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Test What You Have Learned |
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Instructions: Read the essay that you will be editing for grammar
mistakes, and choose the format for your final draft.
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Voting to elect public officials
is one of the most invaluable right available to a citizen in
a democratic society. The act of expressing a preference for
certain candidates enable individuals to exercise their collective
power in electing representatives who truly stand for their
interests. Through voting, people realize the basic principles
of democracy and establish a government of the people, by the
people and for the people. In countries where voting is a compulsory
duty of every citizen, voter turnout is between 70% and 90%.
In addition, voter turnout in the U.S. is only 50%. That is
because U.S. government not only does not require people to
vote but also it places a number of restrictions on voter eligibility.
Unlike in other western democracies, registering to vote is
not easy in the U.S. To make matters worse, elections are made
on a Tuesday, which is a workday for most Americans. Unless
these known causes of low voter turnout are dealt with, citizens
of the U.S. will not be truly represented by their elected leaders.
Voter registration is one of the obstacles a voter have to overcome
in order to vote. An eligible voter cannot vote without first
registering. This places an added burden on eligible voters
because those who forget or failed to register are unable to
cast their votes. Studies have shown that voter turnout start
to decline after registration was instituted. Interestingly,
the U.S. is not the only democracy that has a registration requirement;
other western countries also require voters to register. The
different is, in countries with higher voter turnout, registering
voters is the responsibility of the government, whereas in the
U.S. it is the individual's responsablity. Also, the time and
locations of registration are not well publicized, and many
people do not know when and where to register. In addition registration
laws in the U.S. are established by state governments, and some
states have laws that make difficult for citizens to qualify
because they have to prove eligibility by having lived at a
certain location for a certain length of time, usually between
30 and 50 days. It is obvious that the voter registration system
in the U.S. is outdated, it is in need of a major overhaul.
Elections in the U.S. take place on a tuesday. This is when
citizens elect a president who will hold the highest public
office, as well as a number of senators, House representatives
and other public officials. Yet, this important day of exercising
a vital democracy right falls on a workday, and as a result,
there are many Americans who are unable to leave work to cast
their ballot. Many other democracies that encourage people to
vote by designating a national holiday for elections or by doing
elections on weekends have a very high voter turnout. In the
U.S., the difficulty of registering to vote, added to the fact
that major elections are held on a workday, refuses many people
from voting. To increase voter turnout, the U.S. government
should do the same as other western democracies and give people
a holiday on which they can cast their votes at leisure.
Clearly, a 50% voter turnout shows a democracy in crisis. It
means that half the population of the country have no say in
the government. Government that represents less than 50% of
the people cannot be called a government of the people. Instead
of the various state laws regarding voter registration; some
of which are unnecessarily complicated, there should be an effective
system of automatic nationwide voter registration. Also, a holiday
should be set aside to major elections so that voters wouldn't
have to choose between voting and staying at work
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Edit the essay as a Word document and attach it to an email:
You can edit the essay in Microsoft Word and then save it as
a document (e.g. voteressay.doc). You can print this document
or attach it to an email. Editing your work is much easier if
you prepare it this way.
To work on the
essay as a Word document, click here.
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Edit the essay online and print it:
You can prepare the essay on our website and then print it.
After you print it, you may wish to take it to the Center and
show it to an instructor. Or you may wish to take the printed
copy directly to your professor.
To work on the
essay and immediately print it, click here.
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