Voter turnout, Part I
October 28th 2006 01:35
Why don’t more people vote? According to wikipedia, the turnout in the 2004 presidential election was only 60%. Even though that election resulted in a record number of raw votes cast, this is still an embarrassingly low figure for a right that is so central to our identity as citizens. Voting is a right that many have died to obtain or protect. And it is a right that many countries still do not have. It should be exercised at every available opportunity. A 60% turnout means that 40% of the voting public didn’t cast a vote. In 2004, around 120 million people voted, so that means that 80 million eligible voters didn’t vote. That’s a lot of people – especially when you consider that the difference in the popular vote between Bush and Kerry was only 3 million. And the difference in the states where the deciding electoral votes were cast was much less than 3 million. All votes count. The close elections in 2000 and 2004 elections have certainly taught us that. Even if you live in a dark red or dark blue state and your national/federal candidates are shoe-ins, your vote still matters a great deal when it comes to local issues and ballot initiatives.
Why don’t more people vote? According to the wikipedia entry, the reasons for low voter turnout are varied. A few of the many reasons for low turnout are voter apathy, voter disgust, feelings that a vote won’t be significant, weather on the day of voting, voter fatigue, and ease of voting. For me personally, ease of voting has always been the biggest obstacle. In the past, the polls have been open at inconvenient times and/or have been located in inconvenient locations. The lines at voting precincts have often been too long for someone on a tight schedule to abide. Sadly, these obstacles sometimes do provide a disincentive to vote.
In my next post, I’ll share some good news for those of you who, like me, have lamented the difficulties associated with the voting process.
Why don’t more people vote? According to the wikipedia entry, the reasons for low voter turnout are varied. A few of the many reasons for low turnout are voter apathy, voter disgust, feelings that a vote won’t be significant, weather on the day of voting, voter fatigue, and ease of voting. For me personally, ease of voting has always been the biggest obstacle. In the past, the polls have been open at inconvenient times and/or have been located in inconvenient locations. The lines at voting precincts have often been too long for someone on a tight schedule to abide. Sadly, these obstacles sometimes do provide a disincentive to vote.
In my next post, I’ll share some good news for those of you who, like me, have lamented the difficulties associated with the voting process.
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