Sunday, November 1, 2009
Political Participation
The text discusses the reasons for political participation and also gives reasons for the decline in voter turnout in the United States. With this information, formulate a strategy to increase voter participation. Consider target groups, electoral procedures and legal requirements.
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To increase voter participation, we should target several specific groups. One group is immigrants. Many immigrants do not vote because they do not get their citizenship. We should make the fee for citizenship much lower and simplify the test. By increasing the pool of people legally able to vote, more people will vote. In addition, we should require all states (just like north Dakota) to allow registration to be done the day a person votes. To increase voter participation, we should give people a reason to vote, some type of bribe almost. Tax deductions would be a great way to increase voter participation and also help stimulate the economy. Each person who votes gets some type of tax relief. Finally, we should advertise and express how important voting is to the general public. Many low income families do not vote because they find no reason to do such and do not want to waste anytime. If we were able to advertise and illustrate how voting can make a difference, more people would be willing to vote.
In order to gain more political participation, we should pay more attention to lower income families. If politicians promoted voting in lower income neighborhoods, perhaps people would feel as if their vote really mattered. Furthermore, i agree with joe manzi with the idea of simplifying citizen tests. In order to become a registered voter, an immigrant must first become a citizen. In addition to increasing the amount of registration, this plan would also decrease the amount of illegal immigrants in the nation. However, i do not think we should bribe people to vote. At the moment the national government does not have the funds to offer people tax cuts or other forms of bribery. Also, it would be a form of demoting democracy. If people are bribed to vote, we would be taking away their choice of whether or not to vote. In the case of many lower income families, they may feel that they would have to vote in order to save money, therefore taking away their ability to decide for themselves.
Over the years, the percnt of voter turnout has declined. This is due to the fact that more and more people in America are losing interest in the government and voting for officials. One way to increase voter turnout is to work harder in raising awareness to how voting and selecting an official effectively can effect an individual directly. Also, since some people, the middle class and the poor, are losing faith in the government, the government needs to give the people a reason to vote not with promises of fixing things but actually taking action before being elected to give the people hope and encourage them to vote. Also, the voter registration process should be easier to complete so that new age appropriate voters can vote quickly and effectively because 18 year olds have opinions too and they want to be heard.
I believe, to increase political participation, you must appeal to the lower class people. They are always hard at work, and therefore they might not be able to participate in the election whether its because they can't get to a booth or they cannot keep up with the views of each candidate. I believe that hard workers who do not have the opportunity to get off of work and vote should. Also, the government should try and portray how important voting really is. Many people feel like there vote does not matter and they shouldn't even bother to go out and vote. In response to what Joe manzi said, I agree with the whole immigrant statement. Many immigrants come to this country for the same reason other people have in the past, and that is for freedom. Once you lower the fee for the immigrants, they will be grateful, feel that the government cares for them and they would feel obligated to help out the government and vote. The government needs to emphasize the fact that voting is important, and every vote does count!
It is necessary to increase voter participation. I think it is necessary to reach out to different target groups such as early voters. It is necessary for the elected parties to become more appealing to young voters. They need to talk about issues that will affect the early voters. Young voters feel as if they do not make a difference. However if the campaign relates to them and has positives aspects that will enhance their life, they may feel more obligated to engage in the voting process. I also believe the registration requirements should be gotten rid of. Many people do not follow guidelines, and they do not wish to go out of their way to register ahead of time. The numbers of voters will increase, if they are able to vote on the day of elections without registering ahead of tie.
Tax breaks. Who doesn't like free money? Giving tax breaks to people who vote is a great incentive to people who may decide not to. That is, if the government cares/has enough money left over to support this notion.
In addition, maybe forcing voters who turn 18 to register could increase voting. Instead of requiring to register when getting a drivers license, make it a graduation requirement. That way, those who graduation when they're 18 can vote immediately in the next election.
To increase voter participation, the government should consider giving some form of an incentive to vote. This would make more people want to come and vote. If a voter was to receive a tax break or a small amount of money they would make it their business to go to the polls.
Also voter turnout would increase if there was a gain participation from the younger generation. This would mean the political figures would have to devise a plan to make the younger generation register to vote. If they wanted students to vote they could offer some kind money towards college. Maybe a portion of the tuition could be reduced if a student votes in the elections.
