General Theoretical Context of Low Youth Voter Turnout - Coursework Example

Insert Youth Voter turnout Voting is a term used to refer to an activity that involves casting a vote. Turnout of voters is the number of registered who make it to the polling stations and successfully cast their votes. Research has shown that there has been a reduced vote turns out since the late 1960s. In association to the low voter turnout are factors that include economic reasons, cultural affiliations, demographic, technology and attributes of institutionalization. Some researchers strongly suggest that the education is a major contributing factor. Education of a particular nation also depends on the economic conditions. It is said that American rich countries have more educated citizens and correspondingly low voter turnout. Some nations do not practice a democratic way of leadership and as such have no elections or voting systems in their countries. Democracy has been attributed to many problems including instability of society due to political fever and sectarianism. The United States of America has varying states where voting patterns in individual states are distinct. American states can be categorized into rich states where the financially abled people reside while other states are considered poor because its occupants are not wealthy. American youth lead the practice of not turning out for voting sessions, which is a behavior that resonates with most youth across the globe. They are a busy generation, educated generation and have embraced technology more than all other people hence affecting their urge and need to cast their ballot. Problem statement Voting is an important event in shaping the country. Democracies use this chance to highlight the leaders they have and subject them to public scrutiny that will proceed to choose whomever they feel able or are confident to lead them. A leader is supposed to be elected by a majority of the citizens and should endeavor to portray the image of the nation. The resource available in the state is a factor to look at in considering the richness of persons who live in a given state. In categorizing age group and their voting patterns, youths in between the age of 18 and 24 have a low turnout during elections. At this age, they are mostly pursuing higher education. They are mostly at a stage where they want to discover the world and the vast culture in it. General theoretical context of low youth voter turnout Voter registration Most countries that conduct elections require that voters should be registered, and its reason is to prevent voter fraud through people voting ineligible or voters who are eligible voting several times instead of voting once. Voter registration is usually open to almost all people in most countries except for those who are still minors and those who do not meet requirements for citizenship including those who have been charged with a criminal offense (Charney). Voter registration comprises of two systems in which voters may be eligible for registration. Self-initiated system needs individual voters to register them to be eligible to vote. It has an advantage in that the list generated for voters will be applied in electron proceedings hence no need to give information that is private, which can be needed by forms of government paperwork. In this way, privacy is enhanced in systems that are self-initiated. However, self-initiated systems tend to leave voters that are eligible to vote excluding them from the process. For general reasons, voters may not be in a position to understand the registration process or to find it inconvenience and in the end fail to be registered and finally will not vote. State initiated system is also another system for voter registration in which registration is done in an automatic way. Through a number of ways, both local and national government ensure that voters who are eligible to vote are registered hence voters who are automatically registered will vote (Charney). However, the state initiated system has a limitation in that it will not present itself when voters list is not properly maintained by the right authorities. Most youths who are at the age of 18 to 30 years may fail to be registered. This is because most youths transfer their residences to marriage, college, and their careers hence their minds are not focused towards registration to be among the voters instead they are filled with moments of excitement. In addition, since the young people have moved to geographical locations that are new, it will be difficult for them to know their places of polling and for this reason may not vote in the end. In addition to that, the registration process for voters may take place away from their polls that are referred to as Jury duty in most places. Voter registration may place a registered voter‘s name to a location of the jury pool. In this case, most people in the society who are poor may not afford to have time out of their workplace to in order to participate on a jury. Instead of bearing the risk of being unable to pay the bills, the poor may fail voter registration and in the end will not vote. Registration systems for voters can decrease turnout for voters due to lack of residency requirements, insufficient or no automatic registration, and the opportunity of jury duty. However, having registration systems in place will not clear the incidence of low turnout since turnout has all the time decreased. Electoral system Electoral system is another aspect that has contributed to decreased voter turnout. Most state