Census.gov reports that 61.4 percent of the eligible voters in the U.S. reported voting in 2016, which means that the elections only truly reflected less than three-quarters of the electorate.
Why are these numbers important? The right to vote is the ability for private citizens to voice their concerns to public officials, whether their ideals and views are related or not. At risk of sounding whiney, those who do not vote are neglecting their control over their own government and therefore sacrificing their right to complain about the government.
Setting the non-voters in their own category, we now look at those who lack political understanding.
Lack of political knowledge also creates electoral results that do not accurately represent the population’s wants, because democracy was structured around the understanding that America would have an educated populous. Voters that are uninformed on the issues force themselves to make decisions based on alternate factors.
In an article on phys.org, researchers from Duke University conclude that voters frequently base their choices on the politics of the affiliated party, rather than those of the candidate. They propose that people base their votes on the perceived social association of the candidate’s party. Simply put, voters stereotype candidates based on their party and vote for a party instead of a candidate.
This type of stereotyping is not restricted to candidates. How often do people ask friends if they are a republican or a democrat? The answer they are given sets a precedent for understanding the tone of the relationship.
A Republican is conservative.
A Democrat is liberal.
Neither assumption is always accurate.
Party affiliations are not the only bias voters are trying to sort between. Voters are also predisposed to certain parties based on other external influences.
Dr. Chara Van Horn, professor at UTM said, “We typically learn what ‘party’ we belong to from our parents because we trust our parents and their choices… Even if someone does vote on more issues, frequently people are single issue voters. So they may look at a candidate and discover that candidate’s position on gun control, abortion or healthcare, and that single issue alone will determine how they vote.”
Single issue voting had always been a problem and learned beliefs are part of growing, but that doesn’t mean that an informed populous should trust the habit. An informed voter should fight the instinct to vote easily and instead, should engage in the political process actively and whole-heartedly.
According to dictionary.cambridge.org, politics is defined as “the activities of the government, politicians or political parties, or the study of these activities”.
Government actions affect everyone, whether they know it or not.
Laws regarding taxes, healthcare, civil laws, welfare and education are proposed, rejected and passed by elected officials. Without knowing a politician’s politics, a citizen cannot accurately choose a candidate that accurately represents their interests.
Biased voting creates a rift in the actual views of the citizens and politicians. This creates disgruntlement among the population as a large portion of them inadvertently choose to go misrepresented, or not represented at all.
Vote. Make an educated choice in your candidate. Choose a candidate that improves the government. Do not be a bystander. Register to vote by Oct. 9 so that you can make a difference on the Nov. 6 election.
Photo Credit / Wikimedia Commons
