McMain-1

MichaelMcMain
Ms.Parent
APLanguageandComposition
31March2015
TheYoungVoter
OneofourmostimportantrolesasUnitedStatescitizensistovote.Votinggivescitizens
achancetoparticipateinthegovernmentanddecidewhowillberepresentingthemandmaking
laws.TherighttovoteisagiftgiventotheAmericanpeople,agiftthatmanypeopleneglect.
Thereisanalarminglowpercentageofvotersduringthelastcongressionalelection,particularly
ofvotersfromages1824.Politicshasalwaysbeenfullofmudslinging.Mudslingingiswhen
onepoliticalcandidatetriestowintheracebytakingattacksontheiropponentsintegrity.
However,therecentdevelopmentofsocialmediahasgiventhemediatheabilitytoshedlightto
themudslinging,makingitwidelyknowntothepublic.Therecentlowvoterturnoutindicates
howthevotersfeelaboutthisnewaccesstomudslinging.Asyoungadults,peopledonotwantto
voteforsomeonewhotheysawbashingsomeoneelse.Inaddition,peoplefeelgoingouttovote
isahassle.
ThesystemthatMichiganusesforvotingrequiresvotingregistrationbeforeElectionDay
andisoutdated,butcouldbereplacedeasilywithamoreefficient,userfriendlysystemof
voting.Theseproblemsarepushingtheyoungervoters,whoarenotusedtovotingandthe
system,away(DePinto1).Therehasbeentalkoflawsthatimplementastrictervoter
identificationsystem,whichwouldcausehasslesforvotersandwardoffthosewhosimplywant
togotothepollsandvotewithouthavingtopreregister.Lowvoterturnoutleadstoa

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misrepresentationingovernment.Specifically,thepercentageofyoungvotershasdroppedby
13%since1964.Ifmostoftheyoungpeoplearenotvoting,theopinionofalotofourcountryis
notrepresentedinthevotingpolls,leadingtoalackinvoterrepresentation.Theremustbemajor
changesingovernmentinordertoincreasevoterturnoutandbringbackcitizenrepresentation,
especiallywithyoungvoters.
Therehavebeenvariousdipsinthepercentageofyoungvotersaged1824yearssince
1964.Consideringonlypresidentialelections,whichhistoricallyhaveabiggervoterturnout,the
percentagevotingfelltoalowofabout32%in2000andwasatitshighestin1964atalmost
51%.Theyoungvoterturnoutin2012wasamere38%,droppingfromthe43%in2008.Andit
hasdropped13%totalsince1964forpresidentialelections.TheU.S.CensusBureauexplains
thatthedeclineinvotingratesmaybeduetotheincreaseinthenoncitizenpopulation,which
wouldcauseaportionofthetotalpopulationtobeunabletovoteandcreatebiasinthenumbers.
Onthecontrary,oldervoterturnout,aged65andover,hasbeenontherisesince1964,raising
byabout3.4%beingaround70%in2012,makingitalmostdoubletheamountoftheyoung
votingratein2012("YoungAdultVoting:AnAnalysisofPresidentialElections,1964
2012."3).Thismayseemsmall,buteveryvotecounts.Thereforeanyincreaseofvotingratesis
agoodsign.Theraiseinoldervotingratesaremostlikelyaresultoftheyoungvoterswhovoted
in1964arenowintheirlate60sandhavevotedtheirwholelife,whereastheyoungvotersnow
arenotusedtovoting.Thegenerationalgapinvotingmaybeduetomanyreasons,butthe
necessitytoraiseallofthevotingratesisstillimportant.Inorderforademocraticrepublicto
functionwethevotersneedtotakeourdutiesseriouslyandvote.

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Withthenewfoundpowerinsocialmedia,theadvertisementsduringpoliticalraceshave
multiplied.Potentialleadersofourcountryareabletocommunicatetheirplatformviatelevision
andsocialmedia.However,politiciansabusethisnewpower.Insteadofportrayingtheir
platform,manypoliticianspaytobringdowntheiropponent.AccordingtoTheNewYorkTimes,
politiciansneedtoruncampaignsthatstandforsomething("TheWorstVoterTurnoutin72
Years."1).Thismeansthatifpoliticiansinvesttheirmoneyintoexaltingthemselves,ratherthan
tearingtheopponentdown,thevoterswouldrespondbetterandvoteforwhattheybelievein.
Whenpoliticianstakeshotsateachother,theonlythingthevoterunderstandsfromthe
commercialisthereisnoreasontovote.Ifpoliticiansgivevotersareasontovote,theywouldbe
morelikelytogetupandvoteonthefirstTuesdayofNovember.
Anotherpotentialcauseofthedropinyoungvoterturnoutisthenewlawsthatmake
votingharder.Tenstateshaveintroducednewlawsthataddtothehurdlesthatyoungervoters
needtonegotiatebeforetheycancastaballot(Pilkington1).Thenewlawsthatmakevoting
harderforyoungvotersincludetheNorthCarolinalawthatbannedpreregistrationdrivers
among16and17yearolds,whichthwartteensavailabilitytostateIDsthatarerequiredto
vote;Texas,wherestudentIDscannotbeusedtovote,butgunlicensescan;andTennessee,
wherecollegeIDcardscannotbeusedtovotebutteachercollegeIDcardscan.These
unnecessarylawspreventtheyoungergenerationfromvoting.Allofthelawsstated,andmore,
needtobereevaluatedandchanged,orsimplyjustrevokedinordertomakevotingthesimple
taskitshouldbe.
Thecompetitivenessofelectionsalsoaffectsvoterturnout(Innes1).Ifaparticularraceis
verycompetitiveandclose,thereisahigherchanceofhighvoterturnoutthanifitwasan

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uninterestingrace,suchasmidtermelections.Inmidtermelections,voterssimplydonotcareif
thepresidentisnotbeingelected,becausethemajorityofimportanceinvotingisputonvoting
forthepresident.Forexample,the1999Dallasmayoralelectionwasatiny5%("WhatAffects
VoterTurnoutRates."1).Thisdemonstratestheimportanceofcompetitivenessandmedia
coverageoftherace.Advertisementsshouldbetakeninmoderation.Themediashouldbe
involvedtopeakinterestinpoliticsandtodisplaytheimportanceofvotingratherthanbeing
usedtotakejabsatopponentsintegrityand,inturn,ruintheirownappealfromvoters.Thelack
ofimportanceplacedonthemidtermelectionsdetersvotersfromgoingouttovote.Votersthink
becausethemidtermelectionsarenotimportantitdoesnotmatteriftheyvote.ManyAmericans
considerpresidentialelectionstheonlyimportantelection.Votersdonotrealizetheimportance
ofchecksandbalancesinourgovernmentandtheimportanceofCongress,whichiswhatthese
midtermelectionsaremainlyfocusedon.IftheimportanceofCongressisexplainedtothe
generalpublic,itwouldlikelycauseanincreaseinvotingratesonthepresidentialoffyears.
Theremustbewaystopeakvotersinterestsinnonpresidentialelectionyearsinordertokeep
therepresentativesofthegeneralpublicinoffice.
Theamountofinvestmentpoliticalpartiesputintostatesalsohasaroleinpeakingvoter
interestinelections.Inthe2012electionthemainstatesthatwereinvestedinbythepolitical
partiesweretenswingstates.Swingstatesarestatesthatcouldvoteeitherdemocraticor
republican.Swingstatesaredifferentfrommoststates,asmoststateshavevotedforthesame
partyfordecades,whereasswingstateschangewhatpartytheyvoteforsometimesevery
election.Theinvestmentinonlyafewstatesresultedinthevoterturnoutbeinghigherinthe
statesthatwerefocused.Theother40states,whichweresolidblueorred,gotbarelyany

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attentionfrompotentialpresidents,consequentlycausingalowvoterturnout.Thereis
importanceinswingvoters.Theyattracttheattentionfrompoliticiansofbothsides.Americans
shouldbemorefocusedontheintegrityandmoralsofthecandidatethanthecoloroftieheis
wearing.Highinvestmentineverystatewillleadtomoreknowledgetothevotersandeventually
pushthemtowardsvotingintheelection.

Figure1.VoterRepresentation
Source:Nonvoters:WhoTheyAre,WhatTheyThink.Pew,2012.
Figure1showstheresponsestoapolltakenfrompeoplewhoarelikelytovoteand
peoplewhoarenotvoting.Itiseasytoseefromthegraphthatmanynonvotershavedifferent
opinionsfromlikelyvoters.ThegraphshowsthattheballotscollectedonElectionDayarenota
fullrepresentationofthepublicsviews.Thelackofvotingprovestobeaworrisomeproblem
consideringhowmanyopinionsarenotbeingrepresentedinthepeoplewhoactuallygooutand

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vote.Theremustbechangesinoursysteminordertogetfullrepresentationofthevotersviews
onissues,notjusttheviewsofthepeoplewhovote.
Voterregistrationeffectsvoterturnout.Samedayregistrationisonlyavailablein15
statesandhasbeenshowntoboostvoterturnout.Notonlydoesitboostvoterturnout,butitalso
hasastrongimpactonreducingturnoutinequality(McElwee).Thereisnologicaldownsideto
havingsamedayregistration.Itcorrelatestohighvoterturnoutandhasnoobviousnegative
effects.Havingsamedayregistrationgivesprocrastinatorsalastminutechancetovote.Withthe
increasingpaceoflife,registeringtovoteisnotsomethingontopofthetodolist,sogiving
votersachancetoregisteronElectionDaymakesvotingmoreconvenient.ElectionDay
registrationshouldbeimplementedineverystatetotrytoboostvoterturnoutasmuchas
possible.Consideringhowlowitcurrentlyis,wecoulduseanyhelpwecanget.
InDemosMillionstothePolls,theysay,Thereshouldbeeliminationofall
unnecessarypoliticalimpedimentstovoterregistrationandvoting(Kennedy2).Theselaws
onlyrestrictvotingandcreatebiasinthevoterturnout.Thelawshavebeenfoundtohave
partisan,strategic,andracializedmotives.AstudybyJamesAveryandMarkPeffleyfoundthat
stateswithrestrictivevoterregistrationaremuchmorelikelytobebiasedtowardupperclass
turnoutwhichgivesevenmorereasoningtoretractthevotinglawsthatsimplyactasbarriersto
voters.AnylawthatsuppressesthevotesofanylegalU.S.citizenshouldbeimmediately
reformedoroverturnedwiththeonlygoalofexpandinglegalvotingasfaraspossible.Theactof
concealinganyvoterisimmoralanddefiestheviewsofatruedemocraticrepublic.
InapersonalinterviewwithMichiganStateSenatorSteveBieda,whenaskedaboutwhy
votingisimportanthereplied,Votingisimportantsinceitiswhatgivespeoplelikeyouthe

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powertoexpressyouropinionsaboutourgovernment.Forthisreason,wehopeforalarger
votingparticipationratenomatterthedemographic(Bieda).Thisexplanationshowsthatour
governmentrecognizestheimportance,butthroughthevotingratesitiseasytoseethepublic
doesnotunderstandthis.Politiciansneedtohaveastandontheimportanceofvoterturnoutto
trytoengagethevotersandeducatethemontheimportance.SteveBiedahassponsoredthree
billsregardingvoting.Oneofthemistoallow16yearoldstopreregistertovote,whichisa
greatidea,consideringitwouldsolvetheissueofvoterregistrationdiscussedearlier.Theother
twobillsBiedasponsoredaretoallowonlinevoterregistrationandnoreasonabsenteevoting.
AllthreeofthebillsBiedasponsoredwouldmakethevotingsystemmoreconvenientandshould
beimplementedinordertomaketheprocessofvotingeasier,totrytogetasmanyvotersas
possible.
TherearemanyflawsinthewayselectionsarerunintheUnitedStates,butmanyof
theseflawsareeasytoadjust.Themedianeedstotakeelectionsseriouslyandproduceunbiased
productivecoverage.Themediaalsoneedstohaveconstantunbiasedcoverageeverywhere,not
justincompetitiveraces.Everyraceshouldbecompetitive.Itisthislackofcompetitionthatis
reducingtheinterestinpolitics.Politiciansneedtoproduceadvertisementsthatdisplaytheir
platformratherthanteardowntheiropponentsintegrity.ElectionDayregistrationshouldbe
implementedineverystatetobolsterthevoterturnoutandincreasetheopportunitiestovote.The
lawsthatrestrictanypotentialvotermustberetractedorreformedrightawayinordertopromote
thevotingofeveryone.Inorderforfairrepresentationingovernment,everyonemustbeableto
vote,andeveryonemustvote.

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WorksCited
Avery,JamesM.,andMarkPeffley."VoterRegistrationRequirements,VoterTurnout,and
WelfareEligibilityPolicy:ClassBiasMatters."StatePoliticsandPolicyQuarterly5.1
(2005):4767.Web.30Mar.2015.
Bieda,Steve.PersonalInterview.29Mar.2015.
Bureau,U.s.Census."YoungAdultVoting:AnAnalysisofPresidentialElections,1964
2012."UnitedStatesCensusBureau.U.S.DepartmentofCommerce,Apr.2014.Web.
24Mar.2015.
DePinto,Jennifer."TheYoungVoterTurnoutin2014."CBSNews.CBSInteractive,13Nov.
2014.Web.31Mar.2015.
Innes,Wendy."InTheEnd,LowVoterTurnoutComesDowntoCompetitivenessinElections
IVN.us."IVNus.N.p.,23Oct.2014.Web.30Mar.2015.
Kennedy,Liz,andJ.Cha."MillionstothePolls."Demos.Demos,19Aug.2014Web.30Mar.
2015.
McElwee,Sean."WhytheVotingGapMatters."Demos.N.p.,23Oct.2014.Web.30Mar.
2015.
"Nonvoters:WhoTheyAre,WhatTheyThink."PewResearchCenterforthePeopleandthe
PressRSS.N.p.,01Nov.2012.Web.01Apr.2015.
Pilkington,Ed."LowYouthVoterTurnoutinMidtermsHasPartiesPonderingNewWaysto
Engage."TheGuardian.TheGuardian,5Nov.2014.Web.24Mar.2015.
TheEditorialBoard."TheWorstVoterTurnoutin72Years."TheNewYorkTimes.TheNew
YorkTimes,11Nov.2014.Web.24Mar.2015.

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"WhatAffectsVoterTurnoutRates."FairVote.TheCenterforVotingandDemocracy,n.d.
Web.22Mar.2015.