Scribd
Upload
70 views4 pages

Politics Project 2

Voter turnout in the 2016 US Presidential election was the lowest it has been in nearly 20 years, with only 55% of eligible voters casting ballots. It is possible for a candidate to win the national popular vote but lose the electoral college vote. Wisconsin and Colorado had the highest turnout rates, while southern states like Texas had among the lowest. Every vote matters in close elections, and not voting gives up the ability to influence the country's direction and throws away what the American colonists fought for in establishing representative democracy.

Uploaded by

api-342993400
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
70 views4 pages

Politics Project 2

Voter turnout in the 2016 US Presidential election was the lowest it has been in nearly 20 years, with only 55% of eligible voters casting ballots. It is possible for a candidate to win the national popular vote but lose the electoral college vote. Wisconsin and Colorado had the highest turnout rates, while southern states like Texas had among the lowest. Every vote matters in close elections, and not voting gives up the ability to influence the country's direction and throws away what the American colonists fought for in establishing representative democracy.

Uploaded by

api-342993400
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 4

Rational Voting

Katelyn Judd

Voting at a Glance
INSIDE THIS
I SS U E
1 Voting at a
Glance
2 Importance of
Voting
3 Good Political
Sources
4 Bad Political
Sources

One person can


make a
difference, and
everyone should
try.
-John F Kennedy

As citizens of the United States of America, we


have the great privilege of voting for our leaders. In the
2016 Presidential election, voter turnout was the lowest
it has been for nearly 20 years. Approximately 55% of all
eligible voters, voted. CNN says, That measure of
turnout is the lowest in a presidential election since
1996, when 53.5% of voting-age citizens turned out.
It is possible for a candidate to win the popular
vote, yet not win the electoral vote, placing them in
office. This happened in both the 2000 election between
Gore and Bush, and the 2016 election between Trump
and Clinton. How the government is set up, a candidate
must win the most electoral votes by winning states,
rather than winning individual votes.
Wisconsin and Colorado have had the highest voter
turnout in the past two presidential elections, while
many southern states including Texas have been among
the lowest. Read more on voter turnout and the
importance of voting on page 2.

Rational Voting

Importance of Voting
In close elections especially, voter turnout
is crucial to the results. Only slightly more than
half of the population is voting in presidential
elections. Some people argue that their vote
doesnt matter. Every vote counts! When people
lose hope, bad things happen. Voting for your
leaders is part of being a good citizen. As the
graphic to the right shows, the future is in the
hands of the voters. Bad people get elected by
good people not voting against them.
By not voting, you are giving up your say
in what your country does. This country was
founded with the belief that the people should
govern themselves. The 13 colonies split from
England on the grounds that they didnt want a
king controlling them without any
representation. By not voting, we are throwing
away everything the colonists fought for. Voting
is crucial to the success of this nation.

Page 2

Rational Voting

Page 3

Good Political Sources


www.usa.gov says, When evaluating who to vote
for, its important to decide what strengths youre looking
for in a candidate, to research their positions on the
issues, to learn about their leadership abilities, and to
recognize any distortions in the information and opinions
they express. In order to be adequately prepared to
vote, one should fully research all candidates, not just
the ones they are drawn towards. Often times, voters
dont even know half of the names on the ballot.
Research is the best was to educate yourself before
voting.
Governmental websites are generally the least
biased. These websites present the facts, issues, and
views without imposing their own views upon the reader.
They include:
Usa.gov
Vote411.org
Cfr.org
Individual state websites (vote.utah.gov)

Voting is a right
best exercised
by people who
have taken time
to learn about
the issues.
-Tony Snow

Rational Voting

Page 4

Bad Political Sources


While newspapers and news websites can have plenty
information on candidates, they are often very biased. If this
is to be your main sources of information, be sure to use a
large variety. Reading articles from both a democrat and
republican point of view gives you much more knowledge and
insight. Seeing both sides of an issue can help you decide on
your own. Television and radio are similar in their biases to
newspapers.
Parents and teachers can inform the voter, and can
make it more applicable to them. However, their opinion will
always come through. This is another source to be careful of
in regards to biases.
The internet in general is not trustworthy. People can
hide behind the screen, and put out complete lies. The
graphic to the left was found on the internet. While those
who use the internet as their political source feel prepared to
vote, many do not actually vote. People hide who they really
are when on the internet. The views and opinions they put
out there, can be really skewed.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy