StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Voter Turnout in Local Election - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
Voter Turnout in Local Elections University Name Voter Turnout in Local Elections When it comes to media coverage and politics, it is no secret that national elections garner much of the attention. The Presidential election season in the United States, for example has stretched into an almost two year affair, often with non-stop coverage being granted from coast to coast…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.6% of users find it useful
Voter Turnout in Local Election
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Voter Turnout in Local Election"

Download file to see previous pages

Turnout is bad enough during the a federal election cycle, but when there are no national politics involved, that statistics get even poorer. As a result, it becomes increasingly difficult to unseat incumbents, many of whom have grown too comfortable in their position to enact meaningful change. There are other issues involved, as well, in the record low numbers of voters turning out in local elections. This paper aims to examine some of those issues, provide implications for such voter apathy should it continue, and propose possible solutions for increasing voter turnout in local elections in the future.

There is a wealth of current research looking into possible reasons that local election typically draw such abysmal voter turnout year after year. Many simply blame this on voter apathy, a frustration with current politicians and government in general, or simply on a mismanagement of the election calendar, resulting in elections in off years simply not gaining the attention that they need to in order to garner a deeper interest in local government. While the reality is that it is likely a combination of these factors that have created the problem, a solution centered on having local elections coincide with the federal cycle will likely be a quick way to improve initial voter turnout numbers.

Then, attention could be directed into getting more local involvement in government and restoring trust to the people in their own political system. To begin, let us consider the state of California. Hajinal and Lewis (2003) looked at some empirical research to determine various factors that are leading to low voter turnout in elections for various mayoral and city council races. The feeling was that something needed to be done to combat these low turnout numbers in order to have a more active and politically sensitive government.

The study revealed that many residents in various towns and cities throughout the state had lost faith in their local government, so they have ceased any type of involvement in their community political system, most of all among these local elections. As a result, many incumbents are running unchallenged and seemingly unabated in their quest for a career in local politics. Not only has this phenomenon resulted in voter apathy, as it is difficult to get excited about voting when there is only candidate running for various offices, but it has also cheapened the entire political process of local government.

The author’s of this study concluded that many local politicians who had been in office for numerous election cycles were now unmotivated to really invoked lasting change in the community, because they had no fear of being unseated. Similar to other studies, it was also uncovered that the same incumbents were supported in every campaign by the same special interest groups who could count on the local politicians to keep voting their way on various issues. It has been little wonder that many local communities simply have low turnout on voting day (Hajinal & Lewis, 2003).

This study employed a methodology whereby current voting data was triangulated with current events in an effort to determine what remedies could be found to help encourage higher numbers of voters to actually turn out and cast their vote on election day. The research findings and data led to the eventual conclusion that shifting local

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Voter Turnout in Local Election Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/geography/1492252-voter-turnout-in-local-election
(Voter Turnout in Local Election Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/geography/1492252-voter-turnout-in-local-election.
“Voter Turnout in Local Election Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/geography/1492252-voter-turnout-in-local-election.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Voter Turnout in Local Election

British General Elections

The question of political choice in Britain and voter participation and turnout in the British elections remains a matter of concern particularly considering that there has been increased abstention from voting with a decline in voter turnout in the UK.... Rallings and Thrasher point out that the electors who vote in general elections but not in local contests may be more affected by changes and commitment to local community needs and concerns would help to counter voter apathy....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Low Voter Turnout

In the paper “Low voter turnout” the author discusses voter turnout of General Elections, which fell to a historic through of 59.... voter turnout is considered to be an index that can be used to assess the state of democracy in the country concerned.... A decline in voter turnout can be considered as a decline in democracy.... political ideologies) and the meaning of the results of the election itself to the community....
9 Pages (2250 words) Assignment

Political Disengagement

voter turnout in the UK has generated a large number of debates.... In order to determine, whether this development is detrimental for democracy, it has to be ascertained whether a higher voter turnout could have bestowed… This decrease in voter turnout has generated considerable doubts regarding the very functioning of democracy. It is generally presumed that a class bias is engendered in the electoral results, due to a low voter turnout....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Low Voter Turnout in Local Elections as Compared to National Elections

From the paper "Low voter turnout in local Elections as Compared to National Elections" it is clear that current research has shown that one of the most critical reasons for lower voter turnout in local elections as compared to national elections is election timing.... nbsp;… Generally, voter turnout in local elections can be increased by scheduling the local elections at the same time as national elections, and by providing more power to local officials....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

The US Presidential Elections

The aim of voters in any election process is to appoint leaders who will model the future of their society and country at large.... In view of this fact, the participation by the people in an election process empowers them by allowing citizens to create an influence in the future policies of and by their governments.... This essay focuses on the United States Presidential election of November, 6th 2012, and sheds light on the events that surrounded the win for Democrats and loss to the Republicans....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

General Theoretical Context of Low Youth Voter Turnout

This coursework "General Theoretical Context of Low Youth voter turnout" focuses on US voter turnout that has been increasing from the previous years to the year 2012.... nbsp;… Registered citizens entitled to votes become exhausted and withdrawn from voting hence reducing their ability to vote to contribute to low voter turnout.... Voters actually know the impacts of politics on their GDP, and hence they will turn in good numbers to vote in the candidate who will not jeopardize the growth of GDP of a particular state at any election period....
14 Pages (3500 words) Coursework

Women Voting Turnout and Their Representation in Politics of the USA

This research proposal "Women Voting turnout and Their Representation in Politics of the USA" determines the reasons behind the voting turnout and how it has affected the outcomes of the elections.... The voting turnout of women between 1920 and 2008 has been higher than that of men....
15 Pages (3750 words) Research Proposal

Voter Turnout in the United States of America 2012 Elections

The author of the "voter turnout in the United States of America 2012 Elections" paper analyzes the hypothesis that states that individuals with an income of over $75,000 will have higher voter turnout levels than individuals with incomes less than $75,000.... Due to this, voter turnout in the 2012 elections varied from one state to the next due to the competitiveness of the position in question.... Election competitiveness in Minnesota was higher than the electoral competitiveness in Hawaii and according to data released by the Center for Voting and Democracy, voter turnout in Minnesota was 76% compared to the 45% in Hawaii....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us