In my post titled,
“How THEY Vote”, I had described different factors that motivated, or
demotivated people to vote. Compulsory voting, the ability of the individual to
change the outcome, history, and the amount of faith in the government.
But now I take those factors now, and apply them to the American people.
In America, voting is not compulsory. It is completely optional. This is a main reason as to why politicians spend so much money on campaigning. For this election, President Obama raised $934.0 m, while Romney raised $881.8m (NYTimes); outrageous amounts wouldn’t you agree? Because it is not enough for Romney or Obama to just get voters to vote for them, they need to get as many people to vote in the first place. Thus they raise and spend such excessive amounts of money to garner as many votes as they can to have more than the other. Yet as much effort as these candidates put forward, our turnouts continue to be low. In 2004 55.27% of the voting age population voted, and in 2008 it was 57.48%. Though we have seen increase in the last 12 years, we can hope to see if it continues to rise for this election.
The ability of the individual to influence the outcome of the election is also a problem. There are multiple facets to this factor. First, because America uses the Electoral College, this creates some issues for people feel misrepresented. When a state ends of voting for the democratic candidate, then the entire population of that state that had voted for the republican candidate feels misrepresented for their vote has basically been thrown out. Secondly, the tradition of states to be “red” or “blue” states affects this. Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Utah are among some of the states that traditionally vote Republican, red states. Thus it would be highly discouraging to be a democrat in such as state, knowing that their state would most likely vote the other way. What incentive do they have to vote then? The same goes for republicans in blue states. Thirdly, actual amount of people that do vote is indeed a lot. Thus if you are in a state that does match your beliefs, such as a democrat in a blue state, then why must you get up and vote knowing that there will be enough people to vote your way and win the majority? As far-out as these ideas may be, there are people who do follow this very mentality.
The factor of history does play a role as well. America was founded upon the principles of freedom and liberty, as was such the right to vote. The American people have always been able to vote; it is a right people take as sure as salt. The fact is, people have taken this right for granted and have lost the value of their ability to directly voice their opinion on who leads their nation. I had contrasted this with India, who had been under the colonial ruling of Britain until 1947. Thus the literate states such as Kerala have a high voter turnout, almost greater than 70%. The right to vote has never been challenged and thus people have lost their value so.
The last factor to be addressed is the amount of faith in the government. This is a factor candidates have discussed in their campaigns that the government will be, or in Obama’s case, has been responsive to the American people. This can be argued back and forth but the fact of the matter is that people need and will vote for the leader under whom the government will be most responsive to their demands. This is huge factor in America because, as we iterate so often, the government is by the people and for the people. This has been the critic of Romney is some areas where he vows that it will help the people, like his policy proposals. People hold onto this ideal that the government is for them, and need to be given a reason to vote.
With the election only 8 days away, we earnestly wait and see how the voter turnout is this year. But here’s a little bit of prediction. With an increasing trend in voter turnout, I feel that the turnout in this election will either be relatively the same or higher. Red states and blue states seem to be sticking with their colors, the only concern being swing states of Ohio. Several usual red states had voted democratic in the 2008 election, but they may return back to voting red. This is a tight race and it will be great excitement to see who comes out on top.
In America, voting is not compulsory. It is completely optional. This is a main reason as to why politicians spend so much money on campaigning. For this election, President Obama raised $934.0 m, while Romney raised $881.8m (NYTimes); outrageous amounts wouldn’t you agree? Because it is not enough for Romney or Obama to just get voters to vote for them, they need to get as many people to vote in the first place. Thus they raise and spend such excessive amounts of money to garner as many votes as they can to have more than the other. Yet as much effort as these candidates put forward, our turnouts continue to be low. In 2004 55.27% of the voting age population voted, and in 2008 it was 57.48%. Though we have seen increase in the last 12 years, we can hope to see if it continues to rise for this election.
The ability of the individual to influence the outcome of the election is also a problem. There are multiple facets to this factor. First, because America uses the Electoral College, this creates some issues for people feel misrepresented. When a state ends of voting for the democratic candidate, then the entire population of that state that had voted for the republican candidate feels misrepresented for their vote has basically been thrown out. Secondly, the tradition of states to be “red” or “blue” states affects this. Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Utah are among some of the states that traditionally vote Republican, red states. Thus it would be highly discouraging to be a democrat in such as state, knowing that their state would most likely vote the other way. What incentive do they have to vote then? The same goes for republicans in blue states. Thirdly, actual amount of people that do vote is indeed a lot. Thus if you are in a state that does match your beliefs, such as a democrat in a blue state, then why must you get up and vote knowing that there will be enough people to vote your way and win the majority? As far-out as these ideas may be, there are people who do follow this very mentality.
The factor of history does play a role as well. America was founded upon the principles of freedom and liberty, as was such the right to vote. The American people have always been able to vote; it is a right people take as sure as salt. The fact is, people have taken this right for granted and have lost the value of their ability to directly voice their opinion on who leads their nation. I had contrasted this with India, who had been under the colonial ruling of Britain until 1947. Thus the literate states such as Kerala have a high voter turnout, almost greater than 70%. The right to vote has never been challenged and thus people have lost their value so.
The last factor to be addressed is the amount of faith in the government. This is a factor candidates have discussed in their campaigns that the government will be, or in Obama’s case, has been responsive to the American people. This can be argued back and forth but the fact of the matter is that people need and will vote for the leader under whom the government will be most responsive to their demands. This is huge factor in America because, as we iterate so often, the government is by the people and for the people. This has been the critic of Romney is some areas where he vows that it will help the people, like his policy proposals. People hold onto this ideal that the government is for them, and need to be given a reason to vote.
With the election only 8 days away, we earnestly wait and see how the voter turnout is this year. But here’s a little bit of prediction. With an increasing trend in voter turnout, I feel that the turnout in this election will either be relatively the same or higher. Red states and blue states seem to be sticking with their colors, the only concern being swing states of Ohio. Several usual red states had voted democratic in the 2008 election, but they may return back to voting red. This is a tight race and it will be great excitement to see who comes out on top.
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