Persuasive Essay: Keeping The Voting Age

This past election has raised several questions and issues, one of them being on the effectiveness of the Electoral College. Though Clinton won the popular vote with a margin of 2,868,692 votes, Trump won the presidency because his electoral votes were greater. Many were confused as to how this could happen, but looking at a map of the U.S. county-wise, it is somewhat more believable. Most of Clinton’s votes were concentrated in major cities,unlike Trump’s which were more widespread. This allowed him to cast a wider net to collect more electoral votes. Despite this being the reasoning behind it, many question if this is the right path. In truth, the Electoral college system is very faulty in the sense that it misrepresents a large portion of American Citizens. Therefore, it requires several changes, i.e. converting to a proportional system rather than winner-take-all, to be made so it could better reflect the will of the people, without dismissing the entire establishment as a whole.

The Fathers had established a solution between the debate of a election of the President by popular vote of citizens and the election of the President by a vote in Congress and; in the Constitution. The Electoral College includes of 538 electors. In order to win you need to have at least 270 votes. The people of each state vote for their candidate, and the electors vote on the candidate and give all the votes to the candidate who won the popular vote. In my opinion the Electoral College process is not an efficient way, and it needs to be revised. Technology has changed and every vote can be counted buy computers, since Founding Fathers tried to make it easier for them to count the votes, since they traveled by horse. Since candidates only focus on winning over states that have the most electors. The Electoral College doesn't go with the will of the people.

Many refer to the United States of America as a democracy: a republic that is of the people, by the people, and for the people; where ideals such as truth, justice, and equality reign. However, if one looks closer with a more cynical lens, they might find that this is nothing more than a half-truth. For America is not truly a democracy, as many say it is, but rather a strange mix of a constitutional republic with a dash of democratic ideals. Nowhere is it more evident that America doesn’t truly rely on democratic ideas than in the system of voting used to elect the “Leader of the Free World”: the Electoral College.

How would you feel if you voted for the democratic candidate and you found out that your vote went towards the republican candidate? Or if you voted for a republican candidate and learned your vote went towards the democratic candidate? Most people would likely be very upset, which is why they deserve to be informed about the reality of the electoral college. The electoral college may have been necessary to prevent fraud when our political and legal was first forming, but just as you can take of training wheels, we are at the point where we could abolish this system.

Only 53.6% of eligible voters vote, leaving 46.4% not voting (“Political Participation in the US”). This 46.4% of people do not believe their votes count. They believe that the Electoral College system cancels out their votes and that the government will not listen anyway. People think that nothing will change due to the incumbency rate in Congress. That is where the people do not see what is really happening. Americans do not vote enough, so they cannot possibly make a change in government when they are not exercising one of their most powerful rights. Citizens of other countries yearn for the right to vote and Americans who fought so hard for this right do not even use it. “US voting rates are among the lowest in the developed world” (“Political Participation in the US”). Young people should be concerned with this issue. Because America has a democratic form of government, political participation is necessary, everyone’s vote counts, and corrections in government can only be made by the people first.

In the article, “Takoma Park 16-year-old savors his history-making moment at the polls,” by Annys Shin, many teens who are 16-17 years old can now vote during the election. The decision was made by the Takoma City Council that in Montgomery County Community, they are the first ones in the nation to lower their voting age from 18-16 years old. A group of 350 students from Montgomery Blair High School were granted the right to vote in elections and one of the student who got the right to vote, Ben Miller had said, “ It’s a valuable Privilege,” and he means that it is a great advantage that many 16-17 years old can now vote. Many young adults who are the age of 18 are most likely not a good age to vote because many of them are planning to leave their childhood homes. And they can lack of discipline and causes them not to vote.

Does a United States citizen think that electoral college is democracy's safety net? The people of the U.S. have their own opinions about Electoral College. Some disagree on the topics that Electoral College discusses, and some agree. Most U.S. citizens should support the electoral college because it prevents majority rule, the US needs the electoral college more than ever before, and the intentions of the founding fathers held the abhorrence in the US.

