Essay Example on Public Policy: Authoritative Action to Deal With Social Problems

Introduction

Public policy is described as a course of action with a purpose, which an actor follows to deal with a problem or an issue of concern. It is the authoritative action of the government whereby the body has the legislative, political and financial authority to perform. The policy is a response to the current needs or problems being experienced in society. That is why it is goal-oriented because there are specific objectives which need to be fulfilled. Therefore, it often involves a course of action, rather than a single decision. It features a choice to either do something or do nothing.

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The public policy may be carried out by a single individual or even a set of actors. When the decision is made public, it represents a public policy, and not just a mere promise or intention (Fougere 329). A series of public policy issues challenge the United States. An example of an issue that has gained so much attention is the voting and elections procedure in the country.

The election process is often justified as an approach which offers a means for the American citizens to influence governmental decisions by choosing among the various candidates vying for office (De Vries 22). It is often assumed that the voters will affect the resulting government policy by voting for the candidates based on the promises they make and how they intend to impact public policy. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case, considering the trend in previous elections. Most candidates do not address the real issues facing voters and society at large. Additionally, there are complaints that the media fails to solve problems when covering election campaigns.

The History of Voting and Public Policy

Historically, parties have played a significant role in the electoral process by helping voters to structure their preferences during the ballot. Since modern governments faced challenges relating to policy issues both in the pre-war and post-war periods, the citizens were perceived as being incompetent when it came to gathering and processing various facts that were pertinent to the making of informed decisions when casting their votes (Ladner 413). The political parties, more so those that had long legacies and reliable support systems, tried to simplify the voting process for citizens by providing various pieces of information regarding the policy focus on the multiple candidates (Fougere 329). Aside from acting as informational cues, these parties also influenced the organizational and legislative roles.

Election candidates were recruited through a broad membership base which the parties established. They have also played a significant role in the parliamentary decision-making process and the formation of coalitions. Therefore, the political parties would bring together the members of parliament with the same mindset. Thus, the relationship between these parties and the voters was established long ago. Through this, voter behaviour was indirectly influenced by political parties.

The goal was to ensure that the choice of leader would be one who would benefit the goals of the party. The same kind of influence is still being experienced today. The parties are again playing the same role of simplifying the information for voters so that they can choose a candidate whose policy preferences seem reasonable. The voters are unable to collect data by themselves and interpret them.

Importance of the Public Policy Issue

This public policy issue deserves attention because it impacts the kind of candidates who voters settle for at that point. Before a policy issue can affect a vote decision, the citizens must have their own opinions on the subject. They must be able to perceive the differences which candidates have regarding the same problem (De Vries 24). Unfortunately, even on important issues, most voters are unable to meet these expectations. Some tend to have weak opinions on the matter that prevent them from an adequate evaluation of the candidates. In contrast, others will not be able to tell the difference between the focus of these candidates. However, when the candidates have clearly stated their differences, some voters will have strong opinions and perceptions of the individuals.

Candidates tend to target a specific group of individuals and choose issues which seem essential to them. They use this technique to enable them to win the partisans votes from the other party. That is because the candidate does not support the party's focus on policies. Unfortunately, the differences between candidates are not always stressed enough (Ladner 415). Usually, voters are offered a choice when it comes to presidential elections. Unfortunately, not many will cast their votes based on the perceived differences between candidates. Therefore, it is essential to explore this issue further before recommendations can be made.

Key Concepts, Analytical Frameworks, and Theories

The current issue of voters, elections, and public policy can be examined through the concept of political participation. The idea can be described as the activities of citizens meant to influence their political decisions. Democratic theorists oppose this perception since they believe that individuals should be allowed to make informed decisions based on actual data that they collect and analyze on their own (Fishkin 490). However, the participation view is defended through an argument which states that such political activities need to have intrinsic value. It should promote the mental wellbeing of human beings, while also focusing on the need to articulate interests and opinions.

Therefore, to analyze the public policy issue, the impact of political participation will be considered. The better the political participation, the easier it is for voters to become influenced into making decisions. On the contrary, with no political involvement, the individuals will be unable to make informed choices during votes.

