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The sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, once quoted, “The ballet is stronger than the bullet.” Those words hold a meaning that demonstrates the value of voting. In a democratic government, the people have a say on how the government functions. Therefore, the ballot is their voice. Voting is an essential part of the government, but compared to other countries the United States faces low turnout rates during presidential elections.

            Suffrage (the right to vote), was not granted to everyone who resided in the United States. Through protest and other acts of civil movement African-Americans, women, Latinos, and Native Americans all expanded their voting rights. Voting is an essential right in a democratic government.

            The history of voting in the United States covers three major eras: the 1700s, the 1800s, and the mid-1900s. After the formulation of the Declaration of Independence, the first regulation regarding voting passed. For example, in 1776, the right to vote was granted to white males who were twenty-one-years-old or older and owned property (History).

In New Jersey, the right to vote expanded to women who owned property, but that right was revoke in 1807. In 1848, the first women’s rights meeting held at Seneca Falls, New York was the first step toward suffrage for women (Herrera 353). Susan B. Anthony, a leader in the women’s suffrage movement along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, persuaded women to work individually and with organizations to fight for the right to vote.  Their efforts proved effective because in 1920, the United States Supreme Court passed the nineteenth amendment, granting women suffrage.

African-Americans attaining their voting rights a few years after the Civil War ended in 1865. Congress ratified the fifteenth amendment, which states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any other State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” During the reconstruction era, African-Americans started participating in voting. Their votes helped to elect Joseph Rainey, the first African-American male in the House of Representatives in 1870 (Herrera 355).

However, voting became more difficult as the years went by. In set of laws were pass, known as Jim Crow laws. These laws put strict restrictions on voting and established segregation among blacks and whites in the United States. The White Primary, grandfather clauses, poll taxes, and literacy tests were all under the Jim Crow laws. In political life, these laws discouraged Africans-Americans.

The White Primary was a set of policies that prohibited blacks from voting in the Democratic primary. However, in 1944 the Supreme Court overturned the White Primary policies with the Smith v. Allwright court case (Herrera 357). The Smith v. Allwright case, was a case presented by Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court arguing Texas’s Democratic primary was dominated by white individuals (Landmark).

The White Primary was not the only policy that affected African-Americans; poll taxes were another means of discouraging them from voting. Poll taxes made paying to vote a prerequisite. Considering the majority of blacks did not have a lot of money because slavery ended only a few years prior, the number of blacks that could vote was very limited. Poll taxes also disfranchised poor white males.

Grandfather clauses were policies stating that people whose grandfathers were eligible to vote are eligible to vote. The purpose of grandfather clauses was to keep literacy tests and poll taxes from discouraging white voters. Since, poll taxes created a barrier for white men who were poor; grandfather clauses gave them an opportunity to vote (Herrera 356). However, considering the grandfather of many blacks were in slavery, it was close impossible for blacks to vote.

Literacy tests were major under the Jim Crow laws. Literacy tests were reading and interpretation tests given to minorities in order to vote. African-American often had harder tests to ensure that they did not pass (Herrera 355). Good news came during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement helped erase the Jim Crow laws and establish the Voting Rights Act, which gave African-Americans an opportunity to exercise their right to vote.

The effects Jim Crow laws had on blacks was the same effects it had on Latinos who resided in the United States.  The largest barrier for Latinos when it came to voting was language (Herrera 359). Most Hispanics spoke Spanish as their first language, therefore many of them were not fluent in English. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, ballots were not available for non-English speakers. The Voting Rights Act extended in which it included “Language Assistance Amendments (Herrera 359).” This was very beneficial, because it increased voter turnout among Hispanic voters.

            Questions arose on whether the voting age should be decreased. The voting age requirement went from twenty years old to eighteen-years-old. The determinant for this change was the facts that young men age eighteen and older were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War (Herrera 362). On July 1, 1971, the Supreme Court ratified the twenty-sixth amendment, which grants eighteen year olds suffrage.

            Despite the efforts for suffrage and the extensive opportunities to vote, voter turnout in the United States is exceedingly low compare to other nations. Subsequently, people feel that their votes do not matter and therefore choose to not cast a ballot.

Fontas George. Average Voter Turnout in Legislative Elections. 4 November 2016. Photograph. Capalino + Company. New York, New York.

Figure 1

A number of democratic nations have higher voter turnout than the United States. Figure 1, demonstrates countries like Italy, Iceland, Belgium, and Australia have close to ninety percent of voter turnouts in presidential elections, in comparison to the United States, which only has about forty percent voter turnout. Political scientists have studied and determined that there are a number of factors that affect voter turnout. One reason is a nation’s rules of voting (Herrera 371). 

Australia is one of the major countries with a high voter turnout; they practice compulsory voting. Compulsory voting is a practice a country may adapt, requiring citizens to vote in elections or face punitive punishments. Punishments may include fines, imprisonment, community service, and things of that nature (Herrera 371). Countries like Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Mexico, and a few others practice compulsory voting (Santhanam).

While some countries make it an obligation to vote, others make it mandatory to register to vote. For example, New Zealand requires all citizens to register to vote (Herrera 371). By contrast, voting and registering to vote in the United States is voluntary. Therefore, citizens can choose not to vote and not face any punitive measures. Political scientists estimate that if the United States set regulations that would encourage voting, voter turnouts would increase to about twenty- seven percent (Herrera 371).  

Factors that can affect voter turnout include weekend voting, the minimum voting age, and the number elections. In the United States, election day takes place on a Tuesday; a workday for most individuals (Herrera 371). Therefore, a number of people feel it is not important to leave their jobs to go and cast a ballot. In many European countries voting takes place on the weekends, allowing a majority of people to have the opportunity to participate.

In the United States, during the presidential election year, a number of local and state elections are occurring. The election process is very complex and unsynchronized. This can create confusion and fatigue among public voters.

A number of demographics also influence voter turnout: education, race, income, age, and gender. In the United States, people who have a higher education tend to vote at a higher rate. Figure 2 demonstrates people who had advanced degrees tend to have participated at a higher rate in the 2012 presidential election, while those with less than a ninth grade level education had a turnout of less than forty percent.

Kauffman, Matthew. “Voter Turnout by Education 2012.” 8 May 2013. Photograph. Hartford Courant. Connecticut.

Figure 2

Ethnicity plays a role in voter turnout. White people tend to vote at a higher rate compared to other groups. For example, in the 2004 election, Caucasians had more than sixty percent voter turnout rate, while Asian Americans had a turnout rate of less than fifty percent (Herrera 364). Minorities tend to vote a lower rate.

Individuals with a high income tend to show more participation when it comes to voting. The more income a person has, the more they have at stake. Moreover, people with high incomes are more likely to schedule a time to register to vote, while people who work at low paying jobs may not be able to take a day off to vote. For instance, in the 2008 presidential election, individuals with a gross income of more than $75,000 had a voter turnout rate of more than seventy percent. In contrast, individuals with incomes less than $30,000 had a voter turnout rate less than fifty percent (Voter).