Knowledge for the future

Over these past two trimesters in my government class, I really got to learn in detail how our government made from the ground up. I have been filled with new information, had class discussions, and participated in debates amongst my other classmates. What I want to reflect on is how every piece of information that I have learned in class, leads me to become a stronger citizen for our country.

Two years ago in American History, we began with information on how our government got its foundation. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights guarantee that all American citizens have natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These three guarantees are the core of our government.

I’ve learned how to be a responsible citizen because of the individualism that we have been granted certain rights, duties, and responsibilities. At the beginning of the year we took the citizenship test given to immigrants who want to become a legal US citizen. I learned about the process of becoming a US citizen-one of the biggest responsibilities and a right to a US citizen has, is the right to vote.

I have learned that with the right to vote, we take on a huge responsibility. We are responsible to make the right choice for the future of our country. With that, we have learned that elections have consequences. As I watched the Presidential and Vice presidential debates, I got to analyze the candidate’s comments and discus the tone of the electorate, which was very similar to our classmate’s beliefs in opinions. Some of us believed that the world would end if Barak Obama won reelection, while others thought he was the answer to all of our problems. So far the world has not ended and everyone’s problems are still the same or worse. Just like the US economy. Nothing has changed since the election except more of the same, which is why voters must inform themselves about the candidates. That leads me to the actions and responsibilities of Congress.

Congress is made up of two chambers: the US Senate and the US House of Representatives. I have learned how Congressmen are elected and how long they may serve. The US Senate is made up of 100 members; the US House of Representatives is made up of 435 members. Senators may serve up to 6 years and House members 2 years. Each chamber has a speaker and a different committees, much like our student government at Parish. As a representative of my grade in student government, I get to put in ideas and work on projects to better our community, just like what congress does today. We learned that bills originate in the US house and an identical bill must be approved in the Senate. Eventually after debates and rewrites it either ends up on the Presidents desk or dies in committee. We also have seen how the members in each chamber do not get along and how they put their own constituents ahead of the country as a whole and gridlock develops. The president’s job is to be a leader and bring the two groups together, however, this semester in the US government, we have seen plenty of examples of how no ones is working together. They all look like kindergarteners not wanting to work together and fighting over crayons.

I could go on for hours about what all I have learned over these past two trimesters. The main thing I have learned is what little I knew previous about our country. Being in government class, I get a better understanding of how government is supposed to work. I feel like when I am 18 and legal to vote, I will be able to use my knowledge and understanding of Presidential races, and what to look for in debates to place my vote on what I think is best for our country in the future.

Our Electoral Engagement

The most influential act of voting for our nation is exercised through the election of the US president every four years. Things that motivate us as US citizens to vote may be beliefs, “fitting in”, campaigns, and even the idea of having an impact on one of the biggest decisions of the United States. Truthfully, when voting in the United States everyone’s vote is not even counted considering the Electoral College. So consequently, “…people think their vote makes a difference, and have this mistaken belief even though statistically it’s not the case” (Munsey). But is it important for voters to participate even though most of their votes will not truly affect the outcome of the election?

The goal of voting in the United States is to promote a general welfare in the US with a wider range of voters making decisions that will maximize this general welfare. 

When citizens vote they have a sense of personal power and satisfaction knowing they have voiced their opinion. The idea of have an expressive power to vote for someone and against someone gives the voter a feeling of “personal efficacy” on our government. There has also been shown that there are health benefits from voting.  Communities that often vote more are represented better and are given more attention. With this attention they can have a, “greater social capital, less crime, more connectiveness, better health, and better services” (Sanders). Obviously from voting there is an impact made on our government. By voting, individuals make decisions on countless factors including laws, budgets and public policy by choosing a President that do what is desired by the voter.

Unfortunately there is an immense amount of registered voters, but they do not even vote. They are less engaged in politics, and do not feel impactful in the election. They often do not know enough about the candidates to be able to cast a ballot. Most often these citizens are uninterested in the political process and do not feel the need or desire to change how our government is functioning. One excuse of non-voters is the “I’m too busy to vote,” excuse. Although it may seem that they are not even making a decision in the election, they are. They are choosing not to voice their opinion, or they made the decision that they are indifferent to who is elected.

Political science majors at Indiana University observed the youth voter outcome in the 2008 election. They created a long survey and sent it out to hundreds of IU students.  The results from the survey proved to be unexpected. 30 percent of the respondents said that they were annoyed by the activists that promote voting, but most vote anyways. Data showed that the people who register to vote in the first election after turning 18 are more likely to become lifelong voters. The young voters really felt as though they had a voice they said and that Obama was going to win if young people voted. Even though there was an increase in voting turnout for Americans under 30 they are still only at around a 53 percent voter turnout, which is shy of the rates for older voters.

