The Issue Of Low Voter Turnout In America

It is not hard to complain about what is going on in our society and what is “wrong” with our government, but if you are an eligible voter who can cast a ballot in an election, and you chose not too, you have no right to complain. Low voter turnout is a prevalent issue nationwide, and it seems as though Houstonians have been affected by this as well. The 2018 United States General elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. The voter turnout was historic. “Harris County surpasses presidential year turnout”, an article written by the Houston Chronicle’s Jasper Scherer, describes how Harris County “set a new benchmark for midterm elections”.

For Harris County as a whole, according to Harrisvotes. com Canvass Report for the November 6, 2018 General and Special Elections, the total number of voters was 1,219,871 of 2,307,654, which is equivalent to 52. 86%. The precincts reporting was 1,012 of 1,012, or 100. 00%. On the other hand, according to Harrisvotes. com Cumulative Report for the November 6, 2018 General and Special Elections, the total number of votes was 1,207,754. More specifically, Republican Ted Cruz received 498,902 votes, Democrat Beto O’Rourke received 700,200 votes, and Libertarian Neal M. Dikeman received 8,652 votes. To be more specific, Ted Cruz received 44,267 (45. 72%) Absentee votes, 318,106 (41. 79%) Early votes, 136,529 (39. 04%) Election votes, and 498,902 (41. 31%) votes total. Contrarily, Beto O’Rourke received 52,094 (53. 80%) Absentee votes, 438,963 (57. 67%) Early votes, 209,143 (59. 80%) Election votes, and 700,200 (57. 98%) votes total. In Harris County’s precinct 5, where I reside, the total number of votes for United States Senator was 1,128. More specifically, in my precinct, precinct 5, Beto O’Rourke received 818 votes, while Republican Ted Cruz received 291 votes. Specifically, in precinct 5, 785 Early Ballots were cast, 346 Election Ballots were cast, 1,131 total ballots were cast, there were 1,522 Registered voters, and the percent turnout was 74. 31%. In regards to the race for U. S. Senate, Beto O’Rourke got more votes county-wide, and Beto O’Rourke got more votes in my neighborhood as well. In terms of turnout and partisan balance, my neighborhood compares to the rest of the county in the sense that we adhered firmly to the county’s political party. As previously mentioned, in Harris County, Beto O’Rourke received the majority of the votes in this election, and in my precinct Beto O’Rourke received the majority of the votes, so my precinct is not an outlier. In regards to turnout, precinct 5 had a 74. 31% turnout, which I would consider healthy, and not absurd when compared to the percent turnouts for the rest of Harris County’s precincts.

In my opinion, Beto O’Rourke received more votes county-wide because of his successful campaigning in Harris County and how hard he worked to ensure Texan’s vote. For the most part, Beto O’Rourke came off as honest, enthusiastic, and hopeful. He even visited 8 Harris County polling places for the start of early voting and he visited the Harris County jail, so naturally Harris County’s citizens became familiar with his face and beliefs, which contributed to him receiving more votes in that county. The decline in voter turnout can be accredited to numerous factors. In order to increase the number of citizens who participate in elections, I believe politicians should “advertise” the importance of voting on social media. One of the reasons citizens do not vote is because they believe that their vote does not count. Where that misconception derives from, I do not know, but I do know that is a false statement. Citizens have to genuinely believe their votes count. A citizen may find it hard to believe those words being uttered from a politicians mouth, as politicians have a reputation for being dishonest and sweet-talking voters, therefore, I believe politicians should seek out youth ambassadors who will spread that message for them. According to The New York Times, young people have the lowest turnout and are greatly under represented at the polls. In this day and age, young people are glued to their devices and addicted to social media. Data gathered by Statista, concluded that 16-24 year olds are the most active social media users worldwide. If this age group is on social media majority of the time, why not have positive messages on their feed in regards to voting? If a relevant artist or influencer were to promote voting, an impressionable young adult may be convinced to go vote, simply because the influencer suggested it. In psychological terms, this is called celebrity worship syndrome.

The concept of using celebrity endorsements and influencer branding to market products has been commonly used throughout history. However, many celebrities and influencers refrain from endorsing politicians because of their public image and following. If powerful influencers and celebrities were to talk about political issues, such as voter turnout, we may see a substantial increase in voter turnout. These endorsements may increase voter turnout because a citizen may be driven to vote because a celebrity they’re familiar with suggested it. The citizen may have admiration for the celebrity, so when they see the celebrity authentically talking about voting and elections, emotions may arouse. These emotions will most likely drive the citizen to vote, as our emotions do take part in most of our decisions. A study in Taiwan found that consumers were more likely to remember a product if a celebrity endorsed it, regardless if the consumer liked the celebrity or not. Furthermore, according to a study conducted by the University of Arkansas and Manchester Business, celebrity endorsements resonated most with consumers in the 18-24 age range. Although we are not discussing consumers, but voters, this information is still relevant because the 18-24 age bracket is young voters, which make up a large part of registered voters who are not voting. All in all, I believe having celebrities and influencers speak honestly and factually about voting on their social media platforms can increase voter turnout amongst the youth. Voting is a privilege that our forefathers and many heroic individuals have fought for.

We should exercise that right to its fullest extent. If low voter turnout continues to occur, an individual of power within the government may consider proposing adopting compulsory voting, similar to how Australian is doing it. Paying citizens to vote does seem a bit unethical, therefore I would shy away from that idea, as it may make the votes partial and an individual may vote for a candidate for no reason at all, instead of voting for them because they agree with their beliefs. In addition, the government would have to find a way to pay voters for voting, meaning they may raise taxes, which no citizen would be enthusiastic about.