and local elections and mainly federal elections have a multiplicity voting system since candidates that have the majority of the vote’s wins elections absolute. Most countries use proportional voting and in this system the winning candidate will not have all votes instead, each team that will be able to obtain a considerable number of the votes will receive a form of representation (Charney). There is an urge from most countries to use proportional representation scheme to conduct its elections since it will bring an increased number of new voters. It is with this regard that they claim that some voters who have the potential to vote remain at their homes during the day of the election since they have less hope for their winning party. In plurality system, voters have less concrete reason to vote when their party has fewer options for winning majority votes. It is preferable in systems that are two parties since third parties cannot be too much influential. Electoral system has also led to voter fatigue which results into lower turnout for voters. This results when voters are required at the polls several times. With this regard, voters become exhausted and withdrawn from voting hence reducing their ability to vote contributing to low voter turnout. Social capital This refers to different social ties among individuals, and conflicting connections that come out among individuals for taking part in different activities. Under social capital, people participate less in-group activities; people fail to trust their colleagues and are more cynical (Charney). It is with this that low social capital brings about a reduced voter turnout. Voting procedures These are the techniques through which voters can vote and contributed to low voter turnout. Some methods of voting are not effective such as voting via mail since it does not attract voters who are new. Frauds are possible through voting via mail resulting into cancellation of votes hence reducing voter turnout. Weak political parties Strength of political parties also determines the voter turnout. Strong political parties are powerful in that they are tempted to engage in in illegal deals such as intimidation of voters and bribing votes. When this becomes known, a voter will not be able to put up with this declining party membership. Psychological issues Registered citizens entitled to votes may be affected by psychological factors reducing voter turnout. Political efficacy is one of the most prone factors that influence voter turnout. When there are greater, chances of voting, people will aspire to vote, and this can create problems to the individual registered citizens entitled to vote and their efficacy perception. This will lower efficacy beliefs making some voters to remain at their homes during election time. Media reports may sometimes lower morale for registered citizens entitled to votes from voting. Voters can be informed by the media that their votes will not add much to in the voting process. Such negative reports can attract a large number of registered citizens entitled to votes not to participate in the voting process hence reducing voter’s turnout (Charney). US States Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product is market value of final goods and services produced by a certain country, state, and province within a specified period. The goods that are considered in the calculation of GDP have to be valued at their market prices. The goods and services also have to be the final product and not raw materials. The calculation should be conducted over a certain period. The period are mostly in years, but quarterly GDP can be calculated when coming up with GDP projections. GDP measure only the domestic productions of a certain nation or state. The USA has fifty states with each state having a devolved government that oversees the economic transactions of their states. GDP of the state affects the GDP per capita of a state. GDP per capita is derived from dividing the total GDP of the state by the total population. A higher GDP per capita indicates that there is a higher productivity. When the GDP per capita is high, there is an indication that the living standards of that state are higher. Higher living standards mean that there is a better life quality (Charney). Higher GDP also indicates that the states have better medical care, better education and many educated people, better food, more entertainment and better governance. State 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 District of Colombian 145,663 147,965 148,729 147,193 151,257 Delaware 61,183 61,737 61,677 62,072 60,747 Alaska 61,156 61,202 60,873 63,264 59,697 North Dakota 55,250 49,847 46,867 44,359 43,530 Connecticut 54,925 55,143 55,269 54,814 57,106 Wyoming 54,305 54,969 56,689 57,942 57,447 Massachusetts 53,221 52,517 51,889 50,285 51,911 New York 53,067 52,657 52,242 50,452 51,396 Mideast 49,580 49,109 48,709 47,553 48,856 New England 49,519 49,149 48,776 47,629 49,126 New Jersey 49,430 49,020 49,026 48,526 50,950 Oregon 48,069 46,573 45,375 43,247 45,156 Washington 47,146 45,942 45,631 45,113 46,963 Virginia 47,127 47,118 47,042 45,891 46,779 Minnesota 47,028 45,708 45,271 44,262 46,148 Maryland 46,720 46,054 45,685 44,632 45,511 Texas 46,498 45,025 44,203 43,221 44,310 Colorado 46,242 45,913 45,759 45,450 47,239 Far West 46,211 45,146 44,905 44,944 47,571 Illinois 46,151 45,306 44,481 43,851 45,557 California 46,029 44,898 44,793 45,105 47,976 Nebraska 44,943 44,594 44,061 42,823 43,255 Hawaii 44,442 44,296 43,769 42,995 45,112 South Dakota 43,181 43,561 