Low Voter Turnout Causes

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Introduction
In the United States there is overall low voter turnout on election days nation-wide, especially among minorities and young people. This limits the diversity of the electorate, so that not all groups have an equal say in functions of government. Therefore, the government is not truly representative of the people it governs. The low turnout of minorities and young people has many causes, but among them are the significant impediments to registering to vote and voting itself. In 2008, there was greater minority participation in the general election, but since 2013 when the Supreme Court ruled against key portions of the Voting Rights Act, voting rights have eroded through new legislation which creates impediments for minorities and young voters. If the government is to truly be representative of the people, voter turnout must rise to levels reflective of the overwhelming majority. That may happen eventually, but at the present time there …show more content…
Other sources (Fair Vote) put the estimate even lower, at 59%. In particular, the voting rates of minorities and young people have tended to be lower than average. The US Census Bureau reports that in 2012, the voter participation rate was 64.1% among Whites, 66.2% among African-Americans, and 48.0% among Hispanics. For young people ages 18 to 24 years old, the voting rate in 2012 was only 41.2%. In general, voting rates for all groups have increased since 1996. In particular, rates for African-Americans, Hispanics, and people ages 18 to 24 years old rose in 2008 when the rates were 64.7%, 49.9% and 48.5% respectively. Since then, rates for Hispanics and for young people have decreased. Therefore it is clear that young people and Hispanics in particular are not participating equally within the electorate, and there is a long way to go before their participation equals that of other

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