Why It Is Difficult To Vote In America

Words: 619
Pages: 3

What exactly is a democracy? A democracy is a system governed by the population, typically through elected representatives. Only 33.6% of our state population voted this year. That’s not the population; that’s not a democracy. Voting is an important factor in keeping our nation up and running because it ensures that we still have some control in government. There are many reasons why voter turnout is so low in our state: The laziness of the people, the apathy towards politics, the ignorance of many. But what seems to be a larger issue that affects a majority of people is the voter registration itself. Many other democratic countries don’t require voter registration at all because it’s part of the government’s duty to insure that everyone eligible to vote is already in the system. “In general, the governments …show more content…
The voter just has to show up” (minnpost). The biggest inconvenience about voting is registration. It makes voting a multistep process and to some people it makes an enormous difference. Many people think they registered properly only to find out on election day that something went wrong in the process. Occasionally there is an easy fix to whatever the problem may be, but many times the error is too large and the voter doesn’t get to vote. “One study, for instance, found that one-third of the registration applications submitted in 2008 didn’t result in a valid registration” (minnpost). A few states are beginning to offer “same-day registration” and registration while earning a driver’s license, but unfortunately most citizens don’t live in these states. “If requiring voters to register is so unusual, why do we do it? It started in the early 19th century in part to ensure that non-citizens