An example of promoting voting for young people is “Rock the Vote.” It has registered more than five million young voters and gives information for how to register to vote and how to cast a ballot. They use popular culture and grassroots organizing to motivate and mobilize young people in the US to participate in every election. This organization is just one example of a way that young people are encouraged to participate.

It is important for young people to vote because it will show government that they want to be represented. Because older voters are the most reliable voters government does what will please them. It is not worth a politician’s time to put effort in a group of young voters that do not even participate. Government collects statistics on what age group votes more often and from this politicians are able to more effectively campaign and get votes. By having the younger voters participate they are getting the attention of government and are being more “politically effective.”

For this past presidential election between Obama and Mitt Romney voter participation was down from the 2004 and 2008 percentages.  With the voter turnout at 57.5% (CNN Wire) of registered voters participating in the election this shows that close to half do not even cast a ballot. The below infographic from Jasmin shows the turnout and how age plays a role in determining who goes to polls or not.

Overall voter participation is a statistic that can be an overwhelming eye sore to many political scientists. Although it brings a concern I believe that it is the decision of any person whether they want to vote or not, and that is their participation in an election. Many say that everyone participating in elections preserves our democracy. Yes, it does preserve our democracy, but nonvoters are just as equally exercising their right to vote by not choosing to. I am not supporting the idea of no voter participation; I simply think that because they do not vote, that ultimately is their opinion. They have no opinion on the matter at hand whether it is a presidential or senator election for example and that is their “vote”.

Voter participation will always be a touchy subject and bring questions of a true democracy or of how government is actually representing voters. Young people are a necessary voice in our democracy and if they have an opinion they need to voice it by voting. Otherwise, if they are indifferent to the election or voting they can choose to not vote, thus this being their voice in elections.

Rationalizing Irrational Voting Behavior

On the very first day of government class we took a survey to see where our own peers fell on the political spectrum. Later, we had a mock vote for the upcoming presidential election. The results were as follows:

I was puzzled by the results in class because I wanted to understand why people voted the way they did. Government class had just begun, so I wondered how people have enough knowledge or any at all to make such a massive decision. I happened to be guilty of this impulsive behavior. Personally, I had minimal knowledge about each of the corresponding views of a particular political party, but yet I voted the way I did because “that’s what my parents are.” I then questioned if people who associate themselves with a particular group, whether that be yellow-dog democrats, right wing Christians, Jews, or Hispanics, choose a candidate solely based on their groups stereotypic view point. Gallup Poll proved this to be true: “…Hispanics of differing demographic backgrounds all tend to solidly support Obama. It thus appears that there isn’t much beyond a shared Hispanic ethnicity or identity that explains Hispanic voting patterns.” In other words, Hispanics will typically vote democratic not because they find the candidate to be truly amazing, but because their group tends to follow party regardless of the issues. The problem with this trend is that many people are voting for a particular candidate without really understanding the candidate’s views on issues and how they will directly affect them. This leads me to question whether this is rational voting behavior.

Similarly, Pew Research Center asked the public if they would like to see Barack Obama re-elected president in 2012 or if they would prefer that any Republican candidate win the election. The results were as follows:

Once again, this reaffirms large parties inability to vote based on the issues because now conservatism is associated with being a republican and liberals are now associated with being a democrat. However, this was not the intention of our Founding Fathers. What was intended was that all ranges of the political spectrum be found in both parties.

I was curious to see how many people changed their views over the course of the year due to the topics we discussed in class and to test the validity of my findings. (Results below)

This proves that by educating the young people, they are able to form their own opinion. By having an educated and passionate viewpoint, young voters will become more inclined to participate in the upcoming election. Voting will no longer be considered a true burden, but instead the young voters will be enthused to say, “I voted today!” It is important that we encourage teens to discover their own view and maybe even challenge them to differentiate from their parent’s political views. By doing so, the amount of participation will sky rocket! Not only should young adults be encouraged to form their own opinions, but also those individuals who occupy large groups or races. They too, should learn to vote rationally. If you think your views might have changed over the course of the year or you want to test to see if you have remained firm in your position, you can take this typology quiz again at: http://www.peoplepress.org/typology/quiz/

Your Vote Is Your Voice

Throughout our Government and Economics course this year, we spent a great deal of time focusing on elections, specifically the essential question, “Do elections express the hopes and concerns of average Americans?” With the 2012 elections coming upon us quickly, voter participation is a huge part of average American citizens expressing their needs hopes and wants for the future of this country. However, in recent elections, there has been a lack of voter participation (the Illinois Primary is just one example) causing the voices of the citizens to vanish.

