Introduction
The citizens of all the democratic countries are entitled to vote. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all the people have the right to participate in the governments of their nations either directly or through their elected representatives. Voting provides the citizens with a medium of expression. It gives the voters the chance to express their opinions about the governments, take part in the vital issues affecting their countries, and hold the elected representatives accountable. It is worth noting that high voter turnout is desirable in every democratic country. As a matter of fact, a high voter turnout is essential to a healthy democracy. In essence, a high rate of voting in a country implies that citizens are taking part in keeping the democracy of such a country alive. It is disheartening to note that a smaller percentage of citizens take part in voting in the United States compared to the other established democracies. For this reason, this paper delves into why voter turnout is low in the United States and the reforms that would potentially increase it.
The United States is a free country and one of the highly industrialized democracies. Voting is one of the essential domestic responsibilities for all the eligible citizens. Nonetheless, a significant percentage of the citizens do not take part in this important process. In other words, most of the Americans do not vote despite voting being a vital privilege. The proportion of the United States citizens voting in the national elections has declined dramatically over the previous numerous decades. Consequently, this implies that the number of the citizens taking part in keeping the democracy alive in the United States has been declining over the past years. Voter turnout is lower compared to how it was during the 1960s. There are some reasons that explain why the majority of the citizens in the United States do not take part in voting as below elucidated.
Voter registration is one of the reasons that explain why voter turnout in the United States is low. In most of the other democratic countries, it is the responsibility of the governments to register the eligible electorates. In other words, these countries have state-initiated systems of voter registration. The governments of these countries know the ages, addresses, and names of their citizens. They ensure that all the eligible electorates are registered. The voter registration in these countries is, thus, virtually automatic. A significant percentage of eligible voters in these countries vote because they are not required to register first. Nonetheless, the system of voter registration in the United States is self-initiated. In other words, it is the responsibility of the eligible United States citizens to get registered as voters. Consequently, voting in the United States is a two-step process as the eligible voters are first required to register. Some of the citizens do not register in the first place and, as a result, do not take part in the national elections. The voter registration requirements in some of the states discourage the citizens from registering to vote. In fact, there are certain administrative practices and laws in some states that make it hard for the citizens to register as voters. Consequently, this explains why the voter turnout is lower in the United States compared to the other industrialized democracies.
The other reason that explains why the voter turnout in the U.S is low relative to the other Western, industrialized democracies is the lack of general interest in the politics and election. Most of the Americans are apathetic about politics and voting. As a matter of fact, many individuals in America do not like the partisan bickering that underlies the process of voting. They seem disillusioned with the country’s political process. Voter apathy has been a consistent issue in the United States politics. Most of the citizens are uninterested more in the mid-term elections compared to the presidential elections. The lack of general interest in politics and voting, thus, make many citizens in the United States boycott the elections. Voter fatigue also facilitates the lack of interest in the election among the Americans. In essence, elections are held too often in the United States. In particular, the Americans elect a new Congress every two years. A new legislature in many states is also elected every two years. The presidential polls are held every four years. Numerous elections are held in different time in the United States. Consequently, this leads to fatigue, which, in turn, makes many citizens uninterested in voting. A significant percentage of the voters take voting for granted due to fatigue. As a result, they do not participate in the elections.
Holding the elections on Tuesdays is the other reason that explains why the voter turnout in the United States is low in relative to the other Western, industrial democracies. As a matter of fact, most of the democracies hold their elections on the weekends. Ideally, this explains why the voter turnout in these democracies is high. Voting, especially on Tuesdays in the United States presents scheduling challenges to the citizens. Most of the Americans are very busy. Thus, they fail to take part in the electoral process. In other words, the numerous life obligations that Americans have tend to hinder their civic duties such as voting.
The lack of voluntary voting is the other reason the United States has a lower voter turnout compared to the other industrial democracies. Some of the world’s democracies make voting mandatory. Australia is one of these democracies. It is a requirement for the citizens in Australia to take part in the elections. The citizens who fail to vote are given a chance to defend their action. Those who do not give a valid reason are fined and taken to the court if necessary. Ideally, this explains why Australia is one of the democracies in the world with the highest voter turnout. Nonetheless, in the United States, the citizens are left to decide whether to vote. Many Americans refuse to vote due to some varied reasons. For instance, most of the citizens make the decision of not voting due to fatigue, lack of interest in politics and election, and lack of trust in the elected leaders, among other reasons.
