Does this mean the percentage of all people 18 and older who vote, or the percentage of registered voters who vote?\n\nI think about the U.S. system.\nPlease, answer only if you're sure.Thanks!
122365
I believe it means the percentage of people 18 and over who are registered to vote... because not all people over 18 are eligible to register to vote or vote in general... this includes certain prisoners, or people who have certain criminal voters, or people who are not US citizens.\n\n--They have the actual number of people registered and the people who vote (so it would be easier to calculate the percentage from that)... since they can't always estimate how many people are elegible to vote (from those 18+), from the whole US population...
479855
I have voted in every election since I first registered at 18...since 1976...I have felt like the US got very dumb in the last 6 years...I hope the smarter ones come out to vote this time!
424533
i personally always vote. most non-voters don't vote because they do not like either canidate, or they are just un-informed and do not know who to vote for. most people my age ( i am 20) are not even registered because they just don't care. i dont think it is pressed on younger people as much the importance of voting. most of my friends say "why bother, i won't make a difference anyway" which sometimes is true. i live in MD which tends to be a democratic state, so if you were to vote republican it would basically be worthless. i have also found that a lot of people that don't vote complain about who has been elected. which i find humorus. because if you didnt try to change it why should you have an opinion?
438911
YES!  I know 14-year-olds who are much more politically informed that most adults.  Kids who don't care about politics would tend not to vote, just like adults who don't care.  And those who do are just as capable of making decisions as many adults.\n\nA while ago, I came across someone on Answers who proudly informed us that she'd voted for Bush in 2004 and would be voting for him again in 2008.  She was genuinely surprised to learn he was already on his 2nd term and couldn't run again.  Clearly there are plenty of uninformed voters out there already.\n\nThe "adult" voter population elected Bush.  Twice.  At a few weeks shy of 14 years old, it was already obvious to me that Bush was not going to make a good president.  Six years later, he ended up with approval ratings that rivaled those of Nixon, right before he resigned.\n\nIf 16-year-olds are old enough to drive, they should certainly be old enough to vote.  Cars are a fair bit more dangerous than ballots.\n\nThe younger kids are allowed to do something that most people don't inherently find exciting, the more likely they'll be excited to be old enough to do it.  If kids can start voting younger, they're more likely to start voting, ultimately resulting in increased voter turn out and civic participation.\n\nIf the voting age were lowered to 16, what's the worst that could happen?  We elect a lying idiot with an affinity for starting wars he can't win, who thinks he can finance that war with tax cuts for the rich, and has made every effort to set civil rights back 100 years?  Oh wait, we already did that.
503978
Excellent point!\n\nI say, now that they are not crying about disenfranchised voters and voter fraud, that the system must now be flawless, right?\n\nThe liberals have now given away their right to ever cry about voter fraud again!\n\n.
345764
In MN, they said that 56% (or 57%, can't remember exactly) of registered voters actually voted. And that is actually down just a little from the last midterm election. \n\nNation wide, I believe I heard it was 40% of registered voters.
220142
I'm going to overlook your bitterness due to the fact you sound cute.  But in answer to your question these same 30% probably have probably never voted in any election (well the majority of them anyway) so they've never thought voting was important in the first place.  The sad part is that they think that voting for some one hit wonder is a thrill so more power to them.
640757
The voting turnout is increasingly low in the Untied states, especially compared to other countries. There are many causes for this, most have to do with our democratic system.  Some people choose not to make a big deal about this, the normal responses are:  "My vote doesn't count anyway."  or "Why should I care?"  Since the United States has a calendar system for voting, there is only a part of Congress up for re-election each year.  This causes a decrease in the amount of news coverage that is already minimal.  Another cause is the decrease in the amount of publicity for political campaigns.  \n  The voting turnout in 1964 for persons over the age of 21 was 69.4%.  This percentage has steadily decreased over the years.  I believe this is extremely treacherous to our society because if only a few people are voting, our country becomes less like a democracy, instead of the masses selecting our country's leader, it is a small group of people compared to the whole of the population.  With less people voting, it can more easily lead to mass corruption in politics (even though it's a problem already), and public dissatisfaction.  \nWays to solve this problem have been tested, such as the possibility of on-line voting.  Though this is something that wouldn't be available any tI'me soon, it has already gone through it's first test run in the 2004 presidential election for select counties, and for overseas military personal.  Having mandatory voting has also been thought of, but I personally do not think our constitution would allow such a law.\nFor more information please im me, and I'll send you my term paper.
509335
Our votes are "Counted" in each state and "members" of the "electoral collage" relay the number of votes from the state they represent (or do they ?) until they are added together , and the winner is chosen - Like in the last election down in Florida - (wink-wink ) The winner has already been bought....I mean voted for ....silly me !!!!
108596
In my opinion, the majority of Americans are lazy when it comes to political issues. Start with the fact that only about 65% of registered voters ever actually vote. This doesn't include the people that don't even bother to register. \n\nI believe that a majority of people form their opinions based on sound bites on the news or other peoples opinions. Since the mainstream media is undeniably liberal, a lot of people end up with liberal views without actually learning much in the way of facts for themselves.\n\nAs a result of this, you have a lot of sheep following and believing what those who control the media want them to. It's unfortunate.
104525
The poll worker doesn't ask for nationality. The voter does have to be registered and registered in the precinct they are attempting to vote in. Any US citizen over 18 can register to vote as long as their rights have not been rescinded due to a felony conviction. I don't think that non US citizens can vote. I also don't think that there is such a thing as a undocumented resident being legal unless they are a citizen, and most of us have some form of documentation.
515244
My concern remains - what keeps someone from going poll-to-poll and "registering" several times?  I know my polling places don't have a computer link-up to a central database.  Heck - they barely got the touch-screens working.\n\nThis might not be happening right now, but can we guarantee it won't happen?\n\nBut my family is from Louisiana - if you want election fraud, we can give you a Doctoral Dissertation on the subject.
228016
omg, i never thought about that LOL.  what if the United States held an election and no one showed up?  I bet the electorial college would still elect someone even if we didn't actually vote for that person.  Wait, that happened already with Bush lol.  guess that answers that.
429543
Because it's a right for us to see who were electing. Thanks to all those who fought for our right to vote, we can decide what to do. Voting means that you can control who you're voting for in the elections and if that representative does a lousy job, you can vote him/her out. Of course, it would be better if you had a field of options not like the average race where you have between 1 and 3 at the very least.
261249
where is democracy? out of 100 voters 50% give vote in that who get majority wins.finally a winner never get total majority. they just say the word to mesmerize public.don't think that way.
199013
I think that some young people do not want to vote because they find voting being meaningless but yet, they are the ones who complain a lot about the government. I believe that if you do not vote, DO NOT Complain on what is happening where you live.
631313
Did you know that the last two Presidential elections were won by 30% of voters for 22% turnout?\n\ndon't tell me they can't vote to better their country.