How to Increase Voter Participation
The United States is a Democracy that prides itself on freedom and personal rights. My country is built largely upon the principle of the freedom of choice, which heavily reflects choosing our own leaders and other people of government. But not everyone living in the United States who is old enough actually takes advantage of this freedom. In fact, in the 2016 Presidential Election, only 56% of eligible voters cast ballots (Desilver). Although this number was higher in the 2020 Presidential Election with upwards of 70% (Thorson), for a country that prides itself on hand selecting those who make decisions for the wellbeing of its citizens, it sure has a funny way of showing it.
So how can we increase voter participation? Well that’s simple, create ways to make it easier for people to vote. One way of doing this is to automatically register people 18 year of age and over to vote. Many states have already passed the Automatic Voter Registration Policy, including 17 states and the District of Columbia as of 2019 (Automatic Voter Registration).
According to Amy Kobuchar, a U.S. senator from Minnesota, “One way to help fix American politics would be to automatically register every young person to vote when they turn 18,” which would cause about 22 million new voters just in the first year implementing the policy (Slattery).
The process of registering to vote is not particularly hard, but some people might look at it as just another thing on their to do list and never get around to actually doing it. There are four ways to register: physically going to an election office, online, going to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), or by printing out the National Mail Voter Registration Form and mailing it in (How to Register).
Automatic Voter Registration would make this process completely obsolete. How it works is that any citizens who are eligible and that interact with a government agency, like the DMV, are registered. People do have the option of being “opted-out,” or declining voter registration if they don’t wish to vote. By switching to Automatic Voter Registration, it would not only increase the number of registered voters, but also reduce human error during the registration process; help the environment by decreasing the amount of paper used from mail-in forms; and save the government money from printing, mailing, and data entry man-power expenses (Automatic Voter Registration).
"Automatic Voter Registration, a Summary." Brennan Center for Justice, 10 July 2019,
So how can we increase voter participation? Well that’s simple, create ways to make it easier for people to vote. One way of doing this is to automatically register people 18 year of age and over to vote. Many states have already passed the Automatic Voter Registration Policy, including 17 states and the District of Columbia as of 2019 (Automatic Voter Registration).
According to Amy Kobuchar, a U.S. senator from Minnesota, “One way to help fix American politics would be to automatically register every young person to vote when they turn 18,” which would cause about 22 million new voters just in the first year implementing the policy (Slattery).
(Element5)
Automatic Voter Registration would make this process completely obsolete. How it works is that any citizens who are eligible and that interact with a government agency, like the DMV, are registered. People do have the option of being “opted-out,” or declining voter registration if they don’t wish to vote. By switching to Automatic Voter Registration, it would not only increase the number of registered voters, but also reduce human error during the registration process; help the environment by decreasing the amount of paper used from mail-in forms; and save the government money from printing, mailing, and data entry man-power expenses (Automatic Voter Registration).
Our country is going through many changes recently, and it is important that every eligible voice in the United States is heard, no matter who you are or where you live. By implementing Automatic Voter Registration on a national level, it would make it so that more people get the opportunity to share their opinion and ensure that they have a say in the well being of their country.
Works Cited
www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/automatic-voter-registration-summary. Accessed 8
Dec. 2020.
Desilver, Drew. "In past elections, U.S. trailed most developed countries in voter turnout." Pew Research
Element5 Digital. I Voted Sticker. Photos for Class, 30 Oct. 2018, www.pexels.com/photo/i-voted-sticker-
Slattery, Margaret, et al., editors. "Automatic Voter Registration." Politico Magazine,
Thorson, Mitchell, et al. "Four maps that show how America voted in the 2020 election with results by
Desilver, Drew. "In past elections, U.S. trailed most developed countries in voter turnout." Pew Research
Center, 3 Nov. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/03/in-past-elections-u-s-trailed-most-
developed-countries-in-voter-turnout/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.
Element5 Digital. I Voted Sticker. Photos for Class, 30 Oct. 2018, www.pexels.com/photo/i-voted-sticker-
lot-1550340/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2020.
"How to Register to Vote." USA Gov, 14 Sept. 2020, www.usa.gov/register-to-vote. Accessed 8 Dec.
2020.
Slattery, Margaret, et al., editors. "Automatic Voter Registration." Politico Magazine,
www.politico.com/interactives/2019/how-to-fix-politics-in-america/participation/automatic-voter-
registration/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.
Thorson, Mitchell, et al. "Four maps that show how America voted in the 2020 election with results by
county, number of voters." USA Today, 10 Nov. 2020, www.usatoday.com/in-
depth/graphics/2020/11/10/election-maps-2020-america-county-results-more-voters/6226197002/.
Accessed 8 Dec. 2020.
The Automatic Voter Registration sounds like a great solution to the problem. Do you know how we can help it get put in place at a national level? What can we do to convince the government?
ReplyDeleteOne way to get it put in place nationally is to first start by talking to local senators and House representatives, and ask them to lobby federal representatives. In order to convince the government, you can also sign petitions, send letters to state representatives, and spread awareness through social media about the issue.
DeleteHi Maddie! I really liked your article and I too feel like more people should vote. I liked the option of having automatic voter registration, how do you think voting would change if this were to happen?
ReplyDeleteIf Automatic Voter Registration was implemented, it would make the voting process easier. As a result, it would increase the amount people casting ballots.
DeleteIs there evidence that automatic voter registration would lead to more people voting? Interestingly it could make the numbers look even worse if more people are registered to vote but choose not to.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there is not a whole of information yet about weather or not Automatic Voter Registration would lead to more people voting (because it's not enacted in many states yet), research that has been done on it looks promising. One of the very first studies done on AVR shows that it increases the probably of voting, and increases the overall turnout, especially among young people/low income people. It could make the number look worse potentially, but the goal is to get more people expressing their opinions.
DeleteSource:
Grumbach, Jake, and Charlotte Hill. "Automatic Voter Registration Boosts Turnout Among Young and Low Income People." Data For Progress, 11 June 2019, www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2019/7/11/automatic-voter-registration-boosts-turnout-among-young-and-low-income-people. Accessed 23 Dec. 2020.
Whats a way to motivate those who have never voted? what is it that would convince them?
ReplyDeleteAutomatic Voter Registration in and of itself is a good motivator because it make voting less of a hassle. Instead of having to do the registration step, most people can just send in a ballot. A way to convince people who have never voted before is to just stay up to date on current events and be aware of what's going on in politics.
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