The American Voting System

As an intricate and complex institution within our society, America’s system of government has been a source of both upset and major progression in the history of America. As with most major institutions in our society that involve any consequences directly affecting individuals’ lives and rights, the political system ebbs and flows in both beneficial and detrimental ways. When it comes to the process and outcomes of policies, decision-making, and leadership within the government, however, the American electoral system proves to be among the most scrutinized and criticized aspects of government today. The process of voting within the United States has, like many other aspects of government, has evolved vastly since the delegation of power
For example, Kernell, Jacobson and Kousser discuss how African Americans, Hispanics, low-income civilians, and women have historically been left on the outskirts of political elections, and are therefore less likely to vote or identify with a specific party (518). They also bring up role of benefits in terms of voter turnout, pointing out, “the benefits of elections- in both the broad sense of maintaining democratic accountability and in the narrower sense of electing a preferred candidate- are collective benefits…the challenge for voters is to figure out which candidates will best serve their interests and represent their values” (Kernell, 517,
In 2006, both parties spent over $100 million in this way” (Baumer, 2/28/11 lecture). This leads to the point that Kernell, Jacobson and Kousser made in their book about how ““candidates’ appetites for campaign funds continue to grow because the cost of developing an effective message and getting it out to voters continues to climb” (Kernell, 541). As Baumer noted, more than 80% of the money raised during campaigns in 2006 went straight to the production and presentation of negative ads in effort to deter voters from political opponents