Final Voting Patterns

What is democracy, do we really understand the concept and the implications of the freedoms that our society enjoys. Democracy by definition is a “government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections”.(1) The United States democracy in current times can be a difficult situation to grasp, due to the fact that we are operating off of the Constitution written over 200 years ago, and individuals modern

“From 1972 to 2012, citizens 18-29 turned out at a rate 15 to 20 points lower than citizens 30 years older” from this data we can conclude that age is a demographic that affects voter turnout (What Affects Voter Turnout). Voting laws such as those of identification or registration impact voter turnout. For example, the introduction of early voting was meant to increase voter turnout, but has in fact decreased turnout (What Affects Voter Turnout). In response to the argument that the system lowers voter turnout rate, one should take the many other variables that contribute to turnout into account.

The two demographics deal with a person’s level of education and their age because the younger a person is the less likely they are to vote which could be because of their lower education level on the subject.

Factors such as competitiveness of upcoming elections and demographics play roles in determining voter turnout. Voting rates historically vary widely among states. In a given election year, many factors contribute to the number of state citizens going to the polls. In presidential elections, citizens of less competitive states go to the polls less often than in states where outcome is less certain. Election type also influences voter turnout. Fewer voters across all states turn out for primary elections and local elections. Among demographic factors, age and race influence voter turnout. Younger Americans and certain minorities, including Latin Americans and Asian-Americans, historically cast votes less frequently than older citizens,

Education is a noticable factor to consider when examining voter turnout. Those who are less educated about politics and their rights don't vote because they simply don't understand the imporatance of their vote in the first place. The more interested a person is in politics obviously the more likey they are to vote. Wealthier people are connected and constantly encouraged and reminded that their vote is important by community leaders and politicians. They also feel as if they have more at stake when it comes to taxes and public services, therefore they feel they have more reasons to vote. Whereas people with lower incomes are underepresented, disappointed and feel like nothing seems to change, the rich just gets richer and the poor gets poorer. The same applies for the age difference amoungst voters. Older people are more politically invovled than the younger voters.

Two demographic characteristics associated with voting are age and level of education. Statistics show that the older one is, the more likely they are to participate in voting and other government-related processes. However, in the hustle and bustle of young life, many young people do not vote. Now, with there being more young people than elders, this often relates to low voter turnout. Similarly, those with higher levels of education are more likely to vote than the under-educated. Now, think of this: America is filled with impoverished people that do not have high levels of education. In addition, the US has college as a necessity priced as a luxury; many people simply cannot afford this higher education and (like my friend Ryan) think "I won't vote because I don't know enough to do it."

Some of the factors include demographics such as citizens’ level of education, their age, their race, their socioeconomic status and many other factors that all affect voter turnout in American elections. (Hershey, 2015, p. 167)

Voter turnout, as well as election results, depend upon and are effected by several different factors. Everything from family status to beliefs about abortion can determine how a person will vote. In my presentation, however, I focused on three aspects that effect voter turnout and elections. I found, in my research, that a voter's age, sex and party identification greatly factor into how a person will cast his or her vote.

right wing and the other left wing it will be very hard to predict or

I think there are a few more factors that contribute to a lower voter turnout, specifically, time and effort. Many people fail to see the importance of voting because they don't understand how politics affects their daily life. Lack of interest is closely linked to a lack of knowledge, and as knowledge becomes more readily available through the internet, among other places, I predict that voter interest will rise.

In the article “The Myth of the Vanishing Voter” by Michael P. McDonald and Samuel L. Popkin, it is argued that the decline in voter participation in national elections since 1972 is an illusion created by the Bureau of the Census because it uses the voting-age population to calculate voter turnout instead of calculating the population of citizens who are eligible to vote (2001, 963).

There are a large number of reasons for poor electorate among young people. A clear decline in ballot among parents has shown that parents are not

As time changes, so do groups of people. Problems that have affected one group in the past may not affect the other group. Or the effect on the group could have increased or decreased. As explained above, there have been various assumptions and reports that imply that the voting behavior of younger voters have changed compared to their parents. However, there are also reports and studies that have shown that they haven’t. For this study, it will decide if certain factors of voting behavior have any significant effects and changes when it comes to millennial voters. In comparison to their parent’s, have these indicators increased or decreased. In this study, it is assumed that voting behavior among young voters is different from their parents.

C. Young adults in college don’t pursue voting, this leads to less laws being provided for easy voting for the students.

The analysis of rural/poverty and its implications on voter turnout can be summarized in two conclusions. First, there is a positive correlation between poverty and aspects of electoral participation, this includes, but is not limited to voting, attending community meetings and contact informal leaders. Poverty is positive for political activing before, during and after elections. This is significant because, in terms of local community and municipal elections (attending community meeting, contacting informal leaders), poor citizens are more likely participate. (Bratton et al.)