Cut+The+Lethargy,+Increase+The+Energy

media type="file" key="History_Voting_TJ.mov" width="300" height="300" Video Created by: TJ Nicolella

During the 2008 presidential election, 56.8% of the population voted (1). Out of the 231,229,580 only 56.8% actually went out to the polls and voted, in one of the most controversial elections in US history. Something in the United States needs to change, either the attitude of candidates or the way the polls are run, or another aspect of it. People do not want to vote anymore, there is no spark or will anymore. Many people in the United Stats do not vote on Election Day, one of the main reasons is lethargy, or people being lazy or ignorant. An anonymous resident of the United States said “it is our duty of every citizen to vote, we live in a democracy and being able to vote is a corner stone of that type of government.” If it is so important, why do people not do it? One reason is the inconvenience of Election Day being a Tuesday during a work week, and nobody is given a holiday, except in some cities where only the children are given a day off, because of the use of the school’s for polling places. But yet, it could be very simple to change the day to a Sunday or a weeklong event, but those in power to change this still do not. Why not? Are they to effected by the lethargy that also effects the people who put them in office? “ We want to start a national dialogue about this issue, election reform, which, I admit, it’s not a sexy issue; it’s a pretty wonky and nerdy issue, but as far as democracy goes, there’s no more important issue.” This statement was in a The New York Magazine interview with Jacob Soboroff, the head of a group called //Why Tuesday//? //Why Tuesday//’s main purpose is to educate those on why we vote on Tuesday and telling those in power that we need to change it. Changing the day of the vote would be the easiest and one of the simplest ways to increase voter turnout. One of the main reasons people do not vote is because of the inconvenience of it being a workday and not a holiday “ According [|to a Census Bureau survey], the No. 1 reason that registered voters ended up not voting in the 1996 presidential election was "No time off/too busy." . If schools are closed why shouldn’t offices and other workspaces? There does not seem to be a logical answer. Another way of increasing voter turn out is to have some sort of incentive to vote. Such has a credit to reduce taxable income. To make this happen, you would get a receipt of some kind to put into your income tax folder when you send it in so that your income tax is reduced. This is already in place for other reasons but it would be a excellent way of getting more people to vote. In America is it free to vote and to register, if some how you could get money back from doing this would be a positive outcome in voting even if you’re ideal candidate did not win. Recently as Nov. 2nd 2010, some cities have already tired to institute a “weekend vote” where you are allowed to vote on the first weekend in November and not the first Tuesday. This is just the answer we need to increase voter turnout in the United States. We are currently ranked 139th out of all the democracies in the world, and has one of the most progressive counties in the world, we need to make a change. Voting is how we decide who runs our country, and the person who runs our country decides what happens to us, and our future in the world, therefore we need to pick the person best for us, and if only 50% are voting we cannot do that properly. Voting is what our country is built off of, and everyone over 18 has the right to it, therefore we should all tale advantage of it. We need to vote, it is our duty.

1. // National Voter Turnout in Federal Elections: 1960-2008. // Infoplease.com, 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2010. 2. Medin, Russel. Personal Interview. 2 Nov. 2010 3. Amira, Dan "Why You Shouldn't Be Voting Today" //Daily Intel.// New York News & Features. 2 Nov. 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010

Voting is the most important aspect of American politics. Historically, voting has always been a very official, highly regulated process. Although voter turnout hovered around 56.8% during the 2008 presidential election, the democratic process was still carried out efficiently across the country. Many say that the reason the United States has such a low poll turnout is that the voting process is not exciting or interesting enough. It is this lethargic attitude that needs to be changed, not the polling process itself.

Corruption runs rampant in other democracy's voting processes. Oftentimes ballots will be forged, voters will be intimidated, and generally processes aren't efficient or regulated. The United States' voting process is very strict as to prevent these forms of corruption. If variety was allowed in polling places, it would become a variable in the democratic process, thus knocking the delicate balance that is democracy. Many have suggested making voting more appealing by giving an incentive for voters such as a tax rebate or other financial motivation. Where would this money come from? Voting taxes were repealed so that everyone could vote. A financial incentive would require some sort of collection, which many can not afford. Would those who can not afford it not be allowed to vote?

Having an election week instead of an election day has been proposed as another solution. Many people can not make their polling place to vote because they have work or other activities planned on that day. However, if elections were over the course of a week instead of a day, there would be a much higher probability of corruption, and collecting and counting those votes would take significantly longer than it already does. The United States has always had one day for elections, and it should remain as such. A better solution to this issue is to require work places to provide a mandated time for its employees to vote, or to instate a mail-in voting system.

To avoid corruption, the American polling process has to be simplified. If any aforementioned changes are made to our voting system, corruption will become widespread as it is in other democratic systems. Some changes that should be instated include mail-in voting systems, and mandated times that working places have to allow workers to vote. Regulation and efficiency are needed to effectively have a democratic process. (Barry McGrorty)