One of the primary focuses of an American today is the
upcoming Presidential election. From constant political ads, to the debate that
took part last night, President Obama and Mitt Romney are trying very hard to
get people to vote for them. Because as much as people do vote in this nation,
there is a large percentage that does not; the voter turnout for the 2008
election was roughly 57.4% (http://www.idea.int).
Yet, smaller nations like Malta or Uruguay have much higher voter turnout. What
is it about these nations, whose politics are not nearly as significant as that
of the U.S, have such larger turnouts?
In some nations, voting is compulsory. But the turnout is a
factor of the laws or sanctions that country has put against not voting. For
example, Australia has mandatory registration for voting and attendance. Thus
it reaches a turnout of 95%. Other nations have few or weakly enforced sanctions
against not voting. Thus, citizens can get away with not voting. People require
motivation to vote. But if they lack that motivation, and face no consequences
by not voting, they will certainly choose not to vote. Venezuela witnessed this
when it removed its mandatory voting laws and saw a decrease in its turnout.
A factor I believe that raises voter turnout in other
nations is the ability of the individual to change the outcome. Knowing that
your vote will be represented will spur many people to vote. This comes to head
in countries with a plurality system where one party will misrepresent all the
people that had voted against it. Thus, when people feel that they are not
being represented, they will have little motivation to come to the polls. Look at
Germany, where it is very easy to create a party and garner votes for it,
requiring a 5% electoral threshold in order to be part of the parliament.
A little bit of history plays into this as well. While in
hundreds of countries people can vote, there are some nations that had to
establish their ability to vote. The U.S, since its beginning, has always given
its people the right to vote. A country like India, however, was ruled
colonially and did not achieve its independence until 1947. Thus its citizens
value their ability to vote.
But I feel a significant, if not the most significant factor,
is one that more felt than can be seen. Voters must have trust in their
government in order to vote for them. Similar to what I was speaking to early,
citizens must be able to trust in the electoral process and should face a responsive
government, ensuring that people do feel their worth as citizens voting in
their nation. When facing an election, candidates cannot simply address and vow
to fix the issues the nation’s people have voiced. They have to give their citizens
a reason to vote, and thus must derive their solutions from the people.
These various factors affect voter turnout, positively and
negatively, around the world in different ways. As the election draws ever
closer, I will apply these factors to America in my next post to see how We
vote.
Referenced
Sources: http://www.nonprofitvote.org/voter-turnout-factors.html
What would you propose the candidates do or say to increase voter participation?
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