Do you believe the electoral college is the ideal method to vote for the next president of the united states? I do not agree with this method of choosing the president and I think the popular vote should be the method of voting instead. In the Electoral College you vote for someone to vote the president for you which defeats the purpose of voting. Especially since that person legally doesn't have to vote for who you want. Also the electoral college makes voting more complicated which differs from the popular vote method which is easier by just counting votes and the winner would be who has the most votes. My last reason for abolishing the Electoral College and using the popular vote method is it would help other parties instead of just the Republican and Democratic parties. As third party candidates never won due to the electoral college being more helpful to the other parties.The electoral college is a complicated and not fair way of voting for the president. The process defeats the purpose of voting and most of the time helps only two parties which give the other parties a very low chance of winning.

When you turn 18, you consider an adult. You can vote, donate your own blood, buy your own property, buy guns, get a tattoo without parental consent, and can get prosecuted as an adult. Yet you can’t walk into your kitchen and drink a beer in United States at 18. All of this doesn't make sense considering that Civilrights.org explains how the 26th amendment sets precedence for adults in the United States to make their own decisions, but by have the drinking 21 we are not following this amendment.

There seems to always be a debate whether the drinking age should be lowered to a younger age or not within in the United States. It is heard amongst a lot of younger students who think that it is right to lower it because they still drink and think that is right. They have no idea what drinking at a young age can do to a person's mental and physical being. The drinking age should not be lowered to 18, but kept at the same age of 21 because lowering it can cause problems later on in someone´s life.

I agree with you on the making the history voting. I too wonder if the voters really voted for the changes that was promised or was is really just to make history or it could be both. I still have nope that most of us are voting for a better tomorrow. A better education, lower crime rate, better health plan, help for needy and more. It’s true having a black President didn’t really change anything when it comes to uniting us as a country. I feel like we are more divided than ever, just watching the news shows that. It’s true racism seem to be part of human nature, everyone are still who they are, no matter who the President is. I still hope for the future of everyone coming together and getting along. At the moment, we are no way close to being

Voting is a vital portion of conducting everyday life. Americans have more freedom than many other people in countries around the globe; therefore, it is pertinent to express that freedom in many ways. Up until 1965 when the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, many people of color, gender, and all other classifications in the United States fell under one umbrella: not having the ability to vote. (massvote.org) As far as Americans having the ability to vote, 218,959,000 people have the eligibility to vote as of August 16th, 2015. Out of that significantly large number, 146,311,000 are actually registered to vote. (statisticbrain.com) This large gap in people with the eligibility to vote, and actual registered voters, is very alarming. As an American, it is the right and duty of a citizen to exercise all attainted rights by voting in all elections, even if the favored party seems to lose to no avail. (theodysseyonline.com)

Should electronice voting machines be used in the next up coming election? I say yes!, one because they save trees and we dont end up with a lot of paper in the trash. It also makes it easier for us to mantain a clean world. Second they help those who can't read or see hear their oppostions. Paper ballots can't do that for you.

The kids in my class, even if I don’t agree with them, often have logic behind why the government was right or wrong on everything from the legality of gun control to hate speech. However, my parental unit and I have gotten in some fairly heated debates when often my father— who I love very much— would repeat the same argument over and over with no new facts. And yet, he can vote. Before this year I was too young to vote, but apparently old enough to best a 50 year old college graduate on the topic of police brutality. At an increasingly lower age, kids are being bombarded with media, so they ask questions and take classes to learn more. This makes them informed voters.

“Hello, Mr. Smith? This is Orange County police station. We are calling to tell you that your son has been in a car accident. Tests have shown that he was with a friend who was driving while intoxicated. He has suffered major brain damage and wounds on his body. He is lucky to be alive; that kind of crash could have killed him in an instant.” How would you feel if you were a parent getting a call like this? Your daughter, son, or brother killed due to someone's stupid actions. This is a real thing that can happen due to underage drinking. Keep our children safe; don’t lower the drinking age.