Percentage Participation In The Election Process example essay topic

Mixed Media Culture Following the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Ben Franklin was asked what kind of government the country now had; "a republic, if you can keep it". Franklin's concerns at that time was that we might turn to a monarchy on the basis that this was the kind of government familiar to most people in the new world. Now, many years later, we should be concerned about the same issue, but rather than a "real" monarchy, comprised of an individual or a family ruling the country, we are faced with the prospect of money being the King and those with money controlling government and society. We have seen government fall to the whims of money and special interest groups, more in the last decade than before. There are laws on the books to control the influence peddling in Washington and other communities, but these laws are not being enforced.

Pressure and influence by unions, large business groups and other large organizations has been common place for years, but in the recent past, we have seen influence from individuals, many with less than acceptable standards, accepted by the size of their campaign contributions to individuals or to a specific party. The average American has to wonder today whose interest is being served by their representatives. The idea of a government for the people can and should be questioned, until we can put controls on those with money and the manner in which they are allowed to spend money to influence elections and policies. When we see polls indicating that nearly two thirds of the participants question the integrity of the government, we need to look seriously at what changes need to be made. We need to develop a system that is less influenced about the need to raise large sums of money and get the politicians more focused on the needs and values of society. Some of the measures being considered include: better enforcement of laws currently on the books, restrictions on a candidate raising large sums of money, if he elects public funds for his campaign, closing the loopholes associated with soft-money contributions from unions, business groups and others, and encourage voluntary limits on campaign spending.

Obviously, we did not get in this position overnight and this issue is not something that will be solved without a sweeping change through the government structure. Another issue impacting the political process today is the lack of participation by registered voters and maybe the need to increase the number of registered voters. If we can devise a way to fix or improve the issues associated with the financial issues in the political process, those same two thirds of the polls suggesting a lack of integrity in the political process may be some of the same people willing to vote, who today do not participate in the process. We see less than fifty percent participation in most national elections today. This number is consistent with numbers seen in presidential elections; in off year or local elections, the numbers are much smaller. As a whole, we have an overall better educated electorate, but young people today do not have a stake or interest in national politics, like their parents did in the 60's and 70's.

In short, they simply do not participate in the process. Unlike the seventy's when issues like the draft and Viet Nam brought large numbers of young people to the polls, we do not have this kind of influence today. On the other hand, middle age and older groups are influenced by issues like retirement, Medicare and health care in general; thus becoming segments of society that create interest to candidates at all levels. In addition to the issues of lack of interest to the young and the limited participation in general, one popular belief on why people do not vote is that they are satisfied with the status quo.

Whether it is satisfaction or a simple belief that a single vote is not important is difficult to determine, but whether at the local or national level, a minority of the voters are making decisions for a majority of Americans. Non-voters today are found primarily in the young and uneducated people. Again, a primary issue or concern here is that of interests and a belief that their votes do not count. Voters are found in the educated and older segments of American society. Again, a popular belief here is that these people have a stronger stake in the outcome of election results. Some of the issues considered to increase voter participation include: compulsory participation, moving election day to Saturday, making election day a holiday and proportional representation.

We have seen countries like Australia make voter participation compulsory and their percentage of participation stays at ninety percent higher. Whether we can make this process work in America is problematic on the basis that many Americans would object to anyone telling them that they have to vote. Moving Election Day to Saturday seems to be a simple fix on the basis that using the first Tuesday of November was simply an arbitrary decision in 1872. The primary reason Saturday was not considered in 1872 was the fact that most people worked six days a week then, including Saturday. Basically, the second Tuesday of November was as good as any day of the week. Would Saturday voting today give more people more time to vote?

When you look at most people's schedules today, even though many do not work, they do not have unlimited free time on Saturday either. Making Election Day a holiday is a popular thought today and if we made this change, we probably should also look at moving Election Day to the second Tuesday of November and couple the holiday with Veterans Day. Maybe an effort to tie the right to vote to the sacrifice of those who fought to preserve our rights would raise the percentage participation in the election process. Finally, some people believe moving to a proportional representation process may increase participation on the basis that it would defuse the "winner take all" philosophy we have to day. This change would be a sharp change to our current system and certainly much more difficult to get passed in the existing structures of society. Finally, we have to consider how society as a whole is presented with options related to the election process.

If you ask many voters today, you may find a majority believes that we are greatly influenced more by the medium presenting the message than by the message itself. However, the use of television has only been in existence for fifty years and in this time, only two national politicians, John Kennedy and Ronald Regan have been the masters of using this medium. For most involved on the political fronts, their message has been the focal point of their campaigns. We see a rapid change in the culture of the news. A large part of this change is associated with the expanded capabilities of news organizations and the race to be first with a story. CNN made a great leap in this area with on site reporting in the Gulf War and you see this same attitude in reports today.

As a result of the competition to be first, there has been a drop in the confidence level of reporting on the basis that stories are often reported before adequate research has been completed to confirm the accuracy of the information. Take the Florida election results in 2000, many news organizations were embarrassed from their initial results and calling of the election and even today, they continue efforts to support their initial reports. In the beginning, the founders considered news reporting to be just that, reporting on events that had transpired and to report the results of what had happened. However, today, the press continues t believe in the people's right to know, but take the position that they have a right to know information, based on the reporters or news organization's interpretation of the events or the story. The use of the "spin" or "spinning" is the method of how news organizations or even individual candidates or their parties use to put their ideas across to the public. The spin is similar to floating a balloon, put the idea out and see how it is received.

Putting the idea out can be a national release or limited to a smaller more localized group; you see how it is received and maybe you alter the spin for a second or even third release to see if there are changes in acceptance or results. We see a sharp contrast today in the journalism of assertion, less interest in substantiating whether something is true, vs. traditional news values, where reporters were more interested in verification, proportion, and relevance before getting a report to the public. Today, we are faced with the "Mixed Media Culture" where: the never ending news cycle makes journalism less complete, sources are gaining power over journalists, there are no more gatekeepers, arguments are overwhelming reporting and a blockbuster mentality, everyone is looking for the large story. Is it no wonder that we see the limited numbers participating in the election process?