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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 It is obvious that the voter registration system in the U.S. is outdated, it is in need of a major overhaul.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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