...March 2016 Voter Identification: Disenfranchises African Americans Ever since Section 4b of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was struck down, disenfranchisement of African Americans has been underway. Politicians are starting to put in place laws that require everyone who wants to vote to obtain a photo identification to show at voting sites in order to prohibit voter fraudulence. Picture this, an African American family, who are members of the poor sector, who do not own a car, and barely survives. Imagine the parents of this family who have jobs that barely allow them to feed their families and pay the bills on time. Now imagine the irritation those parents feel when they aren’t able to pay for a voter identification to vote in elections so they can make the attempt to make their lives better. Then on top of that most of the DMV offices are never close by African American neighborhoods. These families do not have the proper funds to pay someone for gas to take them to a DMV, buy two voter identification cards, pay the bills, and feed the children on limited funds. Voter identification laws are said to prevent voter fraud so that elections are fair; instead they hurt the African American population, and corruption still continues. Instead of trying to allow poor African Americans the equal chance to vote as those who can afford it, politicians who approve of voter identification laws are making it quite impossible for African Americans to exercise their right. Voter ID laws discriminate...
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...Electoral participation is important because it is necessary to ensure that the interests of the common people are accurately represented and that the future of American democracy is not threatened. The current state of electoral participation in the United States is highly troubling; over time, “both registration and the act of casting a ballot have been made easier . . . nonetheless voting and many forms of civic engagement have declined or stagnated” (Macedo, p52). This is counterintuitive; as one would expect that with an increase in accessibility to various forms of civic engagement electoral participation would rise. This decline in civic engagement is evident when looking at voter turnout over time, “in 1960, 63 percent of eligible Americans went to the polls. In 2000, that percentage had dropped to barely half of eligible Americans: 51 percent” (Macedo, p22). The main source of this rapid decline in voter turnout is from citizens of the age group 18-24, in which voter turnout in presidential elections dropped from “55 percent in 1972 to 43 percent in 2000” (Macedo,...
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...In the United States, voter apathy has been a consistent theme. Many eligible Americans fail to participate in elections. Between 1960 and 2008, the average voter turnout was approximately 49% to 63%. This means that close to half of the Americans do not really care which candidate will become their resident. In the United States, the lowest voter turnout was recorded in the year 1996 when only 49.1% of eligible Americans turned to vote. The low turnout in the country is an international disgrace. It is worrying that democracy in America has lost meaning. According to Fulton (16), one may not understand what happened to the government that Abraham Lincoln used to call “government of the people, for the people and by the people.” People should not be satisfied when...
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...attempts at voter suppression and the challenges to these attempts, examine the strengths and weaknesses of the electoral system in the United States. Name: Winston Walker Course Code: GOVT 1000 ID #: 607005957 No electoral system is perfect, but the strengths and weakness of the electoral system is based on the system of government used. The two most common systems of government are the Federal system and the Unitary system. According to dictionary.com, the term electoral system refers to, the legal system for making democratic choices. The United States of America operate under a federal system of government, which by definition, refers to a government in which the powers of government are divided between a central government and several local governments. The electoral system of the United States is set up in this manner, you vote for a mayor, senator, a member of the House of Representatives, you vote directly for that person. However, when you vote for president, you are really voting for an elector who has pledged to represent that candidate. The electors chosen by each state are called the Electoral College. This consists of 538 members, comprising 100 senators, 435 congressmen, and 3 members from the District of Columbia. States with large populations, like California have over 50 electoral votes, while sparsely populated states like Alaska has only 3 electoral votes. This system of government makes the electoral system highly susceptible to voter suppression...
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...such a low voters turnout because voters are not forced to vote. The countries with a high voter turnout have strictly enforced laws. In American you have to register to vote but in other countries if you are a citizen, you are automatically registered. If the United States changes the voting system a little, it could increase voter’s turnout. Americans need to be more educated and know each candidate’s platforms. Voter’s turnout could increase if voters did not have to work on Election Day. If America followed some of the guidelines other countries use, the United States would have a higher voters turnout. Countries with a high voter turnout are due to the countries strictly enforced voting laws. In some countries you can be fined if you do not show up to the polls to vote. America does not have strict voting laws so it is not mandatory to show up and vote. In other countries if you are a citizen of the country you are automatically considered a registered voter. The United States is one of the only countries to hold Election Day during the week. Countries with high voters turnout have Election Day on the weekend. Voters in America do not want to...
