Ending Voter Apathy | Teen Ink

Ending Voter Apathy MAG

By Anonymous

I strongly agree with “Ending Voter Apathy” by Erica G. It exposes the basic problem with the American political system: apathy. The statistics she cited are embarrassing: “The U.S. maintains a measly 48.3 percent [voter] turnout rate over the past 60 years.”

She did an excellent job laying out the problem. However, I feel that the consequences are even more serious than she suggests. As a result of the lack of concern by Americans, the political parties can sway elections merely through clever advertising. Since there are so few voters, a campaign can succeed by not dealing with the issues. Ads focus on the hot – and often less important – issues. This works because big blocks of voters sometimes come from activists who are very passionate about a fringe issue. The end result is that a candidate can be elected without having to deal with the larger issues.


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March said...
on Mar. 4 2010 at 6:12 pm
I stumbled upon this article while researching "Voter Apathy" and having spent days reading on this issue, this article floored me. Why? I'm presuming that it was written by either a teen or someone fairly young by my perspective and it couldn't have more succinctly addressed the consequences of "voter apathy." By the way, I'm 52.

"the consequences are even more serious than she suggests. As a result of the lack of concern by Americans, the political parties can sway elections merely through clever advertising. Since there are so few voters, a campaign can succeed by not dealing with the issues. Ads focus on the hot – and often less important – issues. This works because big blocks of voters sometimes come from activists who are very passionate about a fringe issue. The end result is that a candidate can be elected without having to deal with the larger issues."

This is precisely how I perceive the current political process and was overjoyed to know that some of you, get it! It's my contention that most of us, when pressed on issues do care yet we voluntarily withdraw from the process for a variety of reasons only to leave a handful of individuals to decide our fate.

Those of you who do not take the time to understand the ramifications of your abdication, in a sense, lose every right to complain about the outcome later.

Nice article Adrianna!