout. Some ways that I think could improve turnout is the implementation of a technology that tells people how long the lines are. This technology has been implemented in Denmark elections and is used at the DMV as well. The government should be working on making the right to vote as easy to practice as always, regardless of race, occupation, or income. The most important issue however is how to get people excited about politics. If people are able to understand that their vote matters and become engaged in America's political sphere, voter participation will increase significantly. We need to find a way to integrate current events and government into every day life. For the youth, government and politics should be a required class as it is in our school. A current events/issues assembly program or class should also be implemented at a younger age. This is a difficult issue to deal with however I think that is both possible and necessary to raise the voter turnout rates. I think this is such a problem in the US because we make it the hardest to register and vote.
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/02/09/3620727/voting-summit-ideas/
http://www.ibj.com/articles/55217-miller-strict-voter-id-laws-bring-more-harm-than-good
https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2014/10/why-turnout-so-low-us-elections-we-make-it-more-difficult-vote-other-democrac
It is indeed a shame the the United States continues to be plagued by a rather disappointing voter turnout year after year. However, simply finding a solution is easier said than done. The most obvious way to improve voter turnout in any country, in my mind, is to proliferate the education of the population, especially the young. Take AP Gov Pol for example; we even have a blog dedicated to political issues. One of the major issues facing the American youth today is the figment of ideology concerning the fact that one vote isn't going to make a difference. If one-million young adults take this approach, the nation loses one-million votes. The numbers will always add up. One possible way to fix the voting system is to make voting mandatory. In Australia, it is required that eligible citizens vote or face fines, and possibly a court date. This system has churned out a staggering >93% voter turnout over the since 1946. Almost unfathomably high numbers for us in the United States. However, there are several large problems with this method, specifically that Australia only has ~25 million people. That's about 1/12 of America's population. To put in place such a system with so many people would inevitably prove ineffective and unenforceable, all while clogging up the nation's courts. That being said, Australia consistently ranks in the top 10 in the world's happiest countries. With so much more voice in government, it is possible more issues are being brought to the attention of, and are being addressed, by the government in Canberra.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23810381
The United States undoubtably has a problem with voter turnout. I hold the firm belief that if you refuse to vote than you should not have the right to complain about the state of your government or president. Although the issues mentioned in the article seem plausible, I don't believe they will cause much change. In todays society I think the most important tactic to use is not only the internet, but an attack on the youth. I believe Bernie Sanders has done a tremendous job of this and is getting young people interested in politics for the first time in a long time. Across the nation young people are taking to the streets in Sanders and donating to his online campaign, a campaign that receives no donations from large millionaire and billionare donors. Bernie Sanders has aimed his campaign directly at the people and at the issues our generation cares about. I believe that the upcoming primaries will have the highest voter turnout among the youth in a long while, and if Bernie makes it past primaries the turnout for the big election will be tremendous among the youth. The main issue the voter turnout is so low is the lack of relation the young people have to many of these candidates. Even though Sanders is 74 years old he has somehow managed to create the biggest buzz among the youth in politics that I have ever seen, and has been seen in a long time. I think that many of the answers to changing our voter turnout lies in Sanders campaign and should be evaluated.
Post a Comment