...The Dangers of Citizen Apathy Democracy is a system of government that relies on citizens being involved in and educated about the actions of the government so that they can vote for representatives who accurately reflect the will of the people. The power ultimately resides within the citizens, however, what happens when the people become politically apathetic? Being politically apathetic means to be indifferent towards political activity. It results in the lack of engagement in discussion, absence of civic responsibility and the failure to be educated about government action. In the source, the perspective provided is one that, in terms of public welfare, believes an authoritarian government is less dangerous than the indifference of citizens...
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...dissatisfaction with the government stems from the fact that there are officials in congress who are appointed versus being elected, public opinion is not being surveyed enough, and also, voter turnout also has depreciated significantly due to these things. According to You Can’t Vote Everyone in Congress Out. So, What Can You Do, 60 percent of those polled would “replace almost every member in the house, including from their own state,” in the next election if they could. This is due to the fact that many of the officials in the government are appointed, and those that aren’t appointed, vote and select other officials or judges into high positions that have to do with citizen’s daily lives. This does not demonstrate accurate representation of the people because although the people appointed into congress are usually appointed by an official the people voted for, it is not a direct relationship which lessens the amount of approval for those members. Voter turnout is constantly fluctuating in America from year to year. According to Zen College Life, there are many factors which play a small role in why individuals do not vote such as laziness, being too busy, and not liking the candidates, but there are also many more important reasons for not being able to vote such as disability, absentee, and voter apathy. Many...
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...Why is United States Voter Turn-out so Low Question 4) What are some explanations for why voter turnout is so low in the U.S. compared to other wealthy, literate and democratic countries? INTRODUCTION Voter turnout is the rate by which people vote in elections. The simplest way to calculate a given election's turnout rate is to compare the actual number of voters with the voting-age population. “Voter turnout in the United States is among the worlds’ lowest.” (E.S. 371) The graph below taken from an article written for the Huffington Post in 2012, illustrates how poor United States voter turnout has been as compared to other industrialized nations. Our voter turnout is less than half of the turnout in Belgium and Australia for example and it is getting worse. "Starting in the early 60's, the proportion of the population that turns out to vote in the U.S. steadily decreased, to the point where only slightly more than half the electorate voted in presidential elections in the last three decades of the 20th century" (E.S. 370) [pic] Although there are several factors that contribute to low voter turnout in the United States, three factors appear to have the most direct influence. • Voter Registration and Voting Processes in the United States make it more difficult to vote as compared to other nations. • The Decline of Social Capital in the United States • The decline in the strength of our political parties has contributed to voter apathy ...
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...“Well, I don’t know,” he absently pondered from his chair, “I’m not really the voting type, I mean, I don’t trust politicians and all that stuff.” This verbatim exchange occurred between a peer and I during a voter-registration drive that took place at my high school in preparation for the primary elections in Ohio, only a week or two after the drive. “What do you mean?” I shot back, “Don’t you want your voice to be heard?” Unfortunately, I was met with a polite goodbye and one less registered voter. It is a defeating reality that in this country my contemporaries occupy the least engaged portion of the voting population. It is societal trends such as this that must undergo the most scrutiny in order to change the narratives they create. The...
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...we hear about the disappointing turnout on TV or in the paper. In a New York Times article, ‘What We’ve Seen in Australia with Mandatory Voting,’ it’s made very apparent in the article that America does indeed have a serious voter turnout problem. Is this really as big an issue as some would have you believe? Or is it better that we allow a continued disproportionate level of democratic power remain where it is? Although the implementation of compulsory voting, or mandatory voting, would mean that voter turnout would naturally increase, compulsory voting would neither benefit in our society or my district. This is largely due to the fact that even though my district would have more regulation in place to ensure a ballet is turned in, The majority of my district is uneducated and these would be the people showing up to vote. In Lisa Hill’s article, she compares Australia and the US several times but in truth, there is no comparison to be had. The United States is a world power and has almost 14 times as many people in our country than Australia. So while Ms Hill might be pleased with the way this program works in Australia, could you imagine the turnout here in the United States? More importantly, would the polls be able to handle the influx of voters turning out to take part in their constitutional right to have part in democracy It is a privilege to take part in democracy and have your voice heard through the casting of a vote. Americans do not have a right to possess...
