Political Participation In America

Political Participation in America
Throughout the United States, American citizens have the right to express their political opinions and participate through several different methods. The most widespread way Americans express their opinion on public policy and leadership is by voting. Despite this fact, the U.S. still has one of the lowest voter turnout rates compared to European countries. Some Americans have a deep since of civic duty to vote while others feel it is a waste of time. Both of the major parties in the U.S. continually work on ways to get citizens to use their right to vote and increase their interest in public policies.
First, there are several reasons why the U.S. has a lower turnout rate than European countries. The most
prominent cause is the implementation of Registration which began in the 1900's and is still in effect today. It is an efficient technique for eliminating illegal voting but as a result, honest citizens have more difficulty registering. Most European democracies require registration as well, but instead of making it the citizens responsibility, government is in charge of registering citizens to vote. This takes the burden off of the people and simplifies the voting process. Because the U.S. leaves registration requirements up to the states, each state has a different requirement system which can often times unduly burden citizens who are unfamiliar with their respective states' system. It is estimated that, "Voter turnout would be roughly ten percentage points higher in the United States if it had European-style registration" (Patterson221). However, the United States is known for being an individualistic culture and many people would not want the national Government to control their freedom in that regard. Turnout continued to get lower when many states began to require government-issued ID such as a drivers license or passport. While this does hurt turnout rates, it also decreases the likelihood of fraud. On top of registration and voter ID discouraging voter numbers, the frequency of U.S. elections makes it difficult for citizens to keep up. None of the other democracies have elections every two years and four years as well as local elections. A good majority of states have local elections on odd numbered years which enlarges the difficulty for citizens to keep track. Most local and state elections used to happen around the same time as the presidency. This did increase turnout but as a downside, caused candidates to ride on the presidents coattails resulting in unfair elections. Americans are invited to vote nearly three times as much as European elections. Often times, citizens simply cannot keep up and tire of the frequent elections as well as the difficult registration process.
Secondly, in America there is a steep difference between who routinely vote and those who do not.
Some of the explanations include the attitude many Americans have about politics, their income, and age. Unfortunately, many Americans plainly do not care and have no interest in politics. They have a deep apathy for voting and believe that the outcomes of elections rarely effect their lives. Some citizens describe a feeling of alienation where they believe their voice will never be heard and their vote will never make a difference. in contrast, other Americans describe a sense of civic duty to participate politically and pay attention to public affairs. Both feelings of apathy and civic duty have been traced back to the parents depending on if they participated in politics. A sense of alienation however can have adult roots. An example is given in the textbook where some of the white Democrats in the 60s felt, "left out, believing that gains for the African-American community would come at their expense" (Patterson226). Studies have shown that people who receive a college education and have an above-average income also have an above-average voting rate. Contrasted with those who make below average and never attended college, upper income Americans have roughly a 50% increase in voter turnout. Americans with less income as well as young adults typically have a harder time registering and are less likely to follow politics. In fact, both middle-aged and senior citizens out vote
adults under the age of 30. One of the reasons for this is that young adults are more likely to move residence in-between elections meaning they have to reregister in order to vote again. However, the turnout rate has been on the rise for young adults in recent elections and may continue to do so as they become more politically involved. A final key component that boosts voter turnout across the country is the major political parties in America. Citizens who say they identify with a particular party are much more politically involved than those who claim to be independent. A reason for this is that most people in a party pay more attention to policies and current issues thus giving them greater incentive to vote for their party's candidate.
Third, many politicians and political analysts speculate as to how voter turnout in America can be increased up to where European countries are currently at.
Perhaps one of the simplest ways to accomplish this goal would be to have the government automatically register voters. This would present the opportunity for citizens to vote without having to go through a difficult process. Another way would be to make election day a holiday like many other European countries. By doing this, Americans would recognize the importance of the election and provide ample time for them to cast their ballot. William Galston of the University of Maryland proposed that the U.S. require citizens to vote or otherwise pay a fine. While this would increase voter turnout, it would also cause people to resent the elections and decrease the amount of freedom people have from which the country was built on. Unlike the United States, countries in Europe have three or more parties including a socialist one. This provides an alternate option and causes lower income voters to typically go vote for that party. However, it would be incredibly difficult for a socialist party to garner support in the U.S. as such a high emphasis is placed on individualism. There is not much that can be done to improve voter turnout to the level of most European countries in America but steps can be taken to make the process
simpler.
In conclusion, there are several contributing factors that cause America to have a lower turnout rate on elections than European Democracies. Most citizens differ in their participation levels where some actively vote and yet others never do. Unless America adopted some of the methods European countries employ, the voter turnout rate will remain low.