Category: Uncategorized

Election day in the United States typically falls on a Tuesday in the middle of the day. For such a large country which is supposed to be dedicated to the democratic process and representing all citizens, why not hold the elections at a more convenient time?

Every year, thousands of Americans are not counted in the electoral process. Some choose to abstain from voting, while many others are simply unable to vote, and the inconvenient times at which voting is available is part of the problem.

According to Why Tuesday? a nonprofit which is hoping to change the timing of election day, Tuesday was picked in 1845 because it was most convenient for farmers. Farmers needed, “a day to travel to the polls, a day to vote, and a day to get back — all without interfering with religious rituals or ‘market day,'” (Marketplace). While this system may have been convenient back then, times have certainly changed.

There have been efforts to get election day recognized as a federal holiday, or move the voting process to Veterans Day which is already a designated holiday. Many fighting for this change believe it will result in greater voter turnout. However, the process to create a new federal holiday is challenging and involves a lot of moving pieces.

Businesses are a top concern for those pushing back on creating an election day holiday, as creating a new holiday would mean extra vacation time for employees mandated by the government. Some believe that this new holiday would cost businesses too much in productivity and profit.

However, with a shift in attitude towards the five day work week on the rise and the growing sentiment that more time at work does not necessarily mean more work done, I don’t believe this will be as large of a hit to businesses’ bottom lines as some may believe.

A shift to a more convenient time would allow for more people to be represented, especially some of the hardest working Americans unable to take time away from their jobs to vote. Citizens with responsibilities such as school, work, or family matters (children, older relatives, etc.) do not have the ability to make their voices heard under the current circumstances. Fortunately there are many congressional petitions and citizen led petitions which are hoping to make change and have everyone’s voice heard.

We are all aware that the United States’ election system is unique compared to others across the world. There are a lot of outside influences on elections (some which we have discussed such as lobbying) but perhaps none more sinister and divisive than gerrymandering.

The redwaing of voting boundaries is not new, and is a once a decade process that, since 1941, has happened after the census at the beginning of each new decade (Congressional Research Service). However, this process has been corrupted by political parties in the attempt to gain unfair advantages and swing elections. In 2019, the supreme court ruled that gerrymandering for party advantage cannot be challenged in court, which according to the Brennan Center for Justice, “has set the stage for perhaps the most ominous round of map drawing in the country’s history.”

So why is gerrymandering so detrimental to our democracy?

Gerrymandering reverses the voting process. Instead of voters picking their politicians to represent them, politicians are now picking their voters. Redistricting is meant to create a fair and better picture of the American population, but now it is used to select the population that will help the interests of a political party.

So what is being done in order to stop or at least slow down the gerrymandering and its effects?

Well, unfortunately we cannot make changes significant enough to stop gerrymandering with our current setup. However, all hope is not lost. There are various groups with large social media campaigns such as EndGerrymandering.com that hope to bring more attention to the issue and rally support.

There is also the possibility of creating whole new government entities in charge of redistrcting, which would be free from political motivation and focus on the original ideas of redistricting: maintaining a fair and balanced election which is representative of the entire population.

Another possible solution is to have a bipartisan redistricting, where leaders and representatives of both political parties come to a consesnsus on how maps should be redrawn.

Either solution is viable, but there is one thing for sure: gerrymandering needs to be put to an end as soon as possible. Gerrymandering reverses the democratic process, essentially nulls voters in certain districts, and is overall a detrimental practice which is allowed in our nation only through incompetence.

Hopefully soon, this article will no longer be relevant, until then, keep fighting.

Lobbying is an interest facet of politics, because while flat out bribery is not allowed, our country allows bribery’s cousin to slip by with no issues: lobbying.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica lobbying is “any attempt by individuals or private interest groups to influence the decisions of government”. Lobbying involves huge sums of money being “donated” to politicians to help them run their campaigns and fund election efforts. In return, politicians will allow for policies that are in the interest of large corporations or wealthy individuals who lobbied to keep the “donations” flooding in.

Lobbying is a threat to true democracy and yet barely ever gets the attention it deserves. It is assumed by the voting public that elections determine which policies get put through and which don’t make the cut. Unfortunately, this is far from the much harsher reality that lobbying has most of the influence on politicians and policies. In 2014 Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens conducted a study based on twenty years of Congress policymaking and found that the average US citizens exerts little to no influence, “The chances of a policy passing Congress was basically unaffected by how many or how few of the public supported it” (Second Rate Democracy).

