Voting in the U.S.

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in the Bush-Kerry presidential election, only slightly more than a half of the eligible voters actually voted and, within the 18 to 21 year old group, only 17% voted. The paper points out that the key aspects of why Americans do not vote are a belief (1) that there really is no equality in America, (2) that one vote won't really make any difference and (3) a total mistrust of politics and politicians. The paper concludes that, although social studies and political science texts all refer to voting as both a duty and an obligation, too many millions of Americans don't care, don't understand or are merely unresponsive to their responsibilities as full citizens.

From the Paper:

"Despite massive efforts to "get out the vote", transportation, free meals, promises of better things to come (etc), people stayed home. Yes, TV showed lines of people in Ohio, standing in the rain for up to nine hours to vote. It didn't show college kids partying, playing video games, sleeping, having sex-- anything to avoid even CONSIDERING going to vote. This lack of interest among the young is amplified by their belief that they are neither equal nor respected. This may sound a little pompous. But, there still are people in government who feel that only they have the wisdom and clear thinking that can make America a better place. These are the same over-the-hill idiots who created colors for alerts, who lied about weapons of mass destruction, who made friends with Enron and Worldcom and gave Nalliburton billions of wasteful dollars."

More papers on Voting in the U.S.:

• Term Paper # 116138 : "Democracy in the U.S."
• Research Paper # 68481 : "The U.S. Government"
• Book Review # 46102 : "The U.S. Economy and the Vietnam War"

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