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Jessica Luong

English 1302

Professor Moore

19 March 2017

Low Voter Turnout in U.S Presidential Elections

America's turnout problem is among the worst of any of the established democracies

( Hill 3).Voting is an important right that an American Citizen has. The most important form of

participation is the act of voting. In the United States system of government, citizens have the

option to participate in the political process that runs our country. It is a citizens right to vote

that lets the people influence change in policy and set the guidelines that politicians must follow

to be elected representatives(David 5). Having the right to vote is taken for granted in the

United States system. The United States national elections have been experiencing a steady

decline of eligible voters showing up to vote. In the U.S., voter turnout in legislative elections

from 1945-2014 hovers just below 50 percent much lower than the global average of 62.7

percent (David 2). The author Carol David suggests that, According to a recent analysis by

the Electoral Integrity Project, the U.S. ranked 26th out of 73 countries assessed in 2012-13, with

the U.S. having the lowest ranking among Western nations (David 2). Factors affecting voter

participation is one of the most important aspects of any democracy. Participation from citizens

greatly influences the voter turnout. Although citizens have the right to vote many do not

participate because the election requires registration to vote, there are long lines at the voting

polls, and voters do not have enough knowledge of the political campaign.
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The registration process is one of the main causes of low voter turnout in the United

States. Americans face several hurdles beginning with registration. Many voters fail to register

on time for various reasons and therefore do not vote. America does not have an automatic

registration process. The registration process requires paperwork, and citizens who wish to vote

must obtain and fill out a paper application. In the U.S. voters are not automatically signed up

and have to fill out paperwork. A 2012 study by The Pew Charitable Trust estimates that 24%

of the voting-eligible population in the United States are not registered to vote, a percentage that

represents "at least 51 million eligible U.S. citizens (Washington, DC, Pew Center on the States,

2012 Pg 4). This study suggests that registration requirements discourages citizens to participate

in voting which results in low voter turnout. Unlike many democracies, The United States

places the burden of registration on the individual (Vanishing Voter 7). Americans have the

right to choose if they want to register and vote. Americans also have the freedom to choose if

they want to participate in political campaigns, they also have the freedom in choosing not to

participate at all.

Americans live busy lives and most of them do not have the time to wait in long lines at

the voting polls. Because of Americans busy lives lines at the voting polls are long and some

people do not think they will have time to vote before the polls close. Election day falls on a

Tuesday which means that many voters are tied up at work during the day time and evening.

Many citizens are busy with work related duties and responsibilities. After work many citizens

are tired after a long day and may not want to stand in a long line to vote. According to Las

Cruces Sun-News Tens of millions of Americans who descended on the polls Tuesday faced

hours-long lines, sporadic equipment failures and confusion about polling places( Long Lines

Could Be the Theme in Tuesday's Soil, Water Election ). Many people who wait in long lines
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are not even able to vote before the voting polls close which results in less people voting in

elections. Even though voting lines are long citizens are given the option of early voting. Early

voting is convenient to citizens if they choose to vote early or go on a different day if they are

not able to make it on the actual date. According to the article The added interest combined

with a small number of polling places and no early voting for the election -- could

yield long lines at the polls (Long Lines pg 6). Despite the option of early voting the lines will

still be long, because of long lines people might choose to stay home instead of waiting in long

lines. Lines at the voting polls are long and many citizens lead a busy life and do not have the

time to wait in long lines to vote.

Educating voters of the importance of the electoral process as well as finding ways to

capture their interest has an impact on voter turnout. Voter turnout is so low is because some

citizens are uneducated and have little knowledge on the issues. Americans are limited in the

amount of political knowledge because they lack interest. According to Wayne Low turnout

suggest that people may be alienated, lack faith in the candidate and parties, think that the

government will and remain unresponsive to their needs and interests, and believe that they

cannot achieve change through the electoral process (Wayne 85). Recent research shows that

the public only knows the basic information. Many citizens know the location of the capital and

the length of the presidents terms, but they lack knowledge of other important information.

About 50% know there are 2 senators of each state, and only 66% knows which parties control

the house. (Wayne 53). When citizens are uneducated they end up not knowing who to vote for

which ends in a result of low voter turnout. Being educated in politics Provides people with

skills for processing and evaluating information; for perceiving differences among the parties,

candidates, and issues; and for relating these differences to personal values and behavior
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(Wayne 83). The more educated a person has in a political campaign, the more interest they will

be in the election and the more concern they are with the outcome. Educated citizens have more

civic pride to participate in a political campaign.

The United States national elections have been experiencing a steady decline of eligible

voters showing up to vote. Many eligible citizens have the freedom to participate in political

campaigns but do not. One of the most important forms of voting is participation. The factors of

low voter turnout include elections requiring registration to vote, long lines at the voting polls,

and voters do not have enough knowledge of political campaign. Voting is one of the rights that

American citizens have taken granted for. Back in the 1800's, only white men were allowed to

vote and only slowly did women and African Americans get the right to vote. Eventually, every

citizen of the U.S. over 21 was allowed to vote (Hill 8). In twenty first century, the

participation in voting has decreased and the U.S. government is faced with an important issue.

During each presidential election, the voting turnout is decreasing as the years go by. If only fifty

percent of a state voted, the other fifty percent is unwilling to represent the state. Low turnout is

usually considered to be undesirable. Low voter turnout is becoming an important problem in

the United States political campaigns. As a result, there have been many efforts to increase

voter turnout and encourage participation in the political process.

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Works Cited

Carroll, David. "U.S. Elections High Public Confidence, Low Voter Turnout." Capitol Ideas, vol.

57, no. 5, Sep/Oct2014, p. 37. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=f5h&AN=98283611&site=ehost-live.

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=98283611&site=ehost-

live

Hill, Lisa. "Low Voter Turnout in the United States." Journal of Theoretical Politics, vol. 18, no.

2, Apr. 2006, pp. 207-232. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/0951629806061868.

Inaccurate, Costly, and Inefficient: Evidence That America's Voter Registration System Needs an

Upgrade. Washington, DC, Pew Center on the States, 2012

http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pewupgradingvo

terregistrationpdf.pdf Accessed 19 Mar. 2017.

"Long Lines Could Be the Theme in Tuesday's Soil, Water Election." Las Cruces Sun-News

(NM), 05 May 2015. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W62184935232&site=ehost-live.
Wayne, Stephen J. The Road to the White House, 2000: The Politics of Presidential Elections.

Boston, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. Accessed 19 Mar. 2017