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...In the United States many things influence voter turnout. For example, voting laws, they started adding more to increase the number of people voting. One way they accomplish this was by motor voter laws and this made it easier for people to register to vote. Another thing that has impact on voter attendance is demographics, like education and age. The statics show that people with a higher education and who are higher in age are more likely to vote than others. Also, constitutional requirements affect the voter turnout in America and examples of these are the fifteenth amendment, nineteenth amendment, and twenty-sixth amendment. These three amendments where put in place to have equal voting rights for all citizens. As a result, the voter turnout varies for...
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...taking this course. Of the many chapters discussed during this course, I found Parties and Elections in Texas (chapter 21), Public Opinion (chapter 6), and Political Participation and Voting (chapter 8) to be the most interesting and informative. Parties and Elections in Texas Political parties play a major role in Texas politics. Approximately 91 percent of Texas voters either identify with or lean toward the Republican or the Democratic Party. Despite all of the complaints about parties, they perform roles that are critical to the operation of our democratic system and to the overall coordination and functioning of our political system. The most important function of parties in Texas is to provide a label under which candidates may run and voter may identify. The party label becomes the standard used in casting a ballot for a candidate. Parties recruit candidates, assist in getting out the vote, and helps to organize the government once officials have been elected. The organization of political parties in Texas can be somewhat complex. Texas does not have a system of party registration for voters. Texas parties conduct primaries to select each party’s candidates for office. The precinct chair heads the precinct convention and serves on the county executive committee. The county executive committee is responsible for running the county’s primary elections and planning the county convention. Conventions are held at the precinct, county, and state levels. Participation...
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...decades has been an issue for quite some time now, leading to the question of whether or not democracy in America is working as effectively as it could be. This is a more serious issue than most realize, especially considering only about half of eligible voters have been participating in presidential elections and much less participation in lower level elections. The average citizen living today lives in a completely different world from what this country was since its birth; the average citizen today has many more personal and financial responsibilities to tend to, and consequently, many fail to fulfill their civic duty of political participation. This combination of a hectic lifestyle, lack of concern, or sometimes even distrust towards the government and political news leads to people not being able to make time, not interested in making time, or simply refusing to make time for political participation. There are numerous ways in which citizens can participate politically, each with varying degrees of difficulty and potential strength of messages conveyed. Voting and financial contributions to causes and campaigns are the two least sophisticated and most common forms of political participation. Since all votes are equal and voters vote for a candidate due to a number of reasons instead of one, the amount of information conveyed is relatively low compared to more active and sophisticated methods of political participation. (Losco and Baker 156) Forms of political participation...
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...English 103 17 January 2015 Should Voting Be Mandatory? In the United States, voter turnout during elections has decreased over the last fifteen years. In 2012 the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) compared voter turnout rates, for the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, The BPC states “Despite an increase of over eight million citizens in the eligible population, turnout declined from 131 million voters in 2008 to an estimated 126 million voters in 2012 when all ballots are tallied. Some 93 million eligible citizens did not vote.” Many Americans feel like their vote doesn’t count anyway, mainly citizens who are already disadvantaged. Australian professor of Politics Lisa Hill states in her article What We’ve Seen in Australia With Mandatory Voting that, “Places with mandatory voting also have less wealth inequality, lower levels of political corruption and higher levels of satisfaction with the way democracy is working than voluntary systems.” Critics say that implementing mandatory voting is against the constitution, and what we value the most, freedom. Furthermore, Hill states “ Is being required to vote a violation of autonomy? Sure, but so is mandatory taxation, jury duty and the requirement to educate our children. Yet, these are all good ideas.” Voting should be mandatory because as American citizens we live in a democratic society where everyone should have an opinion. Although, Americans value independence and the free-will to do whatever they choose if this was a communist...
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...Voter-ID Laws and discriminatory intent PSC 1010 American National Government The Voter-ID Laws is one of the hot issues in contemporary American Politics. Supporters of the Voter-ID Laws say they are needed to prevent voter fraud. Opponents say they discriminate against the poor, elderly and minorities. Opponents also argue that the Voter-ID Laws are against the Fourteenth Amendment and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Four principles of the Fourteenth Amendments are: 1. State and federal citizenship for all persons regardless of race both born or naturalized in the United States was reaffirmed. 2. No state would be allowed to abridge the "privileges and immunities" of citizens. 3. No person was allowed to be deprived of life, liberty,or property without "due process of law." 4. No person could be denied "equal protection of the laws." (Kelly) Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 “prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in one of the language minority groups identified in Section 4(f)(2) of the Act.” (The United States Department of Justice) 34 states have adopted some kind of voter ID law, which comes in several different variations: * Strict voter ID law requires voters to provide a valid ID. * Non-Strict voter ID law does not require a valid ID but the voters are permitted to sign an affidavit attesting to their identity. * A Photo voter ID, voters must show an accepted...
