Argument Essay First Draft

INSERT VOTING QUOTE Every four years in the United States of America, we have a Presidential Election. And every four years, barely 50% of the register votes turn out to vote. That percentage is even lower, around 30-40% for off year elections. On a list of voter turnout by country compiled by International IDEA, the United States ranks 139th out of 172 countries, sandwiched between Armenia, Uganda, Nigeria, and Thailand. Why is voter turnout in the United States so low? How could the percentage of Americans who vote be improved?
Looking at the voter turnout from other nations, we see that they must have the answer. For example, in France’s 2007 Presidential election, they had 84% turnout. Italy has a national average of 92.5%, Australia has an average of 95%, Germany an average of 80%, and England and Korea with 75%. Do these nations have different voting laws or techniques? Or are their citizens just more passionate about their nations’ government?
First, let’s look at Australia with its 95% voter turnout. Unlike our country, Australia has compulsory voting, meaning that it is punishable by law if you do not vote. There are nearly 30 nations in the world with these laws in place, including Mexico, Brazil, Belgium, and Argentina, but Australia and Boliva are the strictest at enforcing these laws. For example, if a Bolivian citizen doesn’t vote, the government denies that citizens ability to withdraw their paycheck from the bank for up to 3 months.
Although compulsory voting would does have a positive effect on voter turnout, some people question whether it’s the right approach. Opponents claim that forcing people to vote in a democracy isn’t true freedom. They argue that true freedom would include the right to choose not to vote. Opponents also argue that there would be a large number of random votes cast by people who don’t have any interest in who wins the election and wouldn’t have voted if it wasn’t required.
However, the benefits of compulsory voting outweigh the negatives. First, elected governments are considered more legitimate when higher proportions of the population vote. With 50% voter turnout, how legitimate is the victory of an elected official? What would’ve happened if the other 50% percent would’ve voted? Second, political parties wouldn’t need to spend valuable resources trying to convince possible voters to actually vote, leaving more resources available to talk about the issues. In an op-ed piece by the New York Times a few weeks ago, they point out that over $5 billion had been spent on this year’s Presidential and Congressional elections simply trying to convince people to cast a ballot. With our current economic state and national debt, couldn’t that $5 billion be spent somewhere else? Lastly, a true democracy is a government by the people, not half of the people.
Another solution to the problem is making Election Day a national holiday or putting it on the weekend. President elect Obama brought this up towards the end of his campaign. Many people have too many things going on or just can’t get out of work to go vote on a Tuesday. Nearly 30 states have laws in place that allow people time off from work to go vote, but these laws are vastly unknown to employees and bosses. Recently, nine states made Election Day a national holiday. INSERT STATE VOTER TURNOUT Puerto Rico is an excellent. Election Day in Puerto Rico is a national holiday, and voter turnout is 82.6%.
As early as last summer, the English Parliament was debating whether or not to move their elections from Thursday to the weekend. Whichever of those two options we choose, there are no negatives. It would cost very little money and the increase in voter turnout would be worth the money.
Another technique used by other countries is automatic voter registration. Unlike the United States where the responsibility is on the individual to register to vote, other nations’ put that responsibility on the government, who automatically register their citizens to vote. Many Americans don’t vote because it’s too much of a hassle to go register. Automatic registration would eliminate this excuse. One idea that is being proposed here in the United States is making voter registration a requirement to graduate. Due to all the information that school districts already have on their students, such as their home address, social security number, etc., it would be very easy to implement a system like this.
If people oppose this system, we need look no further than our neighbors to the North. Canada has a very successful automatic voter registration system in place which places the entire responsibility of voter registration on the government. Through interaction with various government agencies, Election Canada, a non-partisan government entity which is in charge of overseeing and regulating all government elections, compiles a list of all citizens who are old enough to vote and registers them. Information can be easily gathered on a person for registration through cooperation with the different Canadian government agencies. However, like all government systems, there are occasional flaws. Sometimes a person will slip through the cracks and go unregistered. In this scenario, the government is already prepared with voter registration available on the day of elections. Finland and Denmark also have automatic government registration, with Denmark having 84% compared to Finland’s 79%. However, Canada’s voter turnout is around 68%, showing that automatic voter registration isn’t the perfect answer.
One method that is already being put in place, but could be expanded further, is early voting. 34 states in the US now allow early voting, 31 of them require no-excuse with 3 requiring an excuse. Depending on the state, early voting allows people to vote in a certain time-frame before the election either in person or via absentee ballot. The idea behind it is that it makes voting more convenient for a lot of people who wouldn’t be able to go vote on the Tuesday Election Day. In the 2004 election, nearly 30% of registered voters in Texas, or 2.4 million, participated in the state’s early voting and that number is projected to be much higher for this election. Despite the increased convenience and other advantages of early voting, it has not increased voter turnout. According to Science Daily, “a new empirical study by political scientists concludes that most early voting options have a negligible or even negative impact on turnout.”
Lastly, we must find ways to make politics important to the average American. Most Americans are too self-interested to get involved in politics. We choose to live out our lives and only care about things that effect us, and then we complain about what the government is doing. CNN Writer John Dean brings up an excellent quote from Alexis de Tocqueville’s book “Democracy in America” when he says,
“it is difficult to force a man out of himself and get him to take an interest in the affairs of the whole state, for he has little understanding of the way in which the fate of the state can influence his own lot. But if it is a question of taking a road past his property, he sees at once that this small public matter has a bearing on his greatest private interests, and there is no need to point out to him the close connection between his private profit and the general interest."
There are many reasons that people don’t vote besides disinterest, including distrust of politicians and overall dislike for our current political system. Usually all these reasons are compounded, but there are ways to fix it. Parents and schools can begin educating children at an early ago on the importance of the political system and how we have a civic obligation to vote. People need to understand that when they don’t vote, they lose their political voice. This country was built on the fundamentals that voting and participation in government is important and necessary to the success of our nation. I agree that our government and both political parties are not perfect. But we can fix all of it if everyone gets involved.
There are many different thoughts and ideas on how to improve voter turnout, from compulsory voting to universal voter registration. Whether you agree or disagree with these ideas, the fact remains that something must be done. America, as the world power, cannot keep that status with half our population uninterested and uninvolved in our government. That exact formula has led to the collapse of powerful nations in history, such as Greece and Rome. Let’s learn from history. Not repeat it.