The evidence that policies are now being made for the wealthy rather than the average citizen is apparent when you take a look at business tax rates in the past several years, “Since the 1950s, the share of federal revenue brought in by the corporate income tax has plummeted from 26.6 percent to 6.1 percent” (Second Rate Democracy). It is ridiculous to think that a policy for cutting business taxes will get seen and passed first before a policy on raising the federal minimum wage gets passed.

So what can we do in order for the problem of lobbying to get fixed?

Public financing of campaigns is one option, in which private institutions would be barred from donating too much to politicians. However, wealthy individuals would still have majority influence in these instances. While there has been legislation in the past to try and decrease the influence which lobbying efforts have, they have been overall ineffective. Lobbying may be a problem which we cannot get rid of, as politicians need funds for their campaigns, and wealthy individuals will always try to gain influence in the political realm.

For now, all we can do is hope that the money falls into the hands of the right cause.

The United States has a lot of weird rules and ways which we go about electing our politicians. When we step into the voting booth, we are looking for someone who will represent both our needs, and the needs of our community, but what happens when a portion of your community can’t vote? Is this true democracy anymore?

Voting is a priviledge which many of us today take for granted. Unless you were born white, affluent, and male, then your right to vote was earned through the many civil rights movements throughout American history. Thus, we should not take this right for granted, as even today this right is not gaurenteed.

One group which is still not allowed to vote in some states is former felons who have been released after seving their time. Given that the justice system and prison-industrial complex in America are incredibly corrupt (topics which could have a civic blog of its own), this fact mainly hurts minority citizens. Overall, a whoping two percent of the American population will be ineligible to vote because of this reason according to the Sentencing Project. Why should someone who has done their time, and become a reformed member of society still be banned from practicing their civic duty?

Fortunately, some state are making changes which would expand voting rights to former felons. Maine, Vermont, and Washington D.C. are the only three districts in the country in which felons do not lose their right to vote at all. In many states, felons can earn their voting rights after carrying out their sentences, but some of these policies are still set up to prevent people from voting. For example, Florida passed a bill in 2018 which would allow for most former felons to vote again (besides murderers and those who commited sex crimes). However, not too long after Republican lawmakers passed a bill requiring these former felons to complete every part of their sentences including paying court fines and fees. This directly impacts the poorest of Floridians who became involved in criminal activities, and even today the Sentencing Project estimates there are 934,500 former felons who still cannot vote because of this bill.

Voting is essential to our democracy, and restricting who gets to have a say in how their community and nation is shaped, is taking away from the freedoms which come with being an American citizen.

Welcome, to the first-ever post on my civic issues blog. The main focus of this blog will be the American election system and the many kinks which need to be worked out. For today’s topic, we will look at the two-party system in America and how voters turn a blind eye to third-party candidates.

American voters typically identify themselves as either a Republican or a Democrat, the two dominant political parties in America. However, these are not the only parties which voters can support during election cycles, there are various independant candidates and third-parties with beliefs which have beliefs that pick from both democrats and republicans.

The libertarian party supports free choice for citizens in just about every facet of life so long as you aren’t hurting others. A tagline which became associated with the party and represents their do as you please attitude was “I want gay married couples to protect their marijuana plants with guns”.

The green party is focused on ecological policies and protecting the environment. Their website states that the four pillars of the party are: “Peace and Non-Violence, Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, and Social Justice”.

There are many other independant candidates which run every year for office and other political parties and ideologies which may suit voters’ needs. However, many protest that a vote for a third party is “throwing away your vote”, this is simply untrue. Throwing away your vote is typically what many undecided voters do every year, voting for the lesser of two evils between the republican and democratic candidates, rather than picking someone which actually represents their values. This binary system also causes voters to support and identify with policy which they don’t agree with, just becasue their party or candidate supports it (look how Trump drastically changed the views of the republican party after first being an outcast).

A vote for a third party candidate can also go a long way for the future, because if a third party recieves at least five percent of the vote, the party will recieve public funds for the next election. Millions of dollars can be directed towards new candidates and ideas, leading to more publicity and accessability for the next election cycle.

Whoever you vote for, you should make your vote count. If a democrat or republican catches your eye, vote for them. However, if neither candidate interests you, a vote for a third party might be a good idea.