Americans want to express their opinions, but there are many distractions and difficulties when it comes to voting, causing a lack of voter participation. One example is attitudinal change, which is increased distrust and alienation. Negative attitudes towards politics are increasing year after year causing a modest turnout. Americans are becoming less and less confident about their own role in changing the government so they simply choose not to vote. What Americans do not realize is if they do not vote, their voice has no chance of being heard.

Another example that causes less and less voter participation is the Lifestyle Change Theory. This theory talks about how our lives are just too busy and we are too distracted to really jump into politics. This argument, all in all, suggests that we are too distracted by the media, new technologies and our jobs to be involved in politics. If American’s let their lives get the best of them and they choose not to vote, they will have no impact on the election.

Lastly, the role of the news media today seems to have a significant impact on the lack of voter participation. Today, anything that grabs the public attention seems to be fair game to the media, but people feel the media is attacking politicians for coverage and popularity, whereas in the past, the politician’s personal life was kept out of the news. When people only hear only the negatives about the candidates, it causes a lack of confidence in the candidate and causes the people to not want to vote. 

In this November’s presidential election, votes will be crucial.” Campaign participation in all its forms, from voting to watching debates, is likely to continue its downward slide” according to Thomas E. Patterson, the Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. American’s everywhere deserve for their voices to be heard, which is something that has had an impact on me throughout my time in Government class. Voter Participation will be essential in the 2012 presidential elections – people need to vote for their voices to be heard.

Why Not Vote?

Over the course of the trimester we spent a lot of time discussing elections.  We covered many topics pertaining to the elections process including the Electoral College system, Electoral Strategy, Money and Elections, Voter Participation, and Campaign Commercials.  Of all the topics, the one most striking to me was voter participation.  It’s surprising to me that the voter turnout on Election Day is historically very low. Some people consider voting to be the foundation of all electoral participation, yet they choose not to use their opportunity have a say in democracy.

Election turnout in the early days of our republic never rose above the teens until 1800, when it jumped up to 31%.  This low number rose over time and hovered around 80% in the 1860s, but it fell back down to around 60% a century later.  Currently, voter participation lingers around the 55-65% area.  The societal lack of interest in the Elections Process is baffling to me because I don’t understand why anybody would pass up the opportunity to make a difference in our government. However, I discovered that there are actually many factors that dissuade people from voting.

One possible theory for low turnout is attitudinal change in the United States.  Survey data supports the claim that negative attitudes toward government have increased over the years.  Americans are becoming more reluctant to trust the government.  For example, in the early 1990s just over 20% of Americans are described as trusting their government to “do what is right all or at least most of the time” (www.electionstudies.org).  This new attitude towards government is caused by increased cynicism, distrust and alienation.  Social media can also take part of the blame for this change. The new role of news media has shifted to using methods called, “attack journalism” and media “feeding frenzies”, which focus on exploiting a politician’s personal lives.  This combination has effectively repelled voters from the polls.

Another similar perspective is called the lifestyle-change theory.  This theory suggests that life today is simply busier than in the past and offers more distractions.  People tend not to place voting very high on their priority list, therefore it is very easy to let distractions such as television, technology, and social networking sites consume our time (150).  According to the U.S. Census Bureau the top eleven reasons for not voting are:

1. Too busy
2. Illness or emergency
3. Not interested
4. Didn’t like candidates
5. Out of town
6. Don’t know
7. Registration problems
8. Forgot
9. Inconvenient polling place
10. Transportation problem
11. Bad weather

Lastly, age has always been a major factor in voter participation.  Young Americans have always voted at lower rates because they have a less completed education, less likelihood of owning property, and are less likely to be as affluent.  However, youth voting has made a dramatic turnaround in recent years.  For example, people of age 18-24 represented an 11 percent increase in 2004, which was double the rate of increase in any other group.  Also, 49 percent of people under 25 years old voted in 2008.  One might ask why the recent change?  Many organizations such as MTV have started programs to try to engage the youth in participating.  Also, new elections pathway organizations including Americans Coming Together and MoveOn.org have tried to bring youth the polls.  Hopefully all Americans will follow this example set by the youth to take initiative and vote.

Passing up voting is passing up your chance to represent yourself in democracy.   The outcome of elections directly affects all Americans in some way, shape, or form.  Therefore voting gives citizens the ability to voice the issues that are important to them by choosing their ideal representative.  A vote is a powerful expression of one’s political beliefs, yet unfortunately most people do not see it this way.  Americans need to wake up and realize that their vote really does count, and their missed votes are missed opportunities.  In my opinion, you can never be “too busy” to express your beliefs and make a difference in democracy.