Voting is the key to the United States’ political system.
The United States is ranked 31 out of 35 in developed countries in voter turnout, according to a 2016 study from Pew Research Center.
The best way to get people to vote is to teach them who they’re voting for and what they are voting on.
“People are more likely to vote if they have information about the candidates and the process of voting,” according to Barry Burden, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
American politics have become more party-oriented than ever. Rarely do people aligned with different parties agree with each other.
Many vote for a candidate simply because they have a “D” or “R” next to their name on the ballot. For that reason, teaching people about each party is necessary to ensure that people vote for what they truly believe in.
We need to find a way to get more students interested in voting and politics. Many students say they don’t care about voting, or that it won’t affect them even if they do vote.
During the 2014 elections, only 42 percent of 18-24-year-olds said they were registered to vote, and just 17 percent of them actually voted in the election, according to Campus Vote Project.
As Barack Obama said, “You wouldn’t let your grandma pick your playlist. Why let her pick your leaders?”
Making students more aware of the issues and parties would likely make them want to vote and get involved in the political process.
We also need a class educating people about political parties because two parties aren’t enough to represent all Americans.
According to a Gallup poll from 2016, 57 percent of Americans believe that a third party is needed in the United States.
While the results wouldn’t be immediate, educating more people about the minor parties in the United States could help them grow and eventually get to a point where they have a real chance to win an election.
The future of the United States is dependent on informed and active voters. People won’t vote if they don’t know who and what they’re voting for. It’s time to teach people about the political parties of the United States.
