Out of twenty-one democracies, the United States placed twentieth in voter turnout for presidential elections. Only Switzerland has lower voter turnout than in U.S. About 50 percent of Americans vote in the presidential election, however, only a third of Americans vote in midterm congressional elections. Voter turnout is low because eligible voters don't know the candidates, are too busy in their daily lives, think it's pointless to vote, or are just too lazy.
Some eligible voters don't pay attention to the smaller elections, such as elections for judges, senators, and representatives, because voters don't know many of the candidates who are running for these positions. There is no way to specifically research all of the candidates" views on certain issues of importance for the eligible voters. At times, people are too busy with their daily routines to follow each candidate. To try to fix this problem, a newspaper company comes out with a list of recommendations for potential candidates. Voters read the newspapers and vote on the issues the paper focused on.
Voting is easier in other counties with democracies because the countries governing body does not have to worry about requirements, they are automatically registered to vote. Another factor that helps voter turnout is that elections are held on weekends. This improves voter turnout because people who work during the week are not subject to losing work hours in the time it takes to vote. The citizens that are considered lower class are usually ignored in the United States elections, because candidates focus their stances on issues to those who are likely to vote. .
A life long American citizen, my father, shared his views with me. His reason for not registering is the fact that he doesn't vote because he is not affiliated with a particular political party. Registering to vote comes with the obligation of jury duty. By not registering to vote this task can be avoided.
