Since the 1980s, the US voter turnout has been on a constant decline after every election. The average voter turnout during this period has ranged from 48% to 57%, a trend that significantly threatened democracy. Democracy postulates that majority in any political setup should always rule, however in a situation where voter turnout is as low as 47%, it might be accurate to conclude that the minority who opt to take part in democratic processes rule in contrast to the democratic values. Precisely, comparing the American democratic participation to the other developed democracies around the globe, the US ranks as low as 31st out of the 34 OECD nations (Desilver). Australia, for instance, registers participation of over 90% in every election, while France another developed democracy registers over 80% of citizen participation in the democratic processes. Nevertheless, despite the US low participation rates over the years, from 2008 the nation recorded and increased participation of 62% and the graph of the involvement since 2008 has remained relatively higher than the previous years with the 2016 turnout standing at 57% though slightly lower than the 2008 percentage. Either way, participation in democratic activities continue to be low in America. Hence, the paper seeks to examine Americans participation in the democratic processes and the relevant intrigues.
Subramanian points out that perhaps the move by some US states to ease voter registration processes has helped boost democratic participation in the nation (Subramanian). Subramanian acknowledges that for centuries, Americans have found it hectic to pursue voter registration processes with most states leaving the responsibility solely to individuals who have to discover for themselves where and when the registration process takes place. However, for the last few years, some states have aimed to promote democratic participation by simplifying voter registration procedures (Subramanian). For instance, the states of California and Oregon formulated policies in 2015 that allowed citizens to be registered as voters when they renew their driving licenses (Subramanian). Consequently, this move subsequently increased the number of democratic participants in their territories but there still exist substantial numbers of unregistered persons who cannot participate in the processes. Instead there is need to simplify American voter registration process to assist elevate the dwindling turnouts.
Greenblatt, however, points out that most of the States that have adopted automatic voter registration are Democratic lead states. Greenblatt furthers postulates that Republican states have been opposed to the prospect of automatic voter registration since they deem the ideology would give an opportunity to the poor and young voters who would instead favor the Democrats in the polls. Republicans further hold that automatic voter registration would allow undocumented immigrants who own driving licenses to attain voting rights illegally. Moreover, some states have stringent policies that deter minority groups from taking part in the democratic activities. Some of these States demand that for citizens to take part in the electoral activities, an individual has to register at least thirty days before the set polls date (Greenblatt). Hence, voter registration in the US continues to be a fiercely contested prospect, which adversely affects participation in American polls hence, the improvements remain insignificant. Perhaps if automatic voter registration could be adopted by all the American states, then participation will rapidly upsurge.
However, revolutionizing of voter registration policies have helped raise participation numbers in the recent polls, substantial numbers of eligible Americans continue to be unregistered as voters. For instance, despite the fact that states like California and Oregon have adopted simplified registration processes, more than 2.3 million citizens in Oregon remain unregistered, while approximately seven million California inhabitants continue to be unregistered voters. It is therefore evident that American participation in democratic processes continues to be low despite the introduction of more favorable regulations governing such operations.
Green and Alan (1) postulate that since their findings of 1998 in New Haven, voter mobilization in America has significantly increased over the years thanks to the intense campaigns led by the two leading parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. Green and Allan further insinuate that various interest groups have since effectively joined the mobilization campaign urging Americans to take part in the democratic processes. These increased campaigns have then reciprocated positively on the number of participants in electoral processes. The mobilizations have been steered by State, municipal and Federal political parties’ agents to target the minority groups that traditionally have been reluctant to take part in democratic activities. African Americans, Latinos and Asian Americans whose turnouts have been pathetic for years have been targeted by such campaigns to boost their participation however, the campaigns have not been sufficient. These crusades have since raised the involvement of minority groups in the polls. Moreover, the participation of President Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 polls further motivated the minority groups to participate in democratic activities (Green and Alan). Hence, to significantly improve American participation in the democratic processes, then more mobilization should be conducted all across the nation.
Green and Alan further point that despite political parties and other nonpartisan groups have invested a lot of time persuading Americans to take part in electoral processes, the rigid campaign budget for political parties have hindered the mobilization activities for voters. The American laws highly restrict campaign resources used by individual politicians and political parties thus limiting the potential of these promotions that are aimed at reaching the majority of Americans (Cancela & Benny pg.265). The limitation of campaign resources, therefore, hinders voter participation in American elections since the number of US citizens taking part in the democratic activities remain low. Consequently, for better results to be achieved, there is a need to relax the rules that restrict financial use by parties in mobilizing voters.
Subsequently, the use of mass media and social media has been crucial in promoting democratic participation in the nation (Hamel & Ryan). Most of the American media houses have sufficiently aired political occurrences during electioneering periods to help inform Americans on various political activities. For instance, almost all media houses air presidential candidates’ debates and even campaign trails (Hamel & Ryan). Such events increase political consciousness of Americans who are then triggered to take part in democratic activities. Consequently, in 2014 research indicated that the number of Americans following politicians in social media platforms subsequently increased by a higher margin than it was a few years ago (Hamel & Ryan). The increased political awareness that has been promoted by the use of social media has therefore significantly boosted American participation in democratic activities. Hence, political parties should put more effort in creating political awareness through social media and mass media to woe more citizens to be part of democratic processes and this a personal stand.
Subramanian further points out that some American states have permitted postal voting email voting and even early voting to help maximize voter turnout in elections (Subramanian). The use of such avenues has substantially enabled many Americans to take part in elections despite their economic commitments. However, critics point at the prospect of holding polls on Tuesdays when many Americans are tied to their commercial endeavors. Comparing American turnout to Australia’s over 90% participation, the US participation is far much lower, and this is attributed to the fact that Australia conducts its polls on Saturday when people are out of work. It is therefore evident that work still deters many Americans from participating in elections held on Tuesdays, which is a constitutional requirement (Subramanian). Consequently, American Election Day should be pushed to a weekend when people are not at work to help boost the participation and this I an important action plan in promoting democratic participation.
Conclusion
Finally, as evidenced in the above arguments, participation in American democratic activities has relatively increased for the last few elections due to myriad reasons. For instance, the move by Democratic Party controlled States to introduce automatic voter registration has increased the number of voters in states like California and Oregon dramatically. Moreover, increased mobilization of citizens by both the political parties and nonpartisan groups have boosted the numbers. Nevertheless, participation in democratic processes in the US is still lower than those in other developed democracies such as France and Australia. Perhaps it is because of factors such as voting on a working day and the complicated voter registration process in the US. Unless an overhaul is done to these two aspects, democratic participation may continue to be low compared to other democracies and the same could undermine the democratic process as a whole hence the need to implement some of the proposed action plans.
Works Cited
Cancela, Joao, and Benny Geys. "Explaining voter turnout: A meta-analysis of national and subnational elections." Electoral Studies 42 (2016): 264-275.
Desilver, D. "US voter turnout trails most developed countries. Pew Research." (2015).
Green, Donald P., and Alan S. Gerber. Get out the vote: How to increase voter turnout. Brookings Institution Press, 2015.
Greenblatt Allan. Which States Could Adopt Automatic Voter Registration Next? Politics Newsletter 2015 http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-automatic-voter-registration-California-oregon.html
Hamel, Brian T., and Ryan T. Moore. "Information Seeking and Voter Turnout: Evidence from Search Data." (2017).
Subramanian Courtney. US elections: Why does the US have such a low voter turnout? BBC News, Washington 2016. http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37634526
