Voting, Campaigns and Elections
Voting is one of the important activities that citizens take part in most nations (Barnes et al., 02). It is a process where citizens gather in support of a given idea hoping to influence political processes. It is through government participation by letter writing, campaigning and carrying out political rallies. It is a very good step in the civic engagement. Most people argue and equate voting with health process. Since the 20th Century, the study shows that voter turnout in America has been declining (Medvic, 04). Political engagement influences many things in a country; hence, voter turnouts are very influential. However, in the United States, there are many factors, which influence the voter turnout, and they include level of education, age, race, gender and party membership.
All citizens take part in the voting process to vote for their preferred candidate or opinion. There are two main elections in the United States; these include general and special elections. General election, in this case, means an election that appears on a regular basis by law (Medvic, 12). However, Special elections appear only when there is an urgent need; for example, if the seat has been declared vacant because of other reasons such as death, attrition or passing a vote of no confidence (Barnes et al., 02). The electoral process has rules that govern the elected person and schedules the period required for him or her to be on the seat, then when to allow for the next election.
The government has the mandate to participate in the structuring of election dates and process. As a result, individual states perform their voting processes based on the law. The section two and four of the constitution states the rights and freedom of the citizens to choose a representative of their choice. For example, during Presidential elections, individuals of a given nation vote for a Presidential aspirant through choosing the desired candidate’s state of Electors. The following are the factors that affect the level of voter turnout in the United States (Barnes et al., 14).
The level of education is an important aspect in any economic and political development. For instance, those citizens, who have a higher and an average level of education always, have a higher voting rate compared with those with no or less education. For example, those with high and average brains can read and write well, and have the knowledge of the importance of civic education and how important their voting can influence the political decisions. They make a big difference when it comes to knowing the importance of voting. Moreover, it is easier for them to understand the way to go about voting than those with little education. Therefore, a country with high education level is likely to have a higher voter turnout level than that with low levels of education (Medvic, 08).
Racial and ethnic differences
In the United States, there are some instances of racial discrimination. Most people are not allowed to take political positions and participate in political activities; therefore, those are the biggest factor of low voter turnout. In addition, the minority group like Hispanics and Black Americans are always few; therefore, because of their low number, they are likely to have a lower voter turnout compared to the whites. It is because the person vying is among the minority groups. In addition, most whites are educated and their population dominates the United States; therefore, they have a greater advantage over the minority group. If the preferred candidate is entirely white, then the voter turnout is likely to be higher than that of the other group (Medvic, 09).
Age
Age is a factor in every nation because an individual has to attain a given level of age before he takes part in any voting process. Therefore, older people vote more than young people do. Nevertheless, old people may not be as many as the youths, who are ready to vote, hence, affecting the voter turnout (Barnes et al., 02)
Gender
The other most important factor is gender of individuals, whether male or female. This factor influences the voter turnout. In most cases, study shows that men vote more than women based on their own values and culture do. For instance, the majority of women initially could not vote because they were discouraged from taking the exercise, moreover, male is more educated than women. In addition, men tend to show more concern in the voting process and politics in general compared to women (Medvic, 12).
Party Membership
Parties have long membership processes, where a member of a given party vote for his preferred candidate from his own party. However, the party leaders have to take the risk of encouraging its members to vote for them (Barnes et al., 02).
In summary, taking part in elections as citizens form part of modern democracy, and most elections are always held every year in the US compared to other nations worldwide. Voting is one of the important activities that citizens take part in many nations. It is a process where citizens gather in support of a given idea hoping to influence political processes. However, there are various factors, which influence the voter turnout in the United States such as level of education, age, race and ethnicity, gender, as well as party membership.
Work Cited
Barnes, Peter W, and Cheryl S. Barnes. Woodrow for President: A Tail of Voting, Campaigns, and Elections. Washington, DC: Little Patriot Press, 2012. Print.
Medvic, Stephen K. Campaigns and Elections: Players and Processes. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.