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...Voters in the United States don’t seem to do such a great job of showing up to vote, which is especially true when it’s time for the presidential election. Hard to believe that only a little bit more than half of eligible voters in this country actually participate in voting in the presidential elections. This seems preposterous, especially when you consider that voting plays a major part in our government. I mean, what’s a democracy without the right to vote? But sadly, a plethora of Americans don’t take advantage of that right. In my opinion, at least two causes contribute to this dilemma: people feeling disconnected from a government that seems too impersonal to them, and/or people getting tired of the mudslinging in politics. As government has grown in size and complexity, many people see less need for their participation. “Why should I vote if I can’t affect the political process?” seems to be the view taken by many people who do not vote. They have heard again and again that every vote counts, that their vote counts, but they just don’t believe it. Human beings also have the capability of being just plain lazy. To those who use this as an excuse, it’s too much trouble to register to vote and then actually go to the polls on election day. The second cause of voter apathy in my opinion, is all the mudslinging present in politics today. When one candidate says something about their opponent’s personal life, it makes people wonder what kind of person would make such an...
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...“Why don’t more young adults in America vote?” In the United States the word voting can have different meanings for different people, but in general is defined as a fundamental right at the core of what the country stand for which are called democracy and freedom. Young Americans are apt to vote less because of the criticism that stems from the older generations on the inefficiencies with the current administrations and the government at large. Consequently a trickle down effect occurs which leaves younger Americans critical whether their vote even counts. Many factors can be named to explain the low figure of why young people are not voting. The first factor is ignorance that consists in how a person thinks towards the fact that they need to vote. They think one vote is not going to change anything in the elections, so they just decide to not vote when that decision could change a president election. The apathy among young citizens is big; the lack of interest towards this manner, that has been decreasing throughout years and affecting the electoral decisions. The cynicism is the third factor that explains the absence of trust that the people have with the government institutions and the regime as a whole. This cynicism has been defined as oppositional to political efficacy related to trust the economical, social and political institutions. All this problems are happening every time an election is coming and the amount of young Americans that think this way is increasing...
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...Running Head: Mass Media in Elections Mass Media’s Affect on Voting Trends Arthur Gibford California State University California In today’s world, the news media reaches and affects every person in the United States. The question now is does mass media such as newspapers, television, and the internet affect the voting trends of the voters? The ownership of the media (Djankov, Nenova, McLiesh, & Shleifer, 2003), targeting specific demographics (Clinton & Lapinski, 2004), the implications of the internet (DiMaggio, Hargittai, Neuman, & Robinson, 2003) and how candidates use media (Aarts & Semetko, 2003) are all important aspects in determining whether a potential bias exists (Eveland & Shah, 2003) on the part of the news media. It is hypothesized that when the mass media displays certain biases leaning towards one party over the other, the populace tends to vote in the direction of the media. The following five scholarly literature reviews will attempt to demonstrate and support the hypothesis. According to Eveland and Shah (Eveland & Shah, 2003, p. 101)there is “a large percentage of the public (that) believes that the news media are biased, and the majority of these individuals consider the direction of bias to be against their own viewpoint”. This drives the question this paper attempts to answer. This article looks at media’s credibility and integrity in the eyes of individual people. The author’s give several hypothesis to provide multiple...
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...Can people be too busy to have a voice in politics? The ability to vote has come to Americans through countless struggles such as King George the III, the denial of women's rights, and the denial of minority rights. A right to vote is not something that should be taken lightly. The citizens of the United States of America are full of pride when it comes to the world seeing them as a strong, democratic nation. Although, according to Merriam Webster, a democracy is defined as “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections” (Merriam Webster). A democracy is not strong, however, when a low...
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...displacement of U.S. state law by U.S. Federal law. "Preemption" is also sometimes used in the United States to refer to the displacing effect state laws might have on ordinances enacted by municipalities, especially in the context of alcoholic beverage laws, gun laws, and in the area of FDA approved pharmaceuticals. A technique of Congress to establish federal regulations. Total preemption rests on the national governments power under the supremacy and commerce clauses to preempt conflicting state and local activity. Building on this constitutional authority, federal law in certain areas entirely preempts state and local governments from the field. Sometimes federal law provides for partial preemption in establishing basic policies but requires states to administer them. Some programs give states an option not to participate, but if a state chooses not to do so, the national government steps in and runs the program. Even worse from the state’s point of view is mandatory partial preemption, in which the national government requires states to act on peril of losing other funds but provides no funds to support state action. An unfunded mandate is a statute or regulation that requires a state or local government, or private individuals or organizations, to perform certain actions, yet provides no money for fulfilling the requirements. When a federal government imposes a law or regulation without necessary funding, for example, it becomes the responsibility of the state or local government...