42,090 42,567 42,925 Louisiana 43,145 42,764 44,209 42,268 41,493 New Hampshire 42,958 42,818 41,951 40,631 41,383 Southwest 42,880 41,725 41,103 40,542 41,961 United States 42,784 42,069 41,694 41,049 42,805 Plains 42,465 41,553 40,956 40,213 41,622 Iowa 42,222 41,404 40,657 40,141 40,998 Rhode Island 41,678 41,061 41,000 40,565 41,160 Rocky Mountain 41,677 41,315 41,201 41,025 42,386 Kansas 41,070 40,716 39,636 38,980 40,641 Nevada 41,029 40,970 40,532 40,974 45,155 North Carolina 40,289 39,627 39,821 39,390 40,590 Pennsylvania 40,063 39,455 38,806 38,105 39,503 Great Lakes 39,919 39,113 38,250 37,130 39,273 Wisconsin 39,308 38,845 38,491 37,499 38,788 Utah 39,158 38,373 37,903 37,770 39,001 Indiana 39,065 37,935 37,273 35,202 37,653 Vermont 38,198 37,736 37,291 35,383 36,485 Georgia 37,702 37,324 36,948 36,776 39,334 Ohio 37,690 36,892 35,881 35,171 37,350 Tennessee 37,254 36,370 35,763 35,189 36,942 Southeast 36,961 36,370 36,482 35,988 37,568 Missouri 36,815 36,169 36,139 35,663 37,505 Oklahoma 36,252 35,726 35,349 35,523 36,633 Michigan 35,298 34,547 33,391 31,738 34,745 Arizona 35,195 34,676 34,463 34,905 38,395 Florida 34,802 34,440 34,519 34,775 37,212 Maine 34,597 34,455 34,326 33,672 34,251 New Mexico 33,900 33,872 34,263 34,485 34,340 Kentucky 33,519 33,135 32,659 31,313 32,794 Montana 33,204 32,742 32,209 31,780 32,718 Alabama 32,615 32,354 32,148 31,493 33,036 Idaho 31,945 32,025 32,292 32,133 33,481 South Carolina 31,881 31,345 30,926 30,483 32,273 Arkansas 31,837 31,547 31,516 30,991 31,872 West Virginia 30,389 29,427 28,891 28,078 28,034 Mississippi 28,944 28,337 28,741 28,289 29,557 The state of Delaware has the largest GDP in the US with a GDP of 61,183 in the year 2012, which is an improvement from 60,747 in the election year of 2008. Mississippi was the state with the lowest GDP of 28,944 in the election year of 2012. The GDP is a drop from 29,557 in another election year of 2008 (Charney). GDP variations in the US states mostly depend on the political governance of the state and not reliant only on the geological size and the population of the states. GDP in the US greatly influences the political arena and how the general elections are run in the US and specific states. Youth Voter Turn Out 2012 General election. The 2012 presidential elections in the United States saw a voter turnout of 58.7% of all the eligible and registered turn out to cast their votes. The turnout was a reduction in the registered citizens entitled to vote turnout record that was set in the 2008 presidential elections. The total voters that turned out to vote in 2012 were 130.3 million registered citizens entitled to votes that were a reduction from 132.6 million in the year 2008. The total number of registered citizens entitled to votes that were eligible to vote in 2012 was 222 million Americans. This number increased from 213 million in the year 2008. Larger states like Texas, New York and Texas had among the lowest voter turnout (Charney). State % Turnout Rank 2012 Rank 2008 District of Colombian Delaware 62.0 % 20 37 Alaska 59.2 % 32 10 North Dakota 61.1 % 22 23 Connecticut 61.5 % 21 14 Wyoming 59.3 % 32 24 Massachusetts 66.6 % 9 20 New York 53.6 % 44 41 Mideast New England New Jersey 62.6 % 19 19 Oregon 64.3 % 14 9 Washington 65.0 % 13 15 Virginia 66.9 % 7 11 Minnesota 76.1 % 1 1 Maryland 66.8 % 8 12 Texas 50.1 % 48 47 Colorado 71.1 % 3 5 Far West Illinois 59.3 % 31 29 California 55.9 % 41 33 Nebraska 60.8 % 26 30 Hawaii 44.5 % 51 51 South Dakota 60.1 % 28 25 Louisiana 61.0 % 23 32 New Hampshire 70.9 % 4 4 Southwest United States Plains Iowa 70.2 % 5 6 Rhode Island 58.6 % 35 31 Rocky Mountain Kansas 58.1 % 36 28 Nevada 57.2 % 37 43 North Carolina 65.2 % 11 21 Pennsylvania 59.9 % 29 26 Great Lakes Wisconsin 73.2 % 2 2 Utah 56.0 % 39 48 Indiana 56.0 % 40 38 Vermont 60.9 % 25 18 Georgia 58.7 % 34 36 Ohio 65.2 % 12 16 Tennessee 52.6 % 46 44 Southeast Missouri 63.1 % 18 7 Oklahoma 49.6 % 49 45 Michigan 65.3 % 10 8 Arizona 53.3 % 45 46 Florida 64.0 % 16 13 Maine 69.2 % 6 3 New Mexico 54.9 % 44 41 Kentucky 55.9 % 42 40 Montana 63.6 % 15 17 Alabama 59.5 % 30 34 Idaho 60.9 % 24 27 South Carolina 57.1 % 38 42 Arkansas 50.0 % 44 48 Virginia 40.8 % 50 50 Mississippi 60.3 % 27 35 Youth Turnout Analysis The number represents more than half of the total youth population in all the states of the US. The total percentage of youth who voted increased from 18 % in 2008 to 19 % in 2009. The turnout was highest in the swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Virginia With a percentage of 58 as compared to other non-swing states that registered only 47 %. The diversity in terms race and ethnicity of youth (18-29 years) registered citizens entitled to votes were very high with non-white registered citizens entitled to votes making up 42 %. This contrasts a diversity of only “24 % among people aged 30 years” and above (Charney). The youth turnout in the election was 50 %, which is a constant rate from previous elections. The state with higher GDP received higher voter turnout (Charney). States with a better GDP ensure that they invest a lot of money in education and youth sensitization. Education benefits many young people, and this has been evidenced by their larger voter turnout in these states (Charney). Analysis of Voter turnout (2012) elections The USA 2012 election, young people that had college experience were about twice as likely to vote as those who did not have college experience they had a percentage of 55.9 % vs. 28.6 percent. Educational level has been considered reliable predictor of one’s probability of voting (Charney). The states that had large and reliable samples voter turnout in 2012 was “Mississippi 68.1 %, Wisconsin 58 %, Minnesota 57.7 %, and 57.1 %” (Charney). The Upper side of Midwest has a strong voting tradition as well as civic engagement, and these states were highly contested in the 2012 general elections. Competition was one of the tools that pushed for voter turnout. Missippi’s turnout was the highest in the nation the sample of 175 individuals registered citizens entitled to vote turnout in 2012was ranked lowest in West Virginia with “23.6 %, Oklahoma 27.1 %, Texas 29.6 %, and Arkansas having 30.4 %” (Charney). In every each of US State apart from Mississippi, Voter turnout between the age of 30 and above was 10 percent points higher as compared to those between 18-to-28 year. In addition, the District of Columbia appeared to be an exception, but the sample size was very small to give a reliable estimate. The same thing applies to South Carolina that had relatively small gaps among youth and adult registered citizens entitled to vote turnout rates (Charney). As per Civic Learning and Engagement research reports, the population of the millennia voters have been going up as compared to any other age groups, rated from 39.3 million in the year 2000 to 46 million in the year 2012,amounting to 21 percent of total population that voted in that period. Making youth votes to actually have a lot of weight in determining the winner. Relate GDP to Voter Turnout GDP of a particular state has greater impacts on the registered citizens entitled to vote turnout. For instance, the state that has good GDP will have a larger voter turnout as compared to the state with poor GDP. This is because the states with good GDP have citizens who are well conversant with the election details and also they know the importance of election exercise and this is because of their government support to registered citizens entitled to vote education as well as having learned individuals because the GDP could support their education (Charney). Theory of election proposes that using representational, which is proportional, the electoral system boost voter turnout by itself. Despite this, the evidence on the Subject actually does not fully support its assumption. Any particular country that practices a proportional portrayal of the election process will actually expect higher voter turnout when controlling for variables such as level the of GDP per capita, level of democracy, and level of competitiveness. Independent variables are the sort of the electoral system employed, also the level of political rights as well as civil liberties, competition level, and GDP level per capita (Charney). On the other hand, the dependent variable will be voter turnout, the percentage of registered citizens entitled to vote who actually voted in elections for their respective candidates at national lower house of the legislatures. Reasons for the relations Economic stability in any given state will highly affect the voter turnout exercise. This because, in a stable economy state, have adequate resources to induce into the registered citizens entitled to vote education practice. Gross domestic product also relates to voter turnout in the sense that, a stable GDP comes along with a lot of democracy as well as good budgeting (Charney). In this case, registered citizens entitled to votes actually know the impacts of politics to their GDP and hence they will turn in good numbers to vote in the candidate who will not jeopardize the growth of GDP of a particular state at any election period. Comparison of the rich and poor states Voter turnout in a rich state is very high as compared to that of a poor state. The reason being that; the rich state has youths who are learned, and they very well understand voting procedures as well understand the importance of any election in the state. On the other hand, the poor state have got few individual who understands the importance of voting at any given time thus making their voter turnout to be lower as compared to that or rich state (Charney). Advanced technology will also be employed by the rich state thus encouraging registered citizens entitled to vote to turn out in large numbers unlike the poor state that will employ technology that will demotivate registered citizens entitled to votes and might not turn in large numbers like in rich state. Conclusion US Voter turnout has been increasing from the previous years to the year 2012. This is because of large voting patterns that are employed by the youths and the old among the states in the US. However, the voting pattern also differs from one state to another because of various factors. Registered citizens entitled to votes become exhausted and withdrawn from voting hence reducing their ability to vote to contribute to low voter turnout. Voters actually know the impacts of politics to their GDP, and hence they will turn in good numbers to vote in the candidate who will not jeopardize the growth of GDP of a particular state at any election period. For instance, the state that has good and stable GDP as well as richer state will have lager-registered citizens entitled to vote turnout as compared to the poor state. This is because the government will ensure that its citizens are well educated when comes to election matters. The state with higher GDP and larger youth population had higher youth voter turnout. Works cited Charney, Evan. "Candidate Genes and Political Behavior." American Political Science Review 106.1 (2012): 1-34. Read More