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Effects Voting Elections Essay

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Politics and Governance Causes and effects of not voting in elections

Today, voting has become one of the best ways in which citizens get to know the opinions of the candidates. Voting allows the citizens to select candidates who best represent their views. In this way, the voter's future can be decided by the decisions they make when voting for their candidates. Voting is significant in that, it helps democracy to prevail as well as, if people did not vote they may be ruled by someone who would not necessarily represent them. Most people fail to vote for their candidates because they think that their vote will not make a difference. Therefore, voting may be ineffective when people fail to go and vote, hence, it is the citizens' duty to listen to the information provided by the candidates since this will enable them to decide who the best is to represent them within the country (Teixeira, 2008). In summary, this paper will discuss on the causes as well as, the effects of not voting in elections.

There are many reasons why people should vote; firstly, voting allows the citizens to demonstrate their approval or disapproval of the politicians,...

It gives legitimacy to the government along with demonstrating that people have had a chance of making themselves heard. According to surveys carried in America, the cause of not voting in elections is because people are eligible to vote, but they are not registered. Other people tend to be very busy hence they do not have time for waiting long in lines so as to vote. There is the other category of non-voters who are simply afraid of discrimination hence would rather avoid making their stand known through voting, for instance the African-American who live in the south in U.S. (Ginsberg & Shefter, 2009). These issues for many years have shed new light on the barriers to voting as well as, sources of information which influence people when they do vote.
The impacts of failure to vote are such that in countries such as in the United States, people who fail to vote have no moral right so to speak to complain. In some ways this may be true, because people are always given freedom to express their opinions in order to elect officials who will satisfy their needs. The other impact of not voting is that, people may see drastic changes if…

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References

Ginsberg, B., & Shefter, M. (2009). Politics by other means: the declining importance of elections in America. New York: Basic Books, Inc..

Teixeira, R.A. (2008). Red, blue, and purple America: the future of election demographics. London: Brookings Institution Press.
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