Introduction
The 2020 US Presidential election will forever live in infamy as one of the most divisive elections in US history. The incumbent President at the time accused the legally elected president of fraud and incited his followers to insurrection. This was a shameful moment for America and I vowed since then that I would dedicate some of my time to understanding what led to that moment and how it can be prevented from ever happening again. Thus, this topic is an effort in understanding how to best improve the integrity of the political process and get more young people to vote and participate in elections as candidates.
Background and Rationale
The 2020 election set a new record for the oldest contestants for the presidency. It was the first time that a huge percentage of voters voted by mail. Despite a largely peaceful and transparent process, the events that followed and culminated on January 6, 2021, left much to be desired. My research will propose a solution to improve electoral integrity with the goal of avoiding the January 6 scenario in the future. I will also propose ways to increase participation in the elections by young people.
Specific Aims
Aim 1: The research aims to propose ways in which the integrity of the American election can be improved.
Improved election integrity is important to its acceptability by all people, no matter who wins.
Aim 2: I will also propose ways in which more participation by young people in the electoral process can be increased.
Participation in elections by young people enriches democracy while ensuring that their issues are well articulated by their peers.
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Project Approach
The research will adopt a descriptive methodology and use research from other authors to propose solutions to the research questions. In descriptive research, information is collected without manipulating the variables. It is sometimes called correlational or observational study and focuses on the “what” of a study rather than “why.”
Literature Review
The 2020 US presidential election saw the polarization of society with accusations of fraud by some quarters who could not stomach their electoral loss. To support their wild accusations, they accused companies that provided the voting technology of being hacked, they also alleged vote stuffing through mail-in voting (Mochtak, et al, 2021). Despite their groundless accusations, it is important to improve the integrity and transparency of the elections (Garnett, H., & James). According to research, this can be achieved through conducting mass public civil education and increasing the use of technology in elections.
Despite the impact of policy decisions made by successive governments affecting young people more, they have historically failed to vote in sufficient numbers that would make a difference( Levy, & Akiva, 2019). Instead, people who could not otherwise be employed by corporations due to their advanced age are entrusted with voting and leading Americans (Daniller, & Mutz, 2019). To encourage young people to participate in elections in the US, researchers propose outreach programs from a young age, and the use of social media, among several others (Persily & Stewart, 2021). Those suggestions will be explored through this research and expanded further.
Conclusion and Summary
The continued existence of the US as a strong democracy will require the building up of trust in public institutions and democratic processes. As the polarization and politicization of issues have shown currently, not much can be done when the country is divided. This research paper contributes to the building of public trust in democratic processes in the US by proposing ways to ensure the integrity of the Presidential election is not questioned and that participation by young people increases. The proposed solution to the integrity issue will also contribute to a cohesive society able to support initiatives by the government in power for the betterment of all people.
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Reference
Daniller, A., & Mutz, D. (2019). The dynamics of electoral integrity a three-election panel study. Public Opinion Quarterly, 83(1), 46-67
Garnett, H., & James, T. (2020). Measuring electoral integrity: using practitioner knowledge to assess elections. Taylor & Francis Online 31(3). Web.
Levy, B., & Akiva, T. (2019). Motivating Political Participation Among Youth: An Analysis of Factors Related to Adolescents’ Political Engagement. Educational Theory and Practice Faculty Scholarship. 31. Web.
Mochtak, M., Lesschaeve, C., & Glaurdić, J. (2021). Voting and Winning: perceptions of electoral integrity in consolidating democracies. Taylor & Francis Online, 28(8). Web.
Persily, N., & Stewart, C. (2021). The miracle and tragedy of the 2020 U.S. election. Journal of Democracy, 32(2), 159–178. Web.