Primary Sources of Information

For conducting this research process, specific primary sources will be considered. The first will feature the America Presidency Project. The project was established in 1999. It was a collaborative effort between a professor and a graduate student. It contains essential pieces of information such as the public papers of the presidents, inaugural addresses, Saturday radio addresses, and the National Political Party Platforms. It also features the documents which relate to the 2000 election dispute.

Another primary source is the C-Span Presidential Libraries: History Uncovered. It features a first-person view of the modern presidency. It uses the third person through the employees who serve around the officials. Also, the opinion of these officials has been included in the first person.

The Presidential Speech Archive is also an important primary source. A university library has cooperated with the presidential libraries to collect and store the most important speeches by the presidents. The speeches have transcripts, and some also have the full version.

The U.S. Presidential Audio Recordings is also another important source. Here, the voices of various American presidents have been captured through audio. It has preserved voices for over 100 of the historical spoken word.

Lastly, Voting and Registration Statistics will be used. It reports voting and ensures that registration by certain characteristics is collected. Therefore, voting behaviour can be tracked using this source.

Relevant Partisan Political Consideration

The relevant partisan political considerations that must be considered are described below. To ensure that the political issue is resolved, party labels should not be removed. For the partisans, the absence of labels creates confusion for voters (Fougere 325). When a voter is forced to choose from a group of candidates who he or she knows nothing about, it will be impossible to make the relevant choice. That is because the data needed to make a meaningful basis is missing.

Thus, when the party ballot is missing, the voters tend to turn to whatever cue that is available. Often, this ends up being the ethnicity which can be deduced from the candidate's name (Fishkin 493). Therefore, non-partisanship will lead to the election of officials who are more representative of the higher socioeconomic class. It does not represent the general populace and only worsens the bias that exists due to social class turnout (Fougere 328). The partisan groups help even the lower class citizens by ensuring that they can help other citizens who cannot afford it,

Major Stakeholders

The major stakeholders include the civil societies, political parties and the media. The media tends to have so much power within democracy. It is because of how it communicates to the people, thereby ensuring that news is shared as accurately as possible (De Vries 33). Therefore, the media coverage impacts the perceptions people have about the world and what they find important. Therefore, voters and politicians must all pay attention to the media. It performs several functions that are important to the democratic process. Hence, it not only reports the news but also functions as a link between the government and its people. It also sheds light on the issues that seem more pressing and in need of public attention. The people become actively involved in society and the politics experienced.

Another major stakeholder refers to civil society. A democratically elected government will only be strong if its electorate is inclusive, and the citizens are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities concerning the political process. Therefore, civic participation is important because it strengthens the civil society organizations which enhance constructive behaviour in the citizens (Ladner 418). The societies ensure that civic initiative is fostered, as well as the responsiveness and accountability from the government. Therefore, they encourage the advocacy for reforms and promote the participation of voters.

Lastly, political parties are also major stakeholders. Their roles are quite important because of how they are in control of the election process. Many others are passive in their role. Therefore, if there were no political parties, it would mean that elections would not be needed. Also, these parties determine how smooth the election process will be. Since individuals head them, the kind of behaviour showcased by the members will largely depend on the leader and the leadership style employed.

Existing Relevant Public Policies

There are a series of public policies which are relevant to the current topic. Early voting enables citizens to cast their votes in person at any polling place before an actual election. In the states where no-excuse early voting is permitted, a voter does not have to give any excuse for not being able to cast a vote on the date for election (Birch 24). Some even allow voters to cast the absentee votes beforehand just to ensure they can do it in person. For the states which allow in-person absentee voting without needing an excuse, the ballot can be cast through email or over the internet. All states allow for either one of these absentee votes. However, others need the voter to give a valid excuse for not being able to vote on the election date.

Online voter registration is a policy which sees to it that the voter fills out an online form, which is then submitted electronically to the election officials. Historically, the paper-based system is what was used to register voters. Once the document is approved, the officials would fill in the name of the voter in the registration rolls. Therefore, the online system is expected to reduce costs and improve the accessibility for citizens. Some concerns have been raised concerning the security of such systems since data breaches are quite common.

Same-day voter registration is...