Low voter turnout in the U.S is linked to several theories. One of them is the irrationality of the election exercise, implying that polling costs overshadow its potential benefits. The justification for this theory is that despite investing much time and energy to take part in casting of votes, a significant number of Americans feel that most of the elections are noncompetitive. As a result, a large number of them gradually lose interest in taking part in the democratic event, hence, the low voter attendance. Furthermore, most Americans are generally uninterested in politics, which has also contributed to low voter participation. Research has indicated that the majority of Americans perceive involvement in politics as an unworthy course (Leininger et al., 2016). The fact that a large number of them are uninformed on how the government works contributes to shaping their perceptions about politics.
Improving voter turnout would be instrumental in achieving an all-inclusive decision-making process. For the U.S. to be a dedicated representative of democracy, it should strive to attain universal and fully inclusive voting (Leininger et al., 2016). Realization of this goal will enable elected bodies to reflect the country’s diversity. Therefore, encouraging many people to vote will enhance their chances of being heard, hence, it will result in better service provision by the government. Despite the low election attendance, the country’s constitution upholds freedom for the citizens to cast their ballots.
Freedom to vote is one of the fundamental political rights of Americans. Subjecting a voter into scrutiny to ascertain whether they are politically informed or not before allowing them to vote is an infringement of their rights (Leininger et al., 2016). Although being politically knowledgeable is vital in guiding a voter to make more well-versed decisions, it should not be used as a basis for disqualifying people from taking part in the democratic exercise.
Reference
Leininger, A., Rudolph, L., & Zittlau, S. (2016). How to increase turnout in low-salience elections: Quasi-experimental evidence on the effect of concurrent second-order elections on political participation. Political Science Research and Methods, 6(3), 509–523.