The Right And Freedom Of Vote

In Margaret Adsett’s article on young voters in Canada, she discusses the growing problem of low youth involvement in politics. In the paper, she tries to explain why the number of young voters has gone down from 70 per cent to 40 per cent between 1970 and 2000.

When the time finally comes and teens have the power to vote for the first time in 18 years, they do not. The Youth of Canada do not take full advantage of voting or having a say in politics at all. However, who is to blame. Even through social media, the numbers are rapidly decreasing throughout the youth turnout for voting. If old habits die hard, the future generation will not have a say in any political issue, even if it is affecting them. The youth are not involved enough as they should be in politics at school or at home. It will be hard to create that habit of going out of the way to research politicians and taking the time to choose one that will be in the interests of the country. The Canadian youth have a great potential with growing up and developing the idea that their voice makes no

Though youth voter numbers have fallen over the years, it is no indication that youths are becoming less politically agile. Youths are not voting but increasingly getting involved in non-voting political activities. They are boycotting products, attending demonstrations and signing petitions. This indicates that political thought and concern continues to flare within Canadians who do not queue up at polling booths on election days. General apathy towards political parties and leaders and growing perception that politics does not address their needs is keeping voters away. It is therefore for the government, politicians and parties to take steps to rectify the situation. They need to demonstrate greater understanding of youth issues and concerns to win their confidence.

As citizens, all Americans are given certain unalienable rights- the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. America has not always lived up to these standards of equality for all citizens. In fact, some U.S. citizens have and continue to go through quite a lot of trouble to gain equality, specifically in the voting rights department.

Since a robust voter turnout is instrumental to the functioning of a healthy democracy, the ongoing decline of youth voter turnout in Canada is highly alarming. According to the Canadian Election Study, the reported voter turnout among Canadians aged 18 to 24 dropped from 83 percent in 1974 to 60 percent in 2000 (Barnes and Virgint, 2010). The aim of this paper is to explain this decline. While it is generally accepted that people’s propensity to vote increases as they age in their “life-cycle”, it does not provide an adequate explanation for the decline of voter turnout among young Canadians. This paper argues that the decline of youth electoral participation in Canada is, by and large, “generational” in nature – it can be attributed by the underlying characteristics of the youth generation. Young Canadians are more apathetic towards the political process, have a lower level of political knowledge, and view voting as less of a moral obligation than older Canadians and young Canadians in past generations.

In the United State there are 5.6 million people serving their time behind bars with many of their rights stripped away. Among these rights is the right to vote. Is this a right that the states can remove? This fact brings to light three main questions. First, do American inmates have the right to vote under American laws or the Constitution? Second, how would allowing inmates to vote change the face of elections? Finally, should inmates have the right to vote based on ethical premises? Today, we will attempt to answer these questions.

The right to vote in the United States of America has been an utmost blessing paved through by preceding generations. The ability to vote has provided many Americans the opportunity to channel their political views and elect a representative to best govern a state and/or the country. The Electoral College is a standard used to establish the President and the vice-president elect. Indirect elections are held in each state to obtain a fair representation of the people’s vote. However, for some time in history, individuals of specific races and/or gender did not possess the same privilege to vote. Furthermore, this paper will highlight the history of voting in the United Sates and the specific groups discriminated against.

In my opinion, each citizen has a civic and moral duty to vote. It is also a requirement, a responsibility, an obligation. It’s part of a bigger picture. I may speak passionately about voting rights, that’s only because as a naturalized citizen, I believe that I have been given this privilege. For me, it is certainly an honor to be able to exercise my free will to vote in this country. Conversely, being able to vote reminds me of how privileged I am in comparison to other countries, whose citizens have no freedom and/or a choice. This country certainly has come a long way, paving the way for all its citizens to be able to vote, when not so long ago, that few of America’s inhabitants could not participate in elections: among the excluded were

To begin with, teenagers below eighteen are generally not interested in politics comparing to adults. According to the results of the British Household Panel Survey in 1991 and 2001, "16 and 17 – year- olds are especially unlikely to report interest in politics" (2006, P. 543), and ”the 16 and 17-year-olds of 1991 actually became much more interested in politics when they turned 26 and 27, respectively, in 2001" (2006, P. 543). From the empirical data, Chan and Clayton draw the conclusion that adolescents have not yet fully developed political interest until their later years. (2006, P. 544) With the lack of interest in politics, teenagers in Canada will hardly vote in any elections. This makes youth enfranchisement a complete waste of time, effort and money. In addition, as teenagers tend to

The right to vote has been fought for many generations both past and present. The woman’s suffrage movement ,which began in 1848, not only give women the right to vote but allowed the struggles of woman be known. During the 1950’s and 1960’s many black activist fought for fair and equal voting rights.Today, all Americans, over the age of 18, have the right to do so. Although this may be true, is it our civic duty to vote? Moreover, should Americans be required to vote? According to text 3, line 1, Some believe that mandatory voting restricts democracy while others believe it expands it. In American history, there has been a period of time when a woman and/or people of color could not vote and consequently people fought for these rights. The

Often in politics, adults have strongly-worded opinions about government and laws due to the fact that it directly affects them. Adults and parents are the ones buying gas, paying insurance, bills, mortgages, and more. Youths are not involved in politics because they aren't being affected by government just yet.

In her book, Angela Davis mentions that there were many people who disagreed with suffrage for Black men and that because they were emancipated, they were equal to white women, however, if they had the right to vote, “the vote would render Black men superior” (1981, p. 65). Although I believe that it was fair that Black men were given the right to vote, I can understand why the women felt that it was unfair, but the racism was not justifiable. Frederick Douglass mentions that “slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot.” (Davis, 1981, p. 69), and that it was not to prioritize black men over women. In addition, Douglass argues that without political rights, “black people in the South would be unable to achieve any economic progress

The Democratic system has been long withstanding in many countries, we take pride in having a government that is for, by, and of the people. With a democratic system comes the right to vote; it has a sense of empowerment—the power of voting bears within itself the power of change. With a government representing the views and will of the people, voters possess a significant responsibility that is capable of impacting the nation as a whole; but when misused or mishandled, can result in undesired repercussions. In many countries, youth are granted the ability to vote at the age of 18. However, the question of whether the voting age should be reduced to 16 has been debated nationwide for numerous years. While most individuals under the age of 18 are still in school and live with their families—two factors that encourage turnout and make informed decisions (Wagner, Joahnn, Kritzinger, 2012, 372), the reasoning falls short. This is because many youth are incapable of forming their own decisions and are limited to the consent of a guardian in many aspects. Young people below the age of 18 lack the motivation, knowledge and ambition to participate in the electoral process (Zeglovits, 2013, 250) and will not challenge the government to respond to their needs (Wagner et al. 2012, 373). In addition, various accounts of research has proven to show that the brains of young adults are not fully mature until their mid twenties. Due to this, they may not be able to comprehend the

One idea that Wattenberg suggests that I disagree with is that young people do not receive enough information to be politically informed. Information concerning politics has never been more available in society then it is today.

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.