POL 201 Week 5 DQ 2
amyjhon2013Ashford University
POL 201: American National Government
Week 5 discussion Question 2
Voting and Turnout
The U.S. has one of the lowest voter turnout rates among modern democratic political systems. One study ranks the U.S. 120th on a list of 169 nations compared on voter turnout (Pintor, Gratschew, & Sullivan, 2002). While during the last decade many initiatives have been undertaken to increase voter participation, concerns about the possibility of election fraud have also increased. Additionally, some political interests feel threatened by the increase in turnout among some traditionally low-turnout ethnic minorities.
Several states have recently passed legislation imposing new registration and identification requirements. This has sparked debate about whether these are tactics intended to suppress turnout or to prevent fraud.
In your initial post of at least 200-250 words, summarize recent developments in several states enacting voter ID laws. Explain the pros and cons on both sides of the debate about these laws. Share your own experience with the relative difficulty or ease of voting in your locale. Draw your own conclusion about the debate over voter ID laws. Finally, share your perspective about whether voting in the U.S. should be made easier or harder. Justify your conclusions with facts and persuasive reasoning.
Fully respond to all parts of the question. Write in your own words. Support your position with APA citations totwo or more different resources required for this discussion. By Day 7, respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts. Your peer responses each must be at least 75 words. They must demonstrate critical thinking (e.g., ask a relevant question about your peer’s post while explaining why your question is significant, or state a perspective that contrasts with your peer’s while explaining or justifying your position).
Reference:
Pintor, R., Gratschew, M., & Sullivan, K. (2002). Voter turnout rates from a comparative perspective. In R. Pintor & M. Gratschew (Eds.), Voter turnout since 1945: A global report. Stockholm, Sweden: The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Retrieved from http://www.idea.int/publications/vt/upload/Voter%20turnout.pdf
- 11 years ago
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