Voting in the United States - Essay Example

Voting in the United s Introduction In the US, the concept of voting has remained to be a verycontentious issue in the country’s history. The eligibility to take part in the voting process is a relevant concept at both the state and federal levels. It is important to note that according to the US Constitution, where certain federal laws or some constitutional provisions are absent, then each of the states is given considerable discretion for establishing the qualifications for candidacy and suffrage, which are often within its respective jurisdictions. Originally, the Constitution of the United States did not have specific definitions for the people that were eligible to participate in the voting process. It is believed that in most of the states, Caucasian males were given the right to vote; these people had to be owners of property and had considerable amounts of taxable income. For women, they were only allowed to take part in the voting process in New Jersey, provided they met the set requirements effectively. Currently, democracy in the United States has grown and developed significantly, with many people getting eligibility to participate in the voting exercise, which is meant to give the country new leaders to steer its economic growth and development (Patterson 17). However, despite these constitutional provisions, sections of people have not been participating in the voting process in many of the years when elections have been held. This trend has been growing, which is something that has prompted research into some of the possible causes in the developing trend in some of the Americans. Why Voter Participation in the United States Is Lower Than That of Western Europeans Political participation is often described as the involvement in the activities that are aimed at influencing public policy and leadership in the country. Some of the main issues of most democratic governments are who takes part in the politics, and the process of how they are to do it. The constitution in these governments gives people the right to participate in the country’s leadership through democratic elections. In this case, voting becomes one of the best ways by which people can take part in the political process of the country. Despite these legal provisions and rights for the citizens of a country, voter turnout in the US has always been lower compared to most of the democratic nations in Europe and other parts of the world. Several reasons have been given over this development, with various strategies devised to encourage most Americans to be taking part in the country’s elections in the future. One of the reasons that have been given for the low voter turnout in the United States is the constitutional requirement for personal voter registration. It is believed that according to the country’s Constitution, a person who is eligible to participate in the process is one that has personally registered. Often, this tedious and highly bureaucratic process discourages most of the Americans from taking part in the elections (33). Compared to other democracies in Europe, the burden voter registration is a duty of the state and not people. This is often done fast because these countries reduce the bureaucracies, hence managing to register many people that take part in the voting process effectively. Another reason that has been given for the low voter turnout in the United States stems from the fact that the country conducts frequent elections. This process discourages most of the electorate, who complain that the frequent election processes often distract them from their social and economic activities (36). In the United States, the liberal economy has given many people the chance to take part in various economic activities. In this case, the frequent elections distract their business prospects – something that many of them choose to forego and attend to their personal and work affairs. One of the outstanding features of the US political process is the fact that the country has only two political parties, which is contrary to many other democracies in Europe. This idea often discourages many people in the country, because they believe that these parties do not effectively represent and articulate the needs of the economic classes that happen to hold divergent views. In this case, it is evident that policy stakes in the country’s elections are in the same way, reduced significantly. By having only two political parties, many of the Americans that do not take part in the elections claim that policies do not ultimately change with each of the succeeding regimes (42). Overall, it is important to note that it is only a minority group in the United States, which is often willing and able to take part in the demanding activities of the political parties, for instance, working for candidates in the campaign process to ensure that they secure election in the country’s leadership. Additionally, in the United States, most of the political activists happen to be people with higher proportions of income, as well as education. These people have the knowledge and skills and other material resources to enable them to take part in the political activities and voting processes effectively. Why Some Americans Vote Regularly Than Others In the United States, some people are consistent in exercising their democratic right to vote than others. Many of the Americans who manage to take part in the registration process often engage in many elections that are held frequently in the country. Many of those who do not vote often do not develop interest for many reasons as those given above. From the many elections that have been happening in the United States, a section of the Americans have been consistent in the voting process while others have been adamant to take part in the process. Some of the reasons that have been given for this development are the civic attitudes portrayed by these groups of people. Most of the people who do not vote have a negative attitude towards the political registration process, which they often describe as being unnecessarily bureaucratic, compared to other democracies where the government takes the role of registering people for the voting process. Another important reason for the disparities in the voting patterns of the Americans involves income. Participating in the political activities in the United states often require one to have a substantial amount of income in order to manage the election process. One is supposed to have enough money to enable him work for the candidate taking part in the political campaigns. While some people with high incomes often dedicate to the process consistently, others prefer to forego the process and invest in business and other social and economic activities that give them utility compared to politics. Education about the election and voting process is something that denies most Americans the right to participate in the voting process effectively. It is believed that the American election and voting process is somehow a bit complicated compared to that in other democracies in Europe. For this reason, few people that understand the process effectively take part in it. Unfortunately, many of those that do not have profound knowledge and skills about the American elections and voting process are many, leaving few of them to take part in this process. Encouraging Political Participation and Voter Turnout in the United States One of the ways of increasing voter participation in the American political activities is increasing civil education in the country. Concerning this idea, many social movements have been registered and come on board to take the role of facilitating this process among the country’s populace. These movements have been trying all they can to change people’s negative attitudes toward the governments’ responsiveness to the voter registration process. Most of these processes take place away from the established channels by the country’s Constitution. Some of the most common channels that these movements use in encouraging voter participation in the voting process include picket lines, demonstrations, marches and other ways that deliver their objectives accurately (51). It is important to note most of the protestors in these activities are young people, who happen to be more idealistic compared to the average American citizens. However, the only disadvantage is that these people only make up a small percentage of the country’s population – something that does not achieve the set objectives effectively. It is important to note that the idea of protests has not yielded results that are more effective, because it does not have much support from the rest of the population. The Americans have continued to enjoy the freedom of free expression, which makes the protests highly unsuccessful. One of the things thought to have a big influence on people’s attitudes towards the voting process is if the government will take the responsibility of registering people, as is the case in other economies (53). Until this is done, the majority of Americans that do not take part in the voting process will continue to have dissenting views on the voting process. Works Cited Patterson Thomas. We the People. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print. Read More