In the past few years, many elections in the United States have been determined by just hundreds of votes (Khalid, Gonyea, & Fadel, 2018). Many Americans have become indifferent and disillusioned with the political system and the taxing process of casting a ballot or simply being informed on who their elected leaders are. In order to see an improvement in voter turnout and overall civic engagement the process of getting involved in the government for the average American must be simplified. Everyone should have easy access to information concerning those governing them and be able to simply decide concerning laws that will be created and those who will be creating them. Every American’s voice deserves to be heard and it should not become a burden for them to use that voice by voting.

When this country was created in 1776, over 200 years ago, voting was limited to white males who owned land and they were commonly known as freeholders ("Expanding Voting Rights"). Who could vote was left up to individual states in the Constitution because the founding fathers of America could not decide who should be able to vote (“The Founders and the Vote”). They wrestled with what was right: to allow only the property owners to vote and subdue the voices of the many who did not own property or to extend the right to all overruling the say of property owners. Ultimately, they decide to leave the decision up to the states because they could not come to a solid conclusion, and so in Article 1 Section 4 of the Constitution who could vote and how they would do so was left up to the legislation of the states, and Congress would intervene in the process if it was necessary (“The Founders and the Vote”). States decided to leave the right to vote to freeholders, however, this changed when President Andrew Jackson was elected in 1829. He advocated for the vote to expanded beyond freeholders to anyone white male regardless if he owned property or not. By the late 1850s, most white males who were not property owners were enfranchised through Jackson’s efforts ("Expanding Voting Rights"). At this point in American history, voting was left up to a small part of the early American population and election results were not reflective of what all Americans would want because of the limited electorate.

 It was not until the late 19th century and early 20th century did voting rights begin to significantly expand to include more Americans. In 1870 all nonwhite males had suffrage which was guaranteed by the 15th amendment, and fifty years later in 1920, suffrage was also given to women through the 19th amendment to the Constitution ("Expanding Voting Rights"). Despite the increases in voting rights, it was still hard for many non-white people to get to the polls especially in the south. States created ways to evade the 15th amendment through poll taxes, literacy tests, the grandfather clause, and intimidation at the polls which prevented many African Americans from voting (“Voting Rights for African Americans”). However, during the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans wanted to change this, so they held protests and marches  throughout the south in the 1950s and 60s for voting rights. A notable event that brought attention to this cause was the march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights which was led by Martin Luther King Jr. on March 7th, 1965 (History Editors, 2009). It gained national attention because the Alabama state troopers attacked the peaceful marchers with nightsticks and tear gas. The incident was broadcasted on national television and many Americans were outraged and President Lyndon B.  Johnson called for reform of voting rights legislation (History Editors, 2009). It was not until August of 1965 that Voting Rights Act (VRA) was passed which outlawed literacy test and called for oversight of voter registration in places where less than 50% of the non-white population had registered to vote  (History Editors, 2009). After the passage of the VRA of 1965 voter registration across the country for African Americans increased from 23% to 61%. Additionally, in the state of Mississippi alone voter turnout among African Americans increased from 6% to 59% after the VRA was passed (“Voting Rights for African Americans”). The 20th century was a vital time for the expansion of the vote and accessibility of the poles for more Americans.

Today, in the 21st century, despite the increased ease of voting compared to the 20th century and the increase in the electorate since the voting age was lowered to 18 by the 26th amendment in 1971 there are still a significant number of Americans who do not vote. 2008 was the highest voter turnout for an election in the 21st century and the highest number of people that have voted in  any presidential election in American history ("2008 Election Turnout Hit 40-Year High", 2008). The presidential election of 2008 was so high because of the election of the first black president: Barack Obama and the enthusiasm for the Democratic party. Because of the results of 2008, many experts believed that the voter apathy of the 21st century was beginning to dissolve and civic engagement levels that had not been seen since the mid-20th century would come back (Berrang, 2013). This has not held true. In the 2012 election voter turnout declined to 60% of the voting eligible population even though the number of eligible voters increased by 8 million, 5 million fewer people cast votes (Berrang, 2013). Furthermore, in the 2016 election only 126 million Americans, 55% of the voting age population, voted compared to the 131 million who voted in 2008, 64% of the eligible population (Wallace, 2016). Based on the presidential elections since 2008 and the midterms, voter apathy has not been lifted, so the question remains on why so many Americans are have decided not to get involved with the political process and what problems in the system may be causing these results.

In the USA participation at the polls is far lower than in other developed countries. In fact, the Pew Research Center ranked the US as 31st out of 35 democratic countries apart of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for voter turnout based on the total voting age population (VAP) (DeSilver, 2018). Based on additional research that came from data from the most recent elections in OECD nations, the Pew research group found the highest turnout came from Belgium (87.2%), Sweden (82.6%) and Denmark (80.3%) (DeSilver, 2018). The high turnout in Belgium is most likely contributed to the compulsory voting in the country. David Becker, who created the Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR), an organization aimed at increasing voter turnout in American elections said that there are a variety of factors that affect turnout (Regan, 2016).  Many of these factors have to deal with restrictive voting laws that deter people from registering to vote. Others have been discouraged by the amount of gerrymandering in their state and many have become complacent in states where there is not a big competition between Democrats and Republican, where one party consistently wins elections (Regan, 2016). It has become abundantly clear that many Americans just cannot be bothered to get involved anymore due to the laws in their states.

