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Low Turnout of American Voters

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Low Turnout of American Voters
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Rough Draft: Low turnout of American voters

Phase 4

Instructor: Jared Kline

Engl103-1204B-02 Composition

Amy Richardson: 1276559

December 18, 2012

America’s voting system is in dire need of changes. Is this because American voters do not care about who is running? Why is it that when election time comes around the middle and lower class feel like they are nothing? Is this due to the fact that they cannot afford to take off work to vote, or they feel their votes do not count, or rather that they are simply less educated on politics and not very politically active? Only about 68% of African Americans voted in the 2008 election and only about 63% of Caucasians voted. This is the reason that America’s voting system is in dire need of change. In America voting is voluntary not compulsory. We give voters the option whether or not to vote for one person or another. This gives the voters a say in who they want to win the election by voting for whom they wish, or if they wish, vote for no one at all. In some other countries voting is compulsory, which means that it is mandatory for them to vote. In this case the voters have to decide whether or not they want one candidate over another. They do not possess the option to not vote at all. This being said does it matter to American’s who is running in the election? The answer is yes and no; yes because these are the people that will be running the country someday, and no because some voters do not care for either party in the election. Low and middle income voters should have a voice also. The problem is that the polls are only open during the week and during working hours. This makes it difficult for them to take off to vote because they cannot afford to take the time off in today’s economy. The low and middle income voters feel that their votes do not count because there has been so much speculation saying that only the senate votes count. This puts them in the



References: Edison Research for the National Election Pool. (2012, November 07). 2012 presidential voter support by demographic. Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/2012- presidential-voter-support-by-demographic/ Olson, G. (2007). USA Election in brief. Retrieved from http://www.america.gov/media/pdf/books/0108_elections.pdf

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