The U.S. national government does many things for its citizens. However; not all of these things are done well. For instance, many U.S. citizens do not vote. Although there are many reasons why someone may not turn out to vote, responsibility for this should be placed on the U.S. government.
Accessibility is an issue that has often come to light. The effort it takes to register to vote, the traffic to get to one of the few voting locations, or even the education involved in making a decision is too much for some people. In addition, the notion that one’s vote will not make a difference is a real idea that circulates in the population.
According to this reputable research center: In 2016 only 55.7% of the voting-age population actually voted. 86.8% of registered voters voted.
This means that many people who could register to vote…aren’t!
The U.S. Government needs to change its methods of voting; considering better political education, better registration methods, and better voting systems.
For example, implementing an electronic voting system, rather than the typical written system, could eliminate the issue of time, traffic, and location. Not to mention, ballot accuracy scandals and recounts.
This radio discussion from BBC talks about the use of electronic voting in the 2016 U.S. election compared to other countries. It is mentioned that cyber security is certainly an issue for many Americans when deciding whether to vote, however the turnout was better despite this fact. So, theoretically, as the security measures improve, this system will be significantly better than previous methods.
As well, this CNN article ties the Russian hacking attempts to a study done by local hackers trying to infiltrate the system. Although the local team was able to hack the system, the article mentions that the system has been developed to protect against these newfound vulnerabilities; however this was a non-issue for the foreign hackers previously, considering there was no breach.
This radio discussion from BBC talks about the use of electronic voting in the 2016 U.S. election compared to other countries. It is mentioned that cyber security is certainly an issue for many Americans when deciding whether to vote, however the turnout was better despite this fact. So, theoretically, as the security measures improve, this system will be significantly better than previous methods.
As well, this CNN article ties the Russian hacking attempts to a study done by local hackers trying to infiltrate the system. Although the local team was able to hack the system, the article mentions that the system has been developed to protect against these newfound vulnerabilities; however this was a non-issue for the foreign hackers previously, considering there was no breach.
To conclude, 55.7% of the voting-age population does not include all the voices of this country.
The game needs changing.