Those who have decided to participate in voting and have not yet become disgruntled with the American political system still face challenges in preparing for election day. Voter suppression and complications with registration have become bigger problems in recent years which has prevented many people from participating in elections. In 2016 at least 14 states created more restrictive voting laws such as limitations on registration, less time for early voting, and photo IDs requirements. These barriers caused 4% of registered voters not to vote in the 2016 election alone (Regan, 2016). Past criminal records are another substantial barrier and for example, 10% of the VAP in Florida cannot vote because they have a committed a felony in the past. In Georgia, many Brian Kemp’s  (the secretary of state) office blocked 53,000 voter registrations with 80% of those registrations coming from people of color because of names on voter rolls did not exactly match those in the state system (Gross, 2018). Those who are still voting in the USA may soon become as apathetic just like many citizens already have if change does not come soon.

The problems do not stop with registration even on election day voter suppression is still occurring, most recently in the 2018 midterm elections. In this past midterm, turnout was 10% higher than in 2014 due to many Americans dissatisfaction with the current administration under Donald Trump and the Republican, yet many Americans did not have the opportunity to vote due to voter suppression in many different forms (Root & Barclay, 2018). Numerous reports of voter suppression occurred in states such as North Dakota, Kansas, and Georgia where exceedingly competitive races occurred. Some types of voter suppression that happened in 2018, midterms included strict voter ID and ballot requirements, voter confusion, faulty voting equipment, and poll closure and long lines(Root & Barclay, 2018). The exact match system in Georgia also affected voters who were not present in the state. Due this system hundreds of absentee ballots were discarded because signatures did not exactly match those that the state had on file (Gross, 2018). This nullified many votes especially those that belonged to African and Asian Americans.

 In 2016, poll closure and long lines also presented a problem in caused 3% of potential voters to leave the voting lines because of the long wait lines. For example, Georgia has been closing polling places since 2012 which has been affecting people in low-income and minority areas (Regan, 2016). When these polls are closed voters are conglomerated to a few locations making the wait times longer.  Additionally, there have been reports of malfunction voting equipment (Root & Barclay, 2018). During the 2018 midterms, in Texas, early voters reported that they experienced vote flipping in which they voted for one candidate, but the vote was changed to the opponent. Vote flipping can easily jeopardize voter’s confidence in the electoral process and create a situation in which the person elected is not the one who most voters actually chose (Root & Barclay, 2018). These are just a few examples of the plethora of ways that votes have been suppressed which is having a powerful effect on the electorate and the political climate in the United States.

American’s— specifically minority groups such as people of color, the elderly, students, and people with disabilities— fundamental and constitutional right to vote is being deeply threatened through both the direct prevention and lack of concern by states and politicians. The deploring results were seen in recent years and the experience that voters have at the polls on election day must be transformed completely. The only way to do this is to actively seek to find ways to simplify the process and make it more accessible for all, but especially those who have been consistently disenfranchised (Gross, 2018). According to the Center for American Progress (CAP), one of the most important things to do to increase voter turnout is to for all states to implement pro-voter policies. These policies included: automatic voter registration (AVR), same-day registration, preregistration, online registration that will make registration efficient across the county (Root & Kennedy, 2018).  Additionally, CAP recommends that voting equipment is up to date and there are sufficient resources during elections to properly serve the electorate in every district so that wait times are shortened on election day. Restoring suffrage to previously incarcerated people, increasing education about civic engagement in schools at an early age, and not neglecting the power of grassroots can significantly change the number of people that come out to vote (Root & Kennedy, 2018). Some states of have employed one or two of these measures and have an increase of a few points in voter turnout, but to be truly effective these ideas must be implemented in all states. It is important to note that these policies are dependent on each other and reinforcing, so states must adopt many of these policies to see an uptick in voter turnout.

America has gone through many ups and downs concerning voter turnout since the country started in 1776. Voter turnout is at an all-time low in America right now and voters seem to only come out when the nation is in severe crisis. It is true that the 2018 midterm election was the highest turnout in a 100 years with 49.3% of the VAP casting a ballot, but this only occurred due to many Americans frustration with the rhetoric of Donald Trump. Voters should not have t wait till the country is already in a crisis to speak out, but rather they should be able to prevent one from even occurring but electing people reflective of America’s standards. The process of doing this should not be difficult, time-consuming, or a hassle but something convenient for every America down to the smallest minority group. Every single voice matters and every single vote counts, so the policies that are created need to support this idea. Voter turnout needs to increase now, and the states must not neglect this problem.

References

2008 Election Turnout Hit 40-Year High. (2008, December 15). 

Berrang, A. (2013, January 25). 2012 Election Turnout Dips Below 2008 and 2004 Levels: Number Of Eligible Voters Increases By Eight Million, Five Million Fewer Votes Cast. 

DeSilver, D. (2018, May 21). U.S. trails most developed countries in voter turnout. 

Editors, H. (2009, November 09). Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

Expanding Voting Rights. (n.d.).

Gross, T. (2018, October 23). Republican Voter Suppression Efforts Are Targeting Minorities, Journalist Says. 

Khalid, A., Gonyea, D., & Fadel, L. (2018, September 10). On The Sidelines Of Democracy: Exploring Why So Many Americans Don't Vote. 

Regan, M. D. (2016, November 06). Why is voter turnout so low in the U.S.?

Root, D., & Kennedy, L. (2018, July 11). Increasing Voter Participation in America.

Root, D., & Barclay, A. (2018, November 20). Voter Suppression During the 2018 Midterm Elections. 

The Founders and the Vote. (n.d.). 

Voting Rights for African Americans. (n.d.). 

Wallace, G. (2016, November 30). Voter turnout at 20-year low in 2016.