The psychological issues also explain why the voter registration in the United States is low in relation to other Western, developed democracies. In fact, there are some psychological factors in the minds of the eligible American citizens that affect the voter turnout. One of these factors is political efficacy, which is the individuals’ trust and faith in their governments as well as the belief that they can influence the political affairs through voting. The political efficacy of the citizens rises when they have confidence that their vote will make a difference in an election. The political efficacy of the Americans is low. In essence, the majority of the Americans do not think that their votes count. In other words, many citizens in the United States do not have trust in the true impact of voting. They believe that the president is chosen by the Electoral College. As a result, they do not participate in the presidential elections, and this contributes to the overall voter turnout.
The other cause of the low voter turnout in the U.S. in relation to the other Western, industrialized democracies is the increase in the campaign expenditure. Rather than raising the voter turnout, the increases in campaign spending lower it. The increases in campaign expenditure discourage the citizens from voting by nurturing cynicism. The American voters distrust the motives of the politicians, who spend much on campaigns. In most cases, these politicians do not understand the needs of the common citizens. The citizens view the politicians who use huge amounts of cash on campaigns as power hungry. They do not see them as fighting for their interests. As a result, they become distrustful of the political system and fail to turn out in large numbers during the election dates. Ideally, this explains why there is a low voter turnout in the United States.
There are some reforms, which would potentially increase the voter turnout in the United States. One of these reforms is making voting mandatory. The country ought to pass compulsory voting laws to succeed in raising the voter turnout. The countries where voting is compulsory include Belgium, Australia, Luxembourg, Greece, Italy, and most of the democracies in the Latin America. The voter turnout in these countries is higher than that of the United States. All the eligible voters in the United States should, thus, be required to vote by the law. The compulsory voting laws would have a significant impact on voter turnout in the United States. Specifically, these laws would make the eligible voters understand that voting is one of their necessary civic duties and, as a result, increase the voter turnout. Additionally, these laws would make the elected leaders address the needs of the electorates. Consequently, this would raise the voter turnout. However, the concerns of the infringement of the individual liberty and freedom of speech would hinder the enactment of mandatory voting laws in the United States. These factors cannot be overcome.
The other reform that would potentially increase the voter turnout in the United States is eradicating the self-initiated system of voter registration. In other words, the two-step process of registering at first and then voting ought to be eliminated. The United States system of voter registration should be state-initiated. Voter registration in most Western democracies is not the main concern since it is automatic. Just like the governments of other industrialized democracies, the United States government should be in charge of maintaining whole as well as correct voter rolls. Ideally, this would make the eligible United States citizens automatically qualify for voting. As a result, this would ease the process of voting and eventually increase the voter turnout. There is no factor that might inhibit the enactment of this reform.
Allowing the eligible voters to vote online would also potentially increase the voter turnout in the United States. In essence, this reform would eradicate the inconveniences that many Americans cite as a reason for not participating in the elections. The country should move to the electronic moving to make the entire process stress-free and, as a result, encourage many Americans to vote. The younger voters in the United States are less likely to vote compared to their older counterparts. It is worth noting that the electronic voting would increase the younger voters’ participation in the United States electoral process. Consequently, this would facilitate the rise in the country’s voter turnout. However, the cybercrime concerns might inhibit the enactment of this reform. The federal government can overcome these concerns by implementing the necessary cyber security regulations.
Last but not least, moving the election days from Tuesdays to the weekends would potentially increase the voter turnout in the United States. Holding the elections on Tuesdays usually inconvenience the electorates and discourage them from voting. Ideally, this explains why the United States has the lower voter turnout compared to the other Western, industrial democracies, especially those that hold their elections on weekends. The bill to establish weekend voting introduced in the Congress did not go far. Nevertheless, it ought to be reintroduced to facilitate the change of the Election Day. Nonetheless, the resistance to change might hinder the enactment of this reform. It is vital to note that effective persuasion skills can help overcome this resistance. The Senator reintroducing the bill to change the voting days from Tuesdays to the Weekends should possess the necessary convincing skills to make the Congress pass it.
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