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...were not successful in the modification of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments. In the year 1869, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony created the National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA). Another major group was formed by Lucy Stone, a women’s suffrage activist, called the American Women’s Suffrage Association or the AWSA. The members of the AWSA denied the NWSA for being racially discordant. The focus of the AWSA was at a state level. In the 1880s the women’s rights movement was not as prominent in most areas of the United States “During the 1880s, the two wings of the women’s rights movement struggled to maintain momentum. The AWSA was better funded and the larger of the two groups, but it had only a regional reach. The NWSA, which was based in New York, relied on its statewide network but also drew recruits from around the nation, largely on the basis of the extensive speaking circuit of Stanton and Anthony. Neither group...
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...1 Marks: 2 The party in government is made up of ___________ and has direct impact on governmental policy; it is largely independent of ___________________. Choose one answer. | a. the party organization/officeholders | | | b. officeholders/the party organization | | | c. voters/politicians | | | d. bureaucrats/the president | | | e. the electoral college/state legislators | | Question2 Marks: 2 A new order of demonstrated political loyalties, such as seen in Texas and the South from Reconstruction until the middle 20th century with the movement from a Democratic majority identification to a development of parity between the Democratic and then in the latter half of the 20thcentury the shift to Republican party majority identification is called Choose one answer. | a. dealignment. | | | b. alignment. | | | c. realignment. | | | d. party shift. | | | e. political epoch. | | Question3 Marks: 2 The right to vote was not extended to women in the United States until Choose one answer. | a. the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. | | | b. the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. | | | c. the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. | | | d. the adoption of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. | | | e. an executive order that was issued and signed by President John F. Kennedy just weeks before his assassination in November of 1963. | | Question4 ...
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...The Case for Mandatory Voting in Canada by Senator Mac Harb The decline in voter turnout over the last several elections is of great concern to everyone interested in politics and parliamentary government. Many ideas have been put forth about how to address this problem including a recent Bill that would provide for a system of compulsory voting similar to that used in several other countries. The following article is based on the speech at second reading by the sponsor of Bill S-22. O ur democracy depends upon the active participation of its citizens, and, while voting is o n l y o n e e l e me n t o f p o l i ti c a l engagement, it remains the very foundation of our democracy. Reinforcing this foundation is the goal of Bill S-22, which will establish mandatory voting in Canada. This legislation is a direct response to a rising electoral crisis. Voter turnout has been on the decline in Canada since the 1960s, reaching a record low of just 60.9 per cent in the 2004 election. Other Western democracies are also experiencing the same dramatic drop. Only 55.3 per cent of Americans voted in the 2004 presidential election, and the 2001 British general election recorded a turnout of just 57.6 per cent. Only one in four Canadians under the age of 25 bothered to vote in the last election. Research shows that these young people, as they age, may not re-engage in the system as their parents and grandparents did. Canadian researchers tell us that this generational...
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...system exhibited by the United States, and to a lesser degree the United Kingdom, to the multiparty systems of France and Germany. Both the two party systems of the United States and United Kingdom and the multiparty systems of France and Germany possess intrinsic strengths and fallibilities. The multiparty systems of France and Germany are more democratic than the two party systems of the United States and United Kingdom, as they offer greater choice and are more responsive to the wills of the people. However, a two party system is preferable to a multiparty system because it makes government more effective by filtering out extremists and following the majority as opposed to possible minority control over the majority. Characterizing the United Kingdom’s party system as a “two-party system” is somewhat deceiving. The idea of the British system as a two-party system stems from the fact that since 1922, when the Liberal party leader David Lloyd George served as prime minister from 1916-1922, only leaders of the Labour or Conservative parties have served as prime ministers. Furthermore, throughout the postwar period these two parties have routinely divided at least 85 percent of the seats in the House of Commons. However since the 1980s center parties assumed a greater role in British electoral politics. The Liberal Democrats emerged as a viable third party alternative and, at times, as a potential coalition partner for the two major parties. The United Kingdom can still be...
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...For example, the 1990 to 1991 economic recession encouraged a larger population of younger Generation Xer’s to vote during the 1992 Presidential election. The number of votes rising from 102,224 votes in 1988 to 113,866 votes in 1992. Unfortunately, the dissatisfaction in the government developed and the number of young voters dropped for the 1996 election once again (Kirby and Kawashima). The pattern is similar with the Millennial generation. The sour political atmosphere changed with the terrorist attack on September 11. “September 11 seemed to make issues debated in Congress suddenly seem relevant and youth participation began to climb” (Ruggeri). This pattern in history revealed that younger voters tend to become more involved with politics when an event has negatively effects them. Sudden events in history also help to mature many young voters, demonstrating the importance of government and encouraging voters to become more informed about different political campaign goals and...
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