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...Imagine standing in a long line, in a hot, crowded courthouse, why are you there? Are you there to renew your driver’s license? Are you there to get new tags for your vehicle? You’re not there to renew your license, or get new tags for your vehicle, you’re there to VOTE. Ignore the crowd around you and keep in mind that you are there for a great reason. As a registered American voter, I would like to share with you the 4 steps for voting, show you the importance of voting, and encourage you to become a registered voter. Let me take you back to a critical time in America’s history. Let us begin by talking about the time or the civil war. It started in 1861. By the time of the Civil War, most white men were allowed to vote. In 1869, the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote to black men, with most women of all races still unable to vote. Before the civil rights movement, which started in 1955, only free, rich, white men who owned property could vote. Although freed African Americans could vote in four states, white working men, almost all women, and all people of color were denied the right to vote. There is no doubt that people lost their lives fighting for rights to vote. People have lost their lives for us to vote in war. Also, some people performed courageous acts on their own to try and prove a point and died. Who fought so hard for us to vote? Women and men who supported the cause fought. Susan b Anthony, perhaps the most well-known women’s rights...
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...campaigning has also drawn out a negative side, one that seeks to cast a damaging shadow on any opposition in order to attain the support of the majority. The types of political message given out by both politicians and the media vary in how they are constructed and what they intend to achieve, and despite widespread criticism surrounding its ethical fragilities, attack politics in particular have become a fundamental component of any political campaign and evidence has shown the electorate to show a greater interest in a more pessimistic tone of politics. This essay intends to address whether negative publicity in the form of attack advertising is an effective tool of electoral manipulation by evaluating its influence in engaging and mobilizing voters. Indeed, where research has shown it to be counterproductive, or to produce unintended consequences, its...
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...country from progressing successfully. Demographics may have contributed to the enormity of democratic loss in this past election. The populous, liberal, diverse cities that would increase the Democratic vote had one of the lowest voter turnouts, whereas southern states that would vote Republican came out with the highest voter turnout. A vast majority of these southern voters are old, white Republicans. The young students, the post- generational college students, the minorities – these are the ones that share the same political ideologies as the democratic party, but yet they’re the ones that didn’t vote. Voter turnout for the 2014 Midterm elections was the lowest in 70 years – only 36.4% of voting-eligible Americans went out and voted on November 4th; of those voters, 75% were white (Alter, 2014). Liberal states like New York and California had a decrease in voter turnout while Southern states saw an increase, “Democrats were hindered by their inability to persuade members of the coalition that delivered the White House to Mr. Obama — young voters, women and minorities — to turn out at levels seen in presidential elections” (Parker, Weisman, 2014). One reason for the loss of democratic seats in the senate is caused by the decrease of liberal voter turnout. Although there are other underlying factors such as long lines, people’s carelessness and inability to travel to polling areas, or a state’s lack of early voting options – election results...
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...democratic process should treat all citizens as free and equal persons. As applied to the electoral process this requires that each citizen equal opportunity to have his or her vote equally counted. Contention 1: Super PACs decrease voter turnout Subpoint A: Voter turnout is a pre-requisite to the election process A flourishing democracy presupposes citizens who care, who are willing to take part, and who are capable of helping to shape the common agenda of a society. Participation through the act of voting, is always seen as an essential prerequisite of stable democracy. Subpoint B: Super PACs decrease voter turnout by 25% “Unlimited spending by supposedly independent super PACs is creating widespread perceptions of corruption and undermining public confidence that elected officials serve in the public interest, The perception that super PACs are corrupting government is making Americans disillusioned, and an alarming number say they are less likely to vote this year. Americans say they are less likely to vote because big donors to super PACs have so much more influence over elected officials than average Americans. Americans believe super PAC spending will lead to corruption Subpoint C: Negative campaigning also leads to decreased voter turnout One reason the campaign has been so negative is the skyrocketing involvement of interest groups, who have increased their activity by 1100 percent over four years ago Contention 2: State Level Judicial Elections are harmed...
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...towns across the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Americans are notorious for staying home rather than heading to the polls for local elections. After such a contentious, disgusting Presidential Election, Americans have grown weary of the word ‘vote.’ The truth is most of Americans are under impression that voting for their executive is the most patriotic and democratic thing to do. Statistics are painting a portrait of how U. S. Citizens view the hierarchy of their government and local elections are falling on the lower end of the spectrum. Municipal elections are the chance for citizens to vote for people who they believe will...
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