Introduction
Political participation is a crucial factor in the American democracy. It is high among the various conditions of democracy. The level of citizen participation in the voting process is used to measure the health of democracy. The U.S experiences the problem of voter turnout, which is extremely low compared to similar nations. Most Americans are interested in politics but many of them do not vote ( DeSilver, 2017). This paper seeks to discuss whether nonvoting pose a threat to American democracy, the causes of nonvoting in the United States and determining whether or not nonvoting was a problem during the 2016 presidential election.
Reasons why Nonvoting Presents a Problem for American Democracy
Democracy allows citizens to take part in the creation of laws. In the U.S, elections serve as significant institutions of modern democracy that allows people to choose a representative who will articulate their problems and promote their interest. Low turnout during voting poses a threat for American democracy because the minority of the total population makes the decisions. In a democratic society, the interest of the majority is crucial in decision-making. However, low turnout have an adverse impact on the outcome of the elections. Nonvoting makes it possible for minorities to conquer the majority, which is not the outcome preferred by the potential voters population. This allows the minority to command the policies of a majority. Also, nonvoting denies citizens an opportunity to voice their viewpoints and what they believe in. Moreover, it makes it difficult to hold the officials accountable for their misconduct while in office ( Major, Blodorn & Major Blascovich, 2018). Therefore, nonvoting hinders the representation of the interest of the majority in the government, which affects the principle of democracy, which states that the majority rules.
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Additionally, since the founding of America, voting has been an example and a positive force of democracy, the promotion of democracy, and the development of democracy. Voting influences political decisions, which affect every aspect of life including health, education, housing, and safety ( Major, Blodorn & Major Blascovich, 2018). Therefore, this means that nonvoting pose a threat for the American democracy because voting and democracy are very crucial in determining the health of nation.
The Proximate causes of nonvoting in the U.S
Nonvoting in the U.S is facilitated by various factors including the loads of work involved in the registration process. Unlike other nations where citizens are signed up to vote, the U.S requires its citizens to sign up for themselves. An individual is required to go to an official site and fill out the paperwork and this process poses burden to the people. Easier registration could promote high voter turnout, hence more voting ( Dassonneville et al., 2018).
Another causes for nonvoting include education. According to Data, holding a college degree is the most predictor that determines whether a person will vote or not. It has been found that college graduate have a high likelihood of seeking for information regarding politics and have a high possibility of having friends who vote. However, people without a college degree have a low possibility of looking out for political information and have a lower possibility of having friends who vote ( Dassonneville et al., 2018).
Moreover, the cause of nonvoting is that having two parties only may be insufficient. America has only two political parties Democrats and Republicans. There are parties that exist in the U.S including the Libertarians and Green party. However, very few individuals vote for candidates in these other parties. The reason is that America only rewards the one who gets the most votes. This means that even if a candidate from these other parties were to get 25% of the vote, if this 25% is not the highest, the candidate will not become the president ( Heuberger, Jorgeson & Leighley, 2016). Therefore, this means that having two parties only may discourage some voters because maybe their candidate is not in any of the two dominating political parties in the U.S.
Furthermore, apathy and burnout can be a cause of nonvoting. Friends have a significant influence on an individual whereby they can affect whether you vote. Voting or not voting can demonstration to the social group of a person. Some people do not care about politics at all and this could result in apathy. If the social group does not consider voting vital, then its members may not vote. In addition, election in most cases causes people to burnout. The U.S has a complicated system that generates fatigue among voters, thus discouraging many people to vote ( Heuberger, Jorgeson & Leighley, 2016).
Impact of Nonvoting during 2016 Presidential Election
Nonvoting had a huge impact on the 2016 elections. Donald Trump was declared a winner over Hillary Clinton, which resulted in questions and mass protests countrywide. The reason is that the outcome is not what people expected because of low voter turnout. Statistics reveal that out of 10 adults in America, only six vote, and four do not. Almost all nonvoters expressed their surprise by Trump’s victory but only few of them expressed regret for not voting ( Thomas et al., 2017). Therefore, nonvoting was a problem in the 2016 election, which meant the minority get to dictate the policies for the majority thereby hurting the nation is significant ways.
Conclusion
It is evident that nonvoting poses significant threats to the democracy of the U.S. The country was found based on democracy and voting is a crucial aspect of a democratic nation. Nonvoting causes the minority to defeat the majority, meaning the interest of the majority would not be served, which is the actual essential of democracy. Therefore, voting is a crucial aspect in the U.S democracy that helps to develop and promote growth of a country.
References
Dassonneville, R., Feitosa, F., Hooghe, M., Lau, R. R., & Stiers, D. (2018). Compulsory Voting Rules, Reluctant Voters and Ideological Proximity Voting. Political Behavior , 1-22.
DeSilver, D. (2017). US trails most developed countries in voter turnout. Pew Research Center , 15 .
Heuberger, S., Jorgeson, W., & Leighley, J. E. (2016). Us vs. Them–Voter Turnout, Partisanship, and Emotional Responses to Presidential Candidates, 1980-2012.
Major, B., Blodorn, A., & Major Blascovich, G. (2018). The threat of increasing diversity: Why many White Americans support Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations , 21 (6), 931-940.
Thomas, N., Bergom, I., Casellas Connors, I., Gautam, P., Gismondi, A., & Roshko, A. (2017). Democracy counts: A report on US College and university student voting. Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life .