I agree with katrine ryeng-pezzillo, to gain turnout from the lower class would help the voting. The politicians could spend some time trying to help these people. They could even help them out so on election day they did not lose the pay if they had proof they were voting
Political participation has been declining within the United States. One reason can be that people have less faith in the government and believe their vote does not count. As a result, the government should focus in creating a better image for itself to attract voters. Also, the government should show that voter participation does affect the outcomes of what happens in Congress and such. The government should also target the lower and middle class. Having an incentive would attract these voters to the polls. These people usually have other things more important on their minds than voting so if voting can be shown to have an advantage, such as money, more people would be interested. Legal requirements should make it easier for immigrants to vote. Even though they do make a percentage of the population, they cannot participate because they do not have legal citizenship. Therefore, people being affected by laws are not even allowed to have their say. Therefore, the rules concerning immigration and voting should be loosened to a degree.
I believe that citizens in the United States have started to feel that their vote doesn't matter, resulting in the decrease of turn out through out the years. Also another reason is that there are those who have no means of transportation and/or can not afford to make it their designated voting center. To with the latter of the two, we can set up shuttle buses in areas where the elderly and those can not afford to make it to the poles can make it to voting centers. As for making citizens feel that their votes matter, certain adverisments can be made(as joe manzi said earlier).
In order to increase voter participation, the government definitely has to begin branching out and targeting new groups. The rich and the old will always be there to vote but the poor and the young will not. The government and the media has to begin making voting sound interesting and more well-known. Media should cover more than just political debates because, honestly, who wants to sit and watch that? The youth is affected by the media and having the media make participating in politics look more exciting, younger people will, in turn, go to vote! With lower income families, many of them don't go to vote because they are working two jobs and can't afford to miss one to go vote for something they aren't up to date with and something that they might feel doesn't even affect them because nothing can pull them out of their financial situation. It should be expressed to these lower income families that don't have the time to waste that their vote will make a difference and their vote, potentially, can be the difference between them trying to manage two or three jobs and getting by fine with just one. Political participation has to become more well-known by branching out to less knowledgeable groups.
The percent of political participation have decreased over the years. To increase voter participation, we should target specific groups, change electoral procedures and modify legal requirements. We can increase voter turnouts by increasing the pool of people legally to vote. For example, appealing to different type of people like immigrants or middle class. There are many immigrants in the United States, and if we simplify the procedures in which allow immigrants to participate, there can be a greater turnout. In addition I agree with Joe Manzi, the government can try to give the people a reason to vote. For example, giving some type of incentive so people would want to vote. People generally get involve if they can get something out of it because people feel that it could be a waste of time. Moreover, there are many people that lost faith in the government. For example, past candidates promising certain changes or tasks to be done yet never was completed. Lastly, the government should try to advertise and stress the importance of voting so it would urge more people to participate because of the impact the candidate can cause in the future.
Political participation is a right given to everyone, but the American general public has not been ceasing thier opportunity to take part in how the country is run. Voter turn outs have been low, causing political scientists to create ways to increase the size for registered voters. It is legally wrong to force people to vote, so the only way to get voters out there is to advertise voting as a benefical venture.Politics is a very manipulative and sneaky game. The government may have to use bribes to get people out to vote. If voters won't vote themsleves, perhaps they need there to be something in it for them.Tax Incentives might work, people love hand outs and this would get them out to place a vote.
Also, the registraion process should be simplifed, having more pople sign up without a hassle.
Further more, Political parties need to sell thier ideas and plans to the public in any way they can. Whether it be face to face or virtually. With today's media hype, it's easy for camagins to be heard by vast majorities. They also must appeal to the citizens who don't vote the most, the lower class. Campaigners need to travel to lower class areas and demonstrate thier ideas. It's part of our civil liberty to vote in each election. American citizens may have to start paying attention to politics and become avid newswatchers becuase the majority of us don't know whats going on at all. Political news broadcasts should be frequently aired on basic channels, this way people eill be informed and make decisions for themselves. they'll want to have thier opinions heard and go out and vote for the representative that suits them best.
As the years go on less people vote and that has become a vital issue. The two groups that vote the least is the poor and the young. This results in less help given to the young and the poor. You can't complain that you're not receiving all the help if you don't even participate in politics. America is the way it is because the PEOPLE get to vote on what they want. If less people vote how can help be given how does the government know what you want. A way to help would be to trick the public with bribery. It should not be seen as buying a vote because you're not saying here's the money vote for this specific person. You're just encouraging them to maybe actually take part in politics and listen to the candidates and then voting to gain benefits. Some benefits can be tax reductions or probably some money to help kids that are going to college. The government should also express the importance of voting to the public. The government has to show the public what they say does matter and their needs can be taken care of simply by voting. I mean, you might not exactly always get the needs you ask for but if you vote there is a better chance for you to receive help. The poor and the young should also know that what they say matters just as much as the rich and other groups. The poor and the young may be very busy but that little bit of time taken away just to go vote can really make a difference.
