Publishing American Government Politics

It was interesting to read how socioeconomic status is a factor in voter participation. It would stand to reason that those who were against the societal changes that are occurring would cause the affected masses to go and vote. Voting provides a voice for the common people. It has always perplexed me on why individuals who live in a particular city with questionable laws that go against their principles do not rally together and vote those who are in office, out of office? When I read our chapters, it brought clarity on why political candidates have individuals canvas and call potential voters to garner votes and have voters become involved.

On the other issues, the campaign financing of politicians seems to get way out of hand today. There are people going to bed hungry in America, and politicians are spending billions of dollars on trying to get elected. I sometimes wonder if votes are bought, and the Gore/Bush election results only compounded the issue.

Especially since his brother happened to be Governor in the State that would eventually tally the deciding votes. Political financing and the Democrats/Republicans nominations has always befuddled my mind. I believe if we had less funding from corporations and special interest groups, then we would have more individuals who had a passion for sustaining America take an interest in the political system. They might even run for governor or President, and really take into account the preferences of the people. In my opinion, the last President who considered the will of Americans was Kennedy.

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Furthermore, the “voter ID laws” that have been implemented have not had the effect of stopping voter fraud. According to an article written by Justin Levitt (2014), there are very few voter impersonations that take place. In his article, he indicates that voter ID laws were designed to disallow ineligible individuals from voting, and that voter ID laws do not prevent this abuse. It does disenfranchise individuals from being able to vote which interferes with a citizen’s right to vote. There are 11% of Americans who do not have a government-issued ID card. The main reason proponents of voter ID laws enact them is to deter voter fraud and these laws do not do that. I do not believe these laws protect the sanctity of votes, but do deter some of our citizens from voting by placing obstacles in their way which basically disenfranchises them.

References

1. Evans, J. & Michaud, D. (2014). Central ideas in American government. Asheville, NC: Soomo Publishing. Available from SNHU Blackboard.
2. Levitt, J. (2014, August, 6). A comprehensive investigation of voter impersonation finds 31 credible incidents out of one billion ballots cast. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/06/a-comprehensive-investigation-of-voter-impersonation-finds-31-credible-incidents-out-of-one-billion-ballots-cast/
3. Lithwick, D. (2014, September, 11). Voter ID laws may worsen voter fraud. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/09/voter_id_laws_analysis_shows_they_could_make_fraud_worse_and_disenfranchise.html