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I think that voter turnout were caused by the lazynes and lack of knowledge about politics. I think that all people should use their right to vote because voting is easiest way to effect your countrys' future.

School system should educate more about politics. I think that USA election vote turnouts were partly caused by not that good candidates.

If you run for office you should be really into politics and urge to make the world better place. Sadly not all politicians agenda is not make the world better place, instead I think that their motives is running their own benefits.

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I believe that the 33.1% of the voter population did not exercise their right to vote. Various reasons may come to mind --apathy towards politics, lack of accessibility to vote, and more.

I personally think that the majority of the people who didn't vote were just uninterested in politics or they did not know who to vote in the first place. Since people could mail in their votes due to the coronavirus, I do think everyone is given an opportunity to vote.

I think that it's important that everyone should exercise their right to vote. I also think that in order to encourage them to do so, politics should be emphasized as something that is really important in our day-to-day lives and that it is something that could affect us -- both negatively and positively. If they see politics as a system that they could contribute or influence to, for sure the majority would engage in politics and would exercise their right to vote.

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Manuel Soriano, Bolivia
Well, I don’t have a very solid opinion about the elections in the US, because, as I don’t live there, I can’t live their reality, and I can’t have an objective opinion. Despite that, I am happy that Biden, and the democrats in general won the election. Even though I think Trump is better for the economy and the country itself, I think Biden is much more conscious about the planet in general, talking about ambiental issues much more than Trump, and making better relations with other countries. Plus, I really admire Kamala, the vicepresident.

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I think that one of the main reasons that many people in the United States do not vote is the electoral college. Many states will practically always vote one way, so Americans in those states do not feel that their vote has any impact on the election. Another reason many do not vote is they do not like either candidate in the election, and do not feel motivated