The Controversy Over Voting In The United States

Improved Essays
Voting is normally defined as a declaration of opinion (Voting). It is a concept known by means of all Americans, considering every four years, presidential elections are highly publicized. Such a popular concept, yet, less than half of the people that are eligible to vote, do it (Kemper). Citizens choose to not sign up for voter registration or they simply choose to not vote. Why not choose to make a difference? Voting shows love and appreciation for our democracy. United States citizens need to voice their opinions and should exercise their right to vote.
First off, voting in presidential elections selects the leader of the world’s most powerful country. The citizens of other countries do not have the option to change their nation, so it is vital for citizens, who have the ability to choose their representatives, to vote for a candidate whose ideas conspire with the nation’s aspirations. What is being risked if one does not vote? “Health care access for the elderly, the uninsured, and the employed. Social Security. Education policy. What we do about crime and prisons. Remedies for racial inequality. How we handle poverty and the destructive
…show more content…
Many believe that with the millions of people that vote, their ballot is a grain of salt compared to the nation. Although this may seem true, every ballot counts. There have been instances where the results have been extremely close. For example, the tightest-ever race was the 2000 election with candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore. “For more than an hour, the scoreboards have been locked at 242 electoral votes per candidate. Either candidate needs 270 votes to win by majority in the electoral college” (Closest). In spite of the fact that not every election will fall extremely close, all votes count in complex ways. Voters are voting for the electors which then vote for the candidates. Clearly, the remaining few votes had a big impact on the election of the new president of the United

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Popular Vote Dbq

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Many Americans today say that they do not vote because their vote does not matter, and while others may oppose this view, people should truly ask their self if their vote does really matter? There are two different votes that come into play with each presidential election. They are the Electoral College and the popular vote. Popular vote is the number of actual individual votes that each candidate receives from American citizens. The Electoral College is a body of representatives from each state who make the decision on which presidential candidate will receive their states votes.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are 538 Electoral votes, 100 corresponding to the senate, 435 corresponding to the house, and 3 that are for the District of Columbia. To win the Electoral vote, the candidate has to win 270 out of 538 Electoral votes. If a candidate does not win a majority of the votes or ends up having a tie, the house of representatives chooses the president. Each state decides on what system for electing the Electors are; which are either popularly elected or appointed by the state legislature. The Electors are pledged to vote for a specific candidate based on the votes from the people.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Unfair

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the 2000 presidential election between George Bush and Al Gore, Gore won the popular vote but lost the electoral college; this had only happened four times in history. This brought out a lot of controversy between people who didn’t understand how the electoral college worked. The electoral college is made up of representatives of each state, who vote for the president and vice president. Each representative is voted for by their individual state voters, whom they will represent. Currently, there are 538 total electors, 271 votes needed to win the electoral college.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Due to the democracy being run by the people it is every citizen's responsibility to elect their representatives. According to text 2 Gratschew states “Advocates of compulsory voting argue that decisions made by democratically elected governments are more legitimate when higher proportions of the population participate” (lines 10-11) Due to the higher proportions of the populations participating in voting it will result in a more fair electoral system,in addition with having all Citizens vote the chances of the electoral college overruling the american citizens are slim downed significantly. For that reason American Citizens should be required to vote so that we can have equitable and justified…

    • 860 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In America, citizens are given the right to vote and elect officials into office. At the age of eighteen, young adults are allowed to register to vote and take part in elections. Not all citizens participate and decide to vote. When Americans decide to exclude themselves from voting, they initially are negatively impacting society. Thomas Patterson takes his stance on this when he wrote “The Vanishing Voter”.…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Why Americans Should Vote

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Americans should vote to express their beliefs about politics. In the election you have a chance to vote for what you think is right and what you believe in. Take pride in being an American citizen and being able to vote for president. Every single vote is important, in the George Bush and Al Gore election in 2000 it came down to just a couple hundred votes so your vote does matter. If a couple hundred…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Electoral College Dbq

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    There are two different types of elections, a direct election, and a divided election (“Types of Voting Systems”). In a direct election, every voter’s vote counts as one. If a candidate receives a majority, or more than half, of the popular vote, then they would win. The voter’s vote would then count for one out of the total number of the population. In a divided election, the candidate needs to obtain a majority of votes, from the most states.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For years, voters of the presidential elections have been asking the question, “Does my vote count?” The answer to this question is yes. However, the votes cast by the American citizens are not the deciding factor in which presidential candidate wins the overall election. Votes casted by the public are instead counted toward whom the Electors of the Electoral College will vote for. The candidate the Electors vote for is meant to reflect the popular vote of the state; therefore the Electoral College system is a secure, fair way to elect the President while supporting federal procedures.…

    • 1664 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For the second time in 16 years, the candidate who lost the popular vote has won the presidency. Hillary Clinton beat Trump by more than 2.8 million votes; almost 138 million Americans went to the polls this year, but Donald Trump secured his Electoral College victory thanks to fewer than 80,000 votes across three states which were Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. This left many Americans upset with their last 2016 election. With popular vote, a presidential election reflects the will of Americans and promotes a more participatory democracy. Although there are many reasons the Electoral College should be eliminated, one could…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Voice Of America in Chains Voting is a large part of what America is today. “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”. The voice of the people is what makes the big decisions in America and mostly through choosing who will represent us in our government in elections. This makes the vote valuable, because it has the power to make decisions and change outcomes. Although many will argue that Mandatory voting will provide a better representation of the Consensus, it will actually demote civic virtues and limit individual freedoms.…

    • 329 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Voting is an essential right given to individuals who are considered citizens of this great country. As a citizen of the United States of America you are entitled to countless rights that can be exercised because it is granted by the Constitution. Our Founding Fathers created the Constitution, which is essentially a manual that our society uses to make sure our government is effective. However, since our country has grown and expanded throughout the century so has the constitution.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Making people vote is ruining our already weak name of the "Land of the Free". We have many laws, regulations, and rules, the last thing we need is for our people to lose even more of their freedom. We have our right to vote, and it is our choice, as soon as it becomes an obligation it is no longer a right, and restrains us. Not only do we lose our rights, we lose our time. Compulsory voting would make many people have to make their already busy schedules even busier.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Every four years, citizens of the United States of America choose their next president based off a unique system known as the electoral college. The way that this system works is interesting and is confused easily in the general public. In early November, when citizens go to the polls, they are not voting for the president directly, rather they are voting for their individual states to cast its electoral votes towards a certain presidential candidate. In the forty-eight of the fifty states where voting takes place, all the electoral votes go to the presidential candidate who wins the majority in their state. No matter how large or small the majority is, the presidential candidate gets all the votes.…

    • 1924 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    One push of a button is all that it takes to cast a vote. The act of voting is such a menial task, yet we (the Millennial generation) continue to neglect the election polls. The question remains, why do Millennials refuse to vote? Perhaps the answer lies in the notion that voting is an ineffective method to solve political issues. An overwhelming majority of us would argue that there are alternative forms of political action that exist which are more effective than voting.…

    • 1474 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When a vote is cast to elect the President of the United States, most everyone feels good knowing they exercised their constitutional right to vote, and took part in the election of the next president of the United States. In all actuality the casted vote does not vote for a presidential candidate, but rather for electors to make their own presidential vote on the states behalf. (History.com) An elector decides who gets to be the next president of the United States, not the person actually visiting the polls. This practice is unjust for our country in several ways; the majority vote doesn’t always matter, campaigners tend to focus on certain geographical areas of the country and ignore others, it makes it very hard for a third party or independent candidate to win, and the president elect is announced hours before some states have even finished voting.…

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays