The Voting of Many But Not All - Essay Example

After 9/11, the United States found itself at that point more than ever needing the elected officials in Washington to come together and work towards protecting the needs of the citizens at a time of the greatest uncertainty. With that being said, when it comes down for election time, the levels at which people come out and vote are not still at maximum capacity. As this is an election year, the statistics for this year will not be available until later on, but with all things considered, 2008 is appearing to be a year of stronger voting numbers.

The question is how come voting numbers in recent elections have not been as strong as they may be now According to the US Census report from March 2006 in regards to the voting numbers for the 2004 general election, "In the Presidential election of November 2004, the sixty-four percent of voting-age citizens who voted was higher than the sixty percent who turned out in 2000. This was the highest turnout in a presidential election year since 1992, when sixty-eight percent of voting age citizens voted.

The overall number of people who voted in the November 2004 election was 126 million, a record high for a presidential election year," Adding that, "Voter turnout increased by 15 million voters from the election in 2000. During this same 4-year period, the voting-age citizen population increased by eleven million people," ("Registration" p.1). In the same report, the Census shows that based on the 2004 reported totals, it appears that both males and females had roughly the same percentage of registration to vote.

That would serve to put a hole in the idea that one gender votes more than the other, but not quite in that registering to vote, while it does show intent, cannot guarantee follow-through. The '06 report also details the statistics that native citizens are more inclined to vote than those who are foreigners, as well as that the older population does tend to vote at a higher rate than the younger population does. As it gets closer to election time, there are countless pushes made to get out the vote, especially the vote of the ever desirable 18-24 demographic.

With organizations like Rock the Vote, young people are given countless opportunities to reach out and flex their civic muscle for the greater good. Their website states that, "Rock the Vote mobilizes young people to create positive social and political change in their lives and communities. The goal of Rock the Vote's media campaigns and street team activities is to increase youth voter turnout," ("Rock p.1). Assessing the information, the question could be asked that when it comes time to vote, do people even have all of the information which they need to make a responsible voting decision when they reach the polls The online website Wikipedia says that, "Modern political science has questioned whether average citizens have sufficient political information to cast meaningful votes," ("Voting" p.1). This is a question that in itself is the root of the final voting levels which are seen on Election Day.

Many reasons can be given as to why this occurs. Voter apathy, lack of education, or even in the worst case scenario, voter intimidation which unfortunately has been accused of happening in recent years. A good example provided of how this can be true is the article by the website CommonDreams.org. In their article