Voter Participation 1

Running Head: Voter Registration and Participation

Exercise #2

Low Voting Registration and Participation amongst Americans

Samuel R. Morris

SOWK 300

Tuskegee University

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

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Abstract

“We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created with natural,

unalienable rights.” These famous words are found at the beginning of the Declaration of

Independence – our founding document. Since the beginning of our country, we have always

been a nation who has been involved in the political system; however, that has not been the case

in recent years. In recent years, less people have been participating in both the Presidential and

Congressional elections, and this a major issue at hand. This paper will examine how many

people have been participating in the nationwide elections and look at the magnitude, scope,

changes and disparities of this problem.

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1. Problem Identification

Every two to four years, Americans engage in the political process by electing several

representatives who will serve them on Capitol Hill. These representatives are given the power

to make and enforce laws that will affect the general population at large. At often times, these

same elected officials do not perform their jobs in a respectable manner, which in turn forces so

many Americans to lose their trust and hope in the political system. When that happens, people

tend to stop caring about the day-to-day politics that occur on “The Hill”.

Before the recent 2008 Presidential elections, the record numbers of Americans turning

out to participate in the political process was reporting low. Young people and African

Americans were not turning out to elect representatives who could speak on their behalf. Why is

this? Why are we seeing low election participation during the election season? The core

meaning of democracy is “rule by the people” and if the people are not participating in the

political process, this a major problem at hand.

2. Problem Description

In the 1776 document, The Independence of Declaration, Thomas Jefferson wrote that

the people have a right to question the government at any given time. Moreover, when the

institution of government becomes corrupt or goes against the wishes of the people, it is the right

of the people to remove that institution from power and elect a new institution. Since the birth of

this country, we have seen that when people are displeased with the government, they elect a

new one; however, in recent times, this has not been the case. Why is this? If the founding

fathers fought to give us the right to participate in the election process, why are Americans not

participating as much as they use to?

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There are several theories behind the lack of voters‟ participation in the recent years.

Some believe that due to the rise in a new generation, many young people are less active in the

political process. Moreover, the African American community has also been less active. Some

believe that the government does not represent them or understand their basic human needs.

Others argue that because of the lack of “Black” representation on Capitol Hill, there is no need

to actually go out and vote for the different candidates who are running for office. Whatever the

reason maybe, it is important to find out why voter participation in elections is low.

African Americans are extremely affected by this because if we do not vote, our voice is

not represented well on Capitol Hill. Elected representatives are supposed to work for the

betterment of all races; however, that is not always the case. It is necessary for African

Americans to participate in the election process in order for our voices to be heard adequately.

Moreover, it also will ensure that the programs needed for our communities will be put in to

action. If African Americans continue to not use their right to vote, they will eventually lose

their voice in politics.

There are several ways that I can propose to fix this problem and correct the low

percentages of voting participation in America. First, we need to make sure that we are teaching

students, while they are in school, know the importance of voting. Voting is a very important

thing and every American, not only young Americans, should understand its importance.

Second, at the time of elections, we need to have more opportunities in place where people can

register to vote. One way this can be done is through applying for a driver‟s license. When a

person gets their driver‟s license, they should be automatically registered to vote. When election

time comes around, the state would have an easier way of contacting these people and reminding

them about voting. Last, we should have more candidate forums and town meetings. If people
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are aware of who is running, they will be more incline to actually go out and vote for their

favorite candidate.

3. Findings

In this section of my paper, I will be using four data statistical tables that are in line with

my topic – voter registration and participation. Some of the data tables are specific to a certain

year while others so ranges of years. The tables also break down information into several areas.

One area that was helpful in my analyzing of the information is the Presidential and

Congressional Elections. Sometimes, these elections are held at the same time where at other

times, the election is held at different times. This helps because show how voter participation

changes depending on the type of election.

A. Magnitude

When looking at the data tables, I believe that the problem of low voter participation is

huge. One would think that the reason why these numbers are low is due to the lack of

registration; however, that is not the case. In all four tables, there are a high percentage of

people registering to vote, but there are a low percentage of people actually coming out on the

day of election. When looking at this, this problem is affecting the American political system

nationwide.

When looking at the people in the tables, this is also affecting Americans greatly as well.

There are a higher percentage of women participating in voting than men. In addition, there is a

higher percentage of Whites participating in the voting process than African Americans or

Asians. Now the numbers between them is not large; however, I believe that these numbers

should raise some alarm. If people are not coming out to participate – especially people of ethnic
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background – within the election process every time it comes around, then how will their voice

be heard?

Voting is a free process and is guaranteed as a basic right under the United States

Constitution; therefore, there is no initial cost. Nevertheless, there is a cost needs to be taken

into consideration. Because the charts are showing that the number of people who actually vote

are relatively lower than the number of people who are registered, this can affect how money is

allocated through the political system. If the elected officials are not aware of how the people

would like their money to be appropriated – this will happen because of a lack of political and

voter participation – they will allocate funds as they see fit; something that is occurring in

today‟s politics.

Looking at the overall magnitude of the problem, I think that these numbers need to be

taken seriously. Many young Americans are actually registered to vote, but in actuality, it is

more of the older Americans (75 and older) who are participating in voting. Moreover, you are

seeing more people with employment and higher levels of education voting. Originally, I

thought that it meant that there are people voting; however, overall Americans are not voting

during elections.

B. Scope

The number of people participating in voting varies throughout the country in different

regions. In 2008, the Midwest region (66%) reported the highest number of people voting while

the South region (62%) reported the lowest numbers. The Northeast region reported 62% and the

West reported 63.3%. In 2006, the Midwest region (53.2%) reported the highest number of

people voting while the South region (43.9%) reported the lowest numbers. The Northeast region

reported 46.9% and the West reported 49.2%. Based on these percentages, there is a higher
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amount of people coming out to vote within the Midwest region than any other region in the

United States.

Looking at the number of people actually registered to vote in these regions is interesting

as well. In 2006, the Midwest reported a 71%, the Northeast reported 66.1%, the South reported

67.6%, and the West reported 64.4%. In 2008, the Midwest reported 73.9%, the Northeast

reported 69.9%, the West reported 71.1% and the South reported 68.8% of people registered to

vote. Based on these findings, the Midwest region always had the higher number of people

registering and voting in elections; however, overall you can see that each region has a higher

number of people registering to vote, but a lower number of people actually voting.

These numbers are also standing up over the years through different periods of elections.

Looking at Table 404 and Table 406, the Midwest region continues to report the highest number

of people registering to vote in the elections – both Presidential and Congressional. When

looking at the South and the West regions, the number of people who participate in voting tend

to change over time. In one table, the West is recorded lower than the South and in the other

table, the numbers are reversed. To me, I can conclude that people within the South and the

West tend to vote more at different times.

Looking at these numbers helps me to put more things into perspective. There are more

people throughout the nation actually registering to vote (this varies on region). To me, one can

interpret this as a good meaning; however, that is not the case. Although there are a high number

of people registering to vote, when it comes to actually participating in the voting process,

numbers are dropping. People voting in either election – Presidential or Congressional – are

lower than the actual amount registered to vote in the election and that is a problem.
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C. Changes

Looking at the tables, this problem changes depending on which election season it is and

when elections are actually going on. Referring to Table 406, during the 1996 presidential

elections 54.2% voted, but 65.9% were registered to vote. In the 1998, Congressional elections

41.9% voted, but 62.1% were registered to vote. The same behavior takes place during the

2000, 2004, and 2008 elections (both Presidential and Congressional). People not are only

voting more in the Presidential elections rather than the Congressional, but the number of people

registered to vote is much higher than the numbers who actually do vote.

Referring to Table 404, we are seeing some similar patterns like the previous data table.

In the 1994 Congressional election, 62.0% registered to vote, but only 44.6% actually voted.

Although we see a difference through time with the different types of elections, we are also

seeing some constant patterns as well. In the Presidential elections, we see the same average

numbers in both the 1996 and 2000 elections, but numbers rose in the 2004 Presidential

elections. In the Congressional elections, the 1994 elections had 44.6% voter turnout, but

dropped in 1998 (41.9%) and rose slightly in 2002 (42.3%) and 2006 (43.6%).

After looking at the different changes from the data tables, I can conclude that voter

participation varies depending on the election. Moreover, I can also conclude that when a

Presidential election is going on, people tend to participate more in elections. Regardless of the

election, the record of how many people who are actually voting versus who are registered to

vote still is an issue for me. The statistics show that amount recorded for people who are

registered remain some constant, but it is the record amount of people who participate in the

election changes depending on the year and type of election.

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D. Disparities

This problem has many disparities across the nation. Based on sex, women vote more

than men do. In the 1996 Presidential elections, 55.5% of women voted compared to 52.8%.

This same pattern continues to happen right up to the 2008 Presidential election. Women are

voting more than men do. Nevertheless, there are more disparities shown through the statistical

data.

Based on race, Whites are reported to have the highest number of voter participation over

any other ethnicity. In 2006, the numbers showed that 49.7% of Whites voted compared to

41.0% of African Americans, 32.4% of Asians, and 32.3% of Hispanics. We are seeing more

White voters over any other ethnic voter in America. There is also a disparity through educated

people as well. People with a higher level of education (i.e. College or Advanced Education)

tend to participate more in the voting process than those with a lower level education (i.e. Less

than High School Education). The data is also showing that people who are employed or make a

higher-level income ($50,000 and above) tend to vote more than those with no job or a low-level

income (below $50,000).

Not only are we seeing disparities amongst these areas when looking at the voter

participation, but also in the voting registration. Women tend to have a higher number of

reported individuals who are actually registered to vote in the elections over men. Again, Whites

have a higher number of people registered to vote over African American, Asians or Hispanics.

Looking at levels of education, people with an advanced education tend to have higher number

of people who are registered to vote over people with just a High school or lower education.

People who are employed also show higher number of people registered to vote than

unemployed people.
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These disparities are very important because they tell a lot about Americans and they way

they participate in the election and political process. It is showing that African Americans and

other non-white ethnicities are not coming out to vote. If they are not participating, then their

voice will not be represented adequately on Capitol Hill. Moreover, education and employment

status is also factoring in with these disparities. Base on the statistics, people who are “smarter”

or make more money will come out to vote more. These disparities cannot be taken lightly

because they can are telling us about a dangerous trend that exists amongst Americans.

4. Data Tables

I used data tables provided by the United States Census Bureau in order to better analyze my

problem. The tables are located in the Appendix.

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References

Table 2. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P20-556, and earlier reports;
“Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2006” (published June 2008);
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html

Table 2. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P20-556, and earlier reports;
“Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008” (published May 2010);
www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html

Table 404. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P20-556, and earlier reports;
„„Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004‟‟ (published 25 May 2005);
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html

Table 406. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, P20-557, and earlier reports;
„„Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008‟‟ (published 20 July 2009);
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/voting.html
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Appendix
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