To increase voter participation, i feel politicians should visit specific areas in which they truly want to help. If underprivileged citizens feel that their vote would not matter, they would not bother to vote. To feel like they matter and to make sure their vote stands for something would mean for the politician to speak to them and relate to them.
There could also be a law so that at the age of 18 everyone must be registered to vote. If they are registered to vote, more likely they will be paying more attention to what is going on around them and they will actually vote.
The media needs to stray away from the personal lives of the politicians and make sure that the public is aware that their vote, indeed, does count!
As previously acknowledged by Jo-Ann Wong, the mistrust of government has led to the decline of voter participation. Therefore, the objective of politicians should attempt to attract society by illustrating policies which could put the trust government back into American society. In addition, politicians should restrain from actions which would digress faith in the government. By tending to these actions, voter participation would progress.
To be candid, the middle-class has been burdened by governmental policies which may be efficient for the upper or lower classes. Thus, the middle-class has felt perfidy from the government. By decreasing this sentiment of mistrust, the middle class would increase the voter turnout significantly. Moreover, the middle-class involves a large portion of society. Therefore, by attracting this class to vote, presiding issues over the middle-class would be recognized.
Furthermore, I believe incentives, as tax deductions, would be a positive influence to increase voter participation. However, I do not believe this idea would be effective. Tax deductions would result in a loss of money for both the federal and state governments. Thus, the government would not be able to implement necessary programs. Additionally, providing voters with monetary incentives would be fabulous, although not realistic. The government holds debt as it is. Moreover, in this economic downturn, there is not available capital for the government to offer to the people.
However, I believe providing citizens with an easier access to voter registration may increase voter participation. I deem the “National Voter Registration Act of 1993” is a positive influence to increasing the voter turnout. Therefore, if programs, as this “motor voter” bill, people would have an accessible means to register to vote. For instance, a program which allows you to register to vote while renewing your passport may increase the turnout of voters.
If the government wants to increase voter participation, they need to give the people reason to believe that the government is working to help them. For example, the groups of people who are suffering, such as unemployed, should be given assistance from the government so that they see that the government is important and they should be involved in the decisions made. Also, a big issue is that people don't see how their vote can make a difference. The government needs to listen to all the concerns of the people and let them realize that the government does listen to what they say. If people understand that the government values their input, they will willingly share it when it comes time to vote.
In order to increase voter turnout in the United States, incentives should be offered to those who vote. For example, if one votes in the presidential election, he or she can receive a free item or tax cut. In comparison, punishments can be given to those who do not vote. For instance, if one fails to vote, he or she may be forced to volunteer in his or her community for ten hours or so. In addition, those who are running for election should target specific groups, especially minorities. If one feels that the person who is running for election is addressing something that will have an affect on him or her, he or she will most likely vote. Lastly, registration to vote for all states should be permitted on the day of election. As a result, one would not have to worry about registering prior to voting. Therefore, if someone changes their mind last minute and decides to vote, no problems should arise.
The voter turnout in American has decreased over the years for a multitude of reasons, i growing mistrust in the government, the actual hassle of voting, many things. one way to increase voter turnout is to increase the publics knowledge of candidates, and how voting for specific candidates can increase say in government and overall increase efficacy. another reason would be to make the voter registration process a easier. For an 18 year old wanting to vote, the process of becoming eligable is long and requires us to pick a political party when we dont want to. by making it easier to ovte, more of the ounger generation can be heard.
I believe that political participation can be exponentially increased if the government were to give citizens certain benefits or incentives for being politically active. If people who do not vote are given something such as a tax break or some other sort of "bribe", I think that they will in turn take the time to at least participate in their election days. With this in mind, a particular group that the government should focus on is the lower class. Because of long work days, they are the group that has fairly low turnout rates; and if the government desires to increase overall turnout they should reach out to the lower class and perhaps give them a tax break or even implement a slightly higher minimum wage just to attempt to give them the time in their difficult day to vote. I agree with Jo-Ann Wong in saying that the government needs to create a better image for themselves. Most of the campaigning these days is negative campaigning, which involves one candidate bashing the other(s). If the government were to just make themselves seem more reputable and such, the voting turnout may grow.
I believe that voter participation could be increased by targeting specific groups such as immigrants and young youth. Many immigrants are not able to vote due to their lack of citizenship. I believe that if immigrants voted, the participation would augment and the government would have diverse ideas from all groups. Also young adults may influence their participation by contributing to their beliefs. Not only that, but the mere fact that increasing voter participation helps stimulate the economy as Joe Manzi stated. Issues that target the interest of such targets will increase the political activity. I believe restrictions should be limited and provide "easier" literacy tests that people can actually pass.
