Voter turnout: the pros and cons In the 2012 presidential election between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney, only 54.87% of voting age population in the United States States have fulfilled their civic duty (Peters). More recently, the 2016 election saw participation from over 58% of eligible voters in the presidential general election (Regan). These percentages are remarkably low compared to other Western industrial democracies due to many different factors. There are many explanations for low voter turnout in the United States: strict registration requirements, various types of elections, weekday election scheduling, voluntary versus compulsory voting, disenfranchisement, and competitiveness. Some possible reforms that could increase voter turnout are limiting scheduling conflicts by making Election Day a holiday or instituting weekend voting, making voting mandatory, universal voter registration, and lowering the voting age (“How we can increase voter turnout”). Unfortunately, increasing voter turnout in the United States proves very difficult because people who don't currently vote don't believe their votes will make a difference in the election. Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't". 't Be Banned'? Get an original essay The rational theory of political participation offers reasoning for why few people decide to vote. This theory is outlined as follows: D = ppB – C + S + Rc + poRi which simplifies to D = Rc – C when some variables, equal to zero, are canceled The important variable to note in this equation when talking about voter turnout polls is pp, which is the probability of centrality, in other words, the probability that your vote will be successful. be determined with respect to the outcome. The pp value is extremely close to zero. This is demonstrated by the phenomenon that the more people exercise their right to vote, the less each individual vote affects the outcome of an election – proving that the Rational Theory of Political Participation is quite accurate. It is the tiny numerical value of pp that provides clarity as to why people do not believe their vote matters that much and therefore will not take the time to participate in an election. This, however, is a misunderstanding because every vote counted is extremely important. Voter turnout has always been measured in two different ways: by showing the percentage of registered voters who voted in a given election and by showing the percentage of eligible voters who vote. The country's statistics look much better when the first mentioned method is used. The view of many political scientists is that people are discouraged from going to the polls to vote because the voter registration process is simply too cumbersome. Registering to vote can often be a hassle and is one of the factors contributing to low voter turnout in the United States. Previous voter registration is required to vote in both primaries and general elections. Voter registration is regulated by the state, so the process differs slightly in various regions of the country. The requirements to register to vote in New York state, for example, are relatively specific. A person must be a citizen of the United States, be eighteen years of age by the date of the general election (or other election in which one wishes to vote), live at the current address at least thirty days priorelections, not being in prison or on parole for a felony conviction, not being found mentally incompetent by a court, and finally not claiming the right to vote elsewhere (“Electoral Committee”). Registration can be obtained in person at your county board of elections New York State Registration center, or go to your local Department of Motor Vehicles – in person or online – to submit a voter registration form. The latter option became a possibility in 1993 with the Motor Voter Law stipulating that people could register with motor vehicle departments in an effort to stifle declines in voter registration and, consequently, voter turnout (“The National Voter Registration Act Of 1993”). of elections also affects the number of people who choose to exercise their right to vote. In all states, fewer voters turn out to vote in primary and local elections than in general presidential elections. This phenomenon occurs because voters often believe that presidential elections are more important to participate in than local elections. In recent elections, statistics show that about 60% of the eligible voting population participated in the presidential election, while only about 40% voted during the midterm elections. Voter turnout is generally lower for every odd-numbered year in politics. In the United States, Election Day always falls on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The two possible dates for Election Day to fall are November 2 or November 8 (“U.S. Election Day”). Tuesday, of course, falls during the work week, and many people are busy and unavailable to leave their jobs, or a plethora of other demanding responsibilities, to go vote. To remedy this, many other democratic countries around the world decide to give their citizens the opportunity to vote on weekends. Examples of these countries include France with a voter turnout of 67.3%, Germany with a voter turnout of 80.2%, and Thailand with a voter turnout of 82.1% (Monroe ). Each of the above percentages of participating voters is higher than the US voter turnout in presidential elections. A research-based article by MinnPost offered an explanation for why voting on Tuesday has been a tradition followed for so many years: “Many Americans observed the Saturday travel ban. Tuesday voting would give (white, male) farmers the day off on Saturday, Monday to go to the county seat, Tuesday to vote, and Wednesday to go home” (Black). This reasoning was justifiable in 1845 when it was first established, but certainly not currently in 2016. There has been discussion of a reform that would change Election Day from Tuesday to a designated weekend so that more people would have the opportunity to go to vote, but nothing has been done. been implemented. Many times, eligible voters have conflicting work schedules that prevent them from participating. Most of the time they are busy at work or school, too busy, out of town, sick or forgotten, or missed the registration deadline. It is a sad reality that the above reasons justify the low voter turnout in the United States. Many democracies have compulsory voting, which means that it is compulsory to vote. Argentina, Australia, Belgium and Brazil are some examples of countries that choose to impose compulsory voting. In politics there are opposing arguments that are for and against the idea of ​​compulsory voting, as it isvolunteer in the United States. The consensus in the United States is that voting in its simplest definition is a right and should not be forced on anyone, while it is still a civic duty and responsibility. Arguments against compulsory voting argue that forcing citizens to vote is indicative of totalitarianism. However, not voting for illegitimate reasons is frowned upon, so it is argued that problems like this would be solved with compulsory voting. A positive aspect of compulsory voting is that elected representatives are more legitimized. In the United States, for example, where voter turnout is relatively low, candidates can still win with much less than the majority vote, as seen in the recent 2016 presidential election. Many people may argue this and say that if the vote is mandatory, ill-informed people will vote based on an uninformed background, endangering the country's elected representatives. Along with the many causes of low voter turnout in the United States, voluntary voting is one that should be taken into consideration. Disenfranchisement is another factor to consider when examining the reasons for low voter turnout in the United States. The United States hosts approximately 22% of the world's prisoners (Wagner). This percentage is 22 out of 100 worldwide, not just in the country. This statistic is remarkable when you think about the number of people who are prohibited from voting. People with criminal convictions can vote once their sentence is complete. People who are currently in prison, on parole or on probation at the time of the election are not eligible to vote. The MinnPost article also offers insights into felon disenfranchisement: “Eleven of 31 democracies (including our neighbor Canada) allow felons to vote from prison. So do Maine and Vermont” (Black). The number is neither here nor there because it is impartial, but these are significant numbers that should not be taken into account or ignored. The amount of people who do not participate in elections in the United States solely due to disenfranchisement is a significant number that will and already contributes to low voter turnout in this country. The competitiveness of an election also determines how many people decide to participate. go out and vote. If the election looks set to close the gap between the two candidates, then people feel that their vote matters more than it did before when it wasn't as competitive. More competitive elections generally lead to higher turnout, and voter turnout rates increase significantly in years when presidential candidates are particularly competitive (Herzog). People enjoy good competition which pushes them to go to the polls to cast their votes. The difficulty of postal voting is another factor to recognize when analyzing the country's low voter turnout. If a voter is not in his or her hometown at the time of the election, he or she must vote by mail. Mail-in ballots are difficult because they usually have quite strict rules such as the rule that some states require a mail-in ballot request to be done in person, which is not realistic or practical. If people are not at home, they use this as a reason not to register for absentee ballots and consequently not vote. Being surrounded by my college students and being one myself, I understand the frustration of voting by mail, but it is our responsibility as U.S. citizens. Finally, weak political parties are another reason for low voter turnout. If candidates running for office physically give time to people of different).