other student answers
The lower voting in the US, I feel, is representative of the disconnect between the government and the average American. The turnout of 1/4 eligible voters for presidential elections and less than 40% for midterms should bother many of us. This is basically a minority of people making decisions for the majority. The videos suggest a handful of reasons why we have such low turnouts, among them the registration process (we have to reregister every time we move, change names, etc.) and you cannot register the day of elections at a polling place. The political parties are less representative of the general population, thereby alienating many potential voters who feel they’d simply be “throwing away” their votes if they vote for a third party candidate. Those of us who work may not be able to leave our jobs easily to vote, although we’re allowed time off to do so, unsalaried workers will lose out on pay, and some of do not work near our polling place to begin with.
I feel it would be a good idea to consider making changes to increase voter turn out, which could potentially generate more interest in politics and bring about change that so many seem to be looking for in the political system. I was always taught that voting was a privilege, but as I’ve grown older I can see my peers and older friends all feel it’s more of a hassle and inconvenience to do it. Although polling hours are into the evening, most lower to middle class voters who were unable to get to polls earlier for work likely need to be home to care for their families. Making election days a holiday or even moving them to a Saturday are possible solutions to getting these voters back. I believe there is a general burnout of election fever after being bombarded with nothing but political ads, mailers and news for several weeks beforehand that also drives people to be tired of elections. We should look into limiting these in a way that does not stop the information from being shared, but also doesn’t overwhelm the media. Another concern that I feel should be addresses is the size of the ballots. In the last midterm election there were so many offices up for election, many of which I had never heard of, and the vote was to let them stay in position, yes or no. I was not sure what a “no” vote would mean; is that position then open? Is it eliminated? And the ballot initiatives and measures are often repetitive of previous elections, save for one or two differences. Why are we voting on this same topic, which was already voted on a and approved a few years before? We need to streamline the ballots, make them user friendly. And while making these changes, it would be good to consider changing the registration process to make that friendlier as well. We should be encouraging all people to vote, not just the wealthy, older, Republican and Democratic supporters.
Studnet number 2
I feel the lower voting in the United States is due to the average American not really caring what or who is going be making decisions. Americans want to see change but the less change they see the less they will have the urge to vote. The fact that only 40% of eligible voters vote is scary because they are then allowing a small number of people determine what happens to the majority of us. The videos have some suggestions on why there is such a low voting rate, one of them is the registration process is very strict to the point that every time you move you have to re-register. Another reason is the political parties are less representative or the general public and they lean more towards the people with the most power and or money. changes need to be made to the voting system before we can see a rise in voters.
I feel a good way to fix the problem is to allow voters to have more power and say in what happens in the American political system. Because when the 1% has all the power the average American will have no urge to give their opinion and vote. The more easier the voting process is and the more say they have on what happens in America the more voters will turn out.
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