What Influences Voter Turnout? - Essay Sample

Introduction

The decline of the voter turnout across the globe has drawn much attention in several countries. The reasons why people turn out to cast votes are still in question for a few individuals. The low voter turnout in most countries implies that most citizens have become less interested in political matters as the body of democratic representation. Voter turnout varies from one country to another and different factors in each country influences voter turnout. These factors include competitiveness in the election, voting laws and the demographic factors like age, race, and gender among others. This paper analyses the socio-economic, political and other variables that affect the voter turnout in most countries in the world and the need to educate the community on why people should vote.

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Individuals desire to turn out and cast a vote is associated with the socioeconomic status. The voter turnout is associated with different socioeconomic differences in various countries. In economically advanced countries, voter turnout is higher than the poorest countries (Blais 112). Voter being unhappy with deterioration level in employment makes them turn out to cast their votes. Also, the perception by the voters that the economy in the following years would do better makes the turn out to vote. Wealthy voters in the American election of 2012, turned out in large numbers as compared to the poor voters (Jacoby n.p.).

Demographic factors like age, race, and gender also affect voter turnout in most countries. There is always low voter turnout in the young voters due to lack of interest (Burden and Neiheisel 77). Most countries have lowered the legal voting age hence lowering the voter turnout as the young voters have little social connectedness, and most of them are uninformed (Garcca Bedolla and Michelson 254). On the other hand, people of very old age have lost their cognitive capacities, and some are affected by illness hence most of them don't turn out to cast votes. This implies that in countries where voting age changed from 21 to 18, voter turnout declined by three percent (Blais 116). Citizens of 30 years and above turn out to cast votes in large numbers as compared to voters of between the age of 18 and 29 (Geys 637). This is due to lack of responsibility and lack of party loyalty by young voters. As the youth grow older and have families, their sense of responsibility increases. Hence, they see the need to turn out and cast votes for the better tomorrow.

Race and ethnicity also affect the voter turnout. In the American election of 2012, most voters had different feelings about the candidates to cast votes for. The voter turnout among the whites and the blacks was 64.1% and 66.2% respectively (Jacoby n.p.). This was the first presidential election the blacks exceeded the white in the voter turnout.

Women in most countries surpass then men in voter turnout. In United States election 2012, 7.8% more women turned out to cast votes than men (Burden and Neiheisel 81). Most women understand their rights including the right to vote hence don't take it for granted. More women participate in elections than men. However, for both genders, the greater turnout is at the age of above 30 years. The gender difference also holds for all races and ethnicities (Garcca Bedolla and Michelson 255.

The voting laws and the accessibility to the polling station also affect the voter turnout. When voting laws oblige every voter to vote, there is a very high rate of voter turnout. The voter turnout varies with the requirements the country demands from the voters (Agranov et al. n.p.). If the registration requirements incur additional burden on the voters, such as time and other financial it may lead to low voter turnout in most countries. Also, the voting arrangements may lead to low voter turnout (Jacoby n.p.). For instance, if the election was taking place on working days and the distance to the polling station is far.

Education also affects the voter turnout across the globe. Higher levels of education in most developed countries increase the voter turnout. This is due to the increased interest in politics by most students in the higher institutions and the political discussions among the students (Moral 935). The level of education in a certain countries helps the youth exercise the duties and characteristics learned in school. The educated youths have an impact on their family members to come out and cast their votes through socialization and exposure in the college (Sondheimer and Green 174).

Political factors are other effects that influence voter turnout. The voters will turn out to cast their votes in large numbers if they know that their votes will have an impact on the election. The political issues at stake will make more people turn out and vote. The degree to which the political party will solve the specific problem will make more people turn out and elect the best representative to address their issues.

Conclusion

Voter turnout shows how citizens participate in the political processes of a country. The average decline in the voter turnout globally has shown how several individuals have no concern over their democratic rights and the governance of their country. The government has the responsibility of improving voter turnout in each country worldwide.

Works Cited

ADDIN Mendeley Bibliography CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Agranov, Marina, et al. "What Makes Voters Turn Out: The Effects of Polls and Beliefs." Journal of the European Economic Association, 2017, doi:10.1093/jeea/jvx023.

Blais, Andre. "What Affects Voter Turnout?" Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 9, no. 1, 2006, pp. 111-25, doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.9.070204.105121.

Burden, Barry C., and Jacob R. Neiheisel. "Election Administration and the Pure Effect of Voter Registration on Turnout." Political Research Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 1, 2013, pp. 77-90, doi:10.1177/1065912911430671.

Garcca Bedolla, Lisa, and Melissa R. Michelson. "What Do Voters Need to Know?: Testing the Role of Cognitive Information in Asian American Voter Mobilization." American Politics Research, vol. 37, no. 2, 2009, pp. 254-74, doi:10.1177/1532673X08320844.

Geys, Benny. "Explaining Voter Turnout: A Review of Aggregate-Level Research." Electoral Studies, vol. 25, no. 4, 2006, pp. 637-63, doi:10.1016/j.electstud.2005.09.002.

Jacoby, William G. "The American Voter." The Oxford Handbook of American Elections and Political Behavior, 2010, doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199235476.003.0015.

Moral, Mert. "The Bipolar Voter: On the Effects of Actual and Perceived Party Polarization on Voter Turnout in European Multiparty Democracies." Political Behavior, vol. 39, no. 4, 2017, pp. 935-65, doi:10.1007/s11109-016-9386-0.

Sondheimer, Rachel Milstein, and Donald P. Green. "Using Experiments to Estimate the Effects of Education on Voter Turnout." American Journal of Political Science, vol. 54, no. 1, Jan. 2010, pp. 174-89, doi:10.1111/j.1540-5907.2009.00425.x.