Word: voting
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...represent the majority. There’s no doubt that President Obama’s victory was resounding. Fifty two percent of all voters supported him. However, it transpires that, even in that most exceptional presidential election of 2008, only 64 percent of eligible voters actually turned out to vote. The outcome was that only around one in three Americans actually voted for President Obama. This is not a new phenomenon; low voter turnout may be regarded as the norm rather than the exception in presidential elections. Indeed, voter turnout in 2008, at 64 percent, appears to have been...
Secondly, those who do not vote tend to be the most deprived and disadvantaged members of society. The reasons are both cultural and logistical. Logistically, it can be difficult to get to a polling station while cultural reasons include voter fatigue, cynicism, and sense of alienation. Whatever the reason, the end result is the same. Low voter turnout in these vulnerable sections of society results in their under-representation in government, reinforcing their feeling of disenfranchisement...
Finally, we could regard voting as a civic duty in recognition of the past and ongoing sacrifices made by men and women in the name of democracy. The struggle for universal suffrage has been both long and turbulent. It began in 1775 with the War of Independence and it continues to this very day. In many parts of the world, people are still denied the right to vote on the basis of gender and race...
...what can the inhabitants of this leafy corner of Massachusetts do about low voter turnout? In the longer term, we need to debate measures such as the introduction of compulsory voting. However, regarding the senatorial election on January 19, 2010, we need to publicize the election in papers such as The Harvard Crimson and on student radio and television stations. But our efforts should not begin and end at the Charles River. We should be knocking on doors and handing out fliers encouraging people to turn out and vote regardless of their political hue. By doing this, we?...
...Irish voters will go to the polls for a second time to vote on the Lisbon Treaty, an agreement already ratified by most of the other 26 members of the European Union that aims to reform and streamline the newly expanded organization. In June 2008, Irish voters roundly rejected the treaty in the only national referendum to be held on it, sinking the hopes of E.U. backers across the continent. In the 15 months since that vote, however, Ireland's fortunes have changed dramatically in the global recession, and the government and many prominent business leaders are now urging residents...