I believe that in order to increase voter participation, the only thing that can be done is to just make people more aware of how important their vote really is. If people realize that they matter to what happens in our country, they will start to vote more. Also many people on vote on the presidential elections because they feel that is important and all the other elections don't mean anything. If the government found a way to have a vote on something that the people felt was important every election day, then people would definitely vote more often.
To increase voter participation, the government should educate and show citizens how important every single vote is. It is possible that one vote can change the entire election. Also, laws concerning US citizenship should be weakened. There are many immigrants in the United States who are not able to vote. We should be able to receive opinions from everyone and not only US citizens. Also, there should be incentives for voting. Therefore, people will do something good for the government and in return, they will receive benefits.
I believe that if people are given an incentive they will then vote. If the government were to offer a tax cut or a tax rebate for a certain percentage of money more people would be willing to go an vote. This would get the lower class who are least likely to vote to go out and vote. Also more information should be given about election dates and about the actual process. This will give people more of a reason to actually go and vote. If the media were to have more coverage on the participants and their ideas people would have more of an idea towards whose ideas they lean to and they will then side with one person more than another therefore more votes would be made.
In order to increase voter population, the general population has to be made to know how much what they are voting for affects them. Politicians must go more out of their ways to appeal to interest groups and show greater charisma. Furthurmore, if politicians were more similar to voters (in class, upbringing, former occupations etc) voters may feel a greater connection with the candidates and vote - also, this could result in candidates paying more attention to the lower and middles classes.
Also, adopting a similar policy to that of North Dakota (in which people can register to vote in just one day) elsewhere may make voting more convenient and thus increase turnout.
Another idea that could increase voter turnout is to require voting registration. Perhaps if a person were required to register to vote in order to graduate, to get a drivers' liscense, or to take out a mortgage this person would be more inclined to vote being that he or she already is registered and thus has the ability to vote.
I do not believe that offering bribes, such as tax deductions, is an effective way of increasing voter turnout. Though this would no doubt get more people to vote, it would discredit elections in that many people may just vote randomly just to get the bribe without any knowledge of who they're voting for.
In order to increase voter turnout, I believe that the government should instate some sort of an incentive plan. For example, the government could allow people to write off voting on their taxes so that people would be encouraged to vote more. This is turn would be profitable to the voters and allow our country to have a higher political participation percentage.
However, the downside of this would be that people would just vote for any random candidate just to get the tax write off and collect the money that the government is offering. Therefore I believe there needs to be another solution
In addition to the first suggestion, people should be educated about the candidates running for office and known what they want and what they plan to represent. A way of doing this would be to hold community outreach programs to people who would want to participate in government more. The government can do this by using the motor voter bill and sign people up to participate.
One of the major reasons people today aren’t voting is because they feel like their votes don’t matter and that they are too uneducated on the issues themselves to vote in general. In order to increase voter participation I believe that we should target the younger generation. Although there are many who feel like their vote does count a lot of people, especially in the younger generation believe politics and voting should be done for the older and educated citizens of America. We should change this by putting more advertisements on the benefits of voting. We can also increase voter participation by setting up school programs to help educate our kids about the issues of America and the political views of the candidates running for office. Even today I feel like most kids in high school don’t really know the significance of voting they may look at it as more like something their parents do and not something our generation should do until later. In order to change this we should get influential people to really show everyone how significant every vote is in an election. We could also set up unbiased television programs appropriate for younger kids that make voting and the political aspects of America more fun and interesting to watch at a young age. By doing this not only are we keeping the future adults of America entertained but we are preparing them for the issues they may have to deal with in the future as well.
It is very important to get everyone in the Country to vote. Everyone has the right to vote and they should take advantage of this right.One of the main reasons that people don't vote is because they think that their vote doesn't count. I think that a good way to have a more positive voter turnout is to go back to Direct Democracy. With a Direct Democracy everyone's vote would count. I think that this is very possible to do with the technology that we have today. Many people have phones and computers to do this. They can set up the vote on the computer.For the people who don't have any technology to get their vote in they could go to the library to use their computer or a family member or friend.
If people think their vote isn't counting there not going to waste their time voting.If people saw their vote actually working they would vote all the time.
In contemporary times, Americans are more preoccupied with their personal lives rather than the political aspect of society. As a result, voter turnout decreases. Voter participation can only increase with the candidates altering their approach to win votes from the people. Instead of focusing on controversial issues, candidates should attempt to sympathize with voters on a personal level. Although issues such as abortion, homosexual marriage, and illegal immigration are of great political concern, the average American is simply trying to provide for their family or earn a consistent salary. Candidates should show a sense of understanding and care when they step off the podium as well. Due to the government's recent failure to stimulate the economy, Americans do not heavily trust the government. Moreover, the simple lives of many Americans influences them to believe their vote will not count for much, if anything. Not everyone is willing to make the effort to register to vote a specific time in advance. In addition, not everyone is willing to spend money, or gas, on transportation in order to get to the poll booths. Therefore, on a day of election, public transportation should be free, or reduced, with extra service to polls. The issue of transportation can be common among the elderly, but voter turnout in youth is lower due to personal opinions and views. Voting is legal from age eighteen, but political candidates concentrate on middle-aged adults or upperclassmen in college. Candidates should devote more attention to eighteen year-olds that are eligible to vote, because their opinion is still able to be influenced in favor of voting, without any prior elections to reflect upon.
Since there has been a decline in voter turnout in the United States, the government should provide incentives in order to get people to start voicing their opinions. Tax cuts could be one, as the government would provide a tax break for those who show up to the polls. Adding to that, media coverage on polls should be increased so more people know about elections other than the presidential one. Another way to increase voter turnout could be reducing the fare of public transportation on that day of voting, or eliminating it. Many people don’t vote because they are unable to travel to the voting area. Public transportation may cost too much for a low-income family, therefore they wouldn’t take a bus to go vote. If buses and other public transportation systems were free on days of elections, those with low-incomes may participate in the voting process.
In order to increase the voter participation, there should be incentives such as a tax break. A tax break would be good because more middle-class and lower-class people would vote. The government should tell the lower class that their votes really do count.
I think that incentives and targeting the lower class would increase the voter participation.
I beleive that in order to increase voter turnout, voters have to beleive that their vote actually makes a difference. As important as it is to inform people about political candidates and their stance on important issues, it is equally as important to inform the public of their impact through voting as well. If people were more informed of the power that voting had, they would make more attempts to exercize this power. Alongside the political campaigns informing people about the candidates, there should be campaigns informing people of the importance and impact they have through voting.
Political participation has been declining in the United States. One reason behind this declination is people’s mistrust in the government. The government should advertise to create a better image and express how important voting is to the general public. Advertisements should illustrate how voting can make a difference. The voting percentage will naturally increase if people start believing in the government again. Also, the government should target several specific groups such as middle class and lower class who do not normally vote. In order to increase voting percentage in the middle and lower class, the government should create incentives such as tax deductions would be great to increase voter participation. In addition, the government should also require all states to allow registration to be done the day of voting for all the people who could not register before. The government should also target permanent residents because they live in the United States as a legal alien but do not have a say in politics. They are being affected by laws that they were unable to vote for.
Most people do not vote because they believe that their vote does not matter. In order to make people believe that their vote counts I believe they should bring back campaigns such as the "Vote or Die" campaign that many celebrities participated in years ago. The media has the largest influence on what most people choose to do. If voting is intertwined more in pop culture and made to appear more appealing to various groups I believe more people would pay attention to campaigns and actually place their votes in elections.
Many citizens of the United States deliberately choose not to vote, and therefore negatively influence voter turnout. People choose not to vote because they are uneducated about the candidates running or what they support, they do not agree with either candidate, or they believe their vote will not impact the result of the election in any way. To increase voter participation, I believe there should be a specific time frame scheduled on a specific day to make voting more accessible. There should be an increase in voting locations, and many more in the workplace, so people do not have to go out of their way to travel. I also agree with TrinityS94 regarding the younger population. Teenagers and young adults, especially those graduating from high school, should be more aware of politics and the voting process in this country. There should be a mandatory test that determines how much the individual knows about the rules and process of voting. In turn, this will lead to knowledge and developed opinions about political issues, which will consequently increase voter turnout.
To gain more political participation, we should pay more attention to families of lower income. If politicians targeted the voting in lower income neighborhoods, perhaps those people would feel as if their vote actually mattered. Furthermore, i agree with Joe Manzi with the idea of making citizen tests simpiler. In order to become a registered voter, an immigrant must first become a citizen. In addition to increasing the amount of people who would register to vote, this would also lower the number of illegal immigrants in America. However, i do not think we should bribe people to vote. Bribing people to vote would be a form of demoting democracy. If people are bribed to vote, we would be taking away their choice of whether or not to vote. If bribes were offered, a majority of lower income families would vote. Although participation would incfrease, the voters' own decision may not actually be theirs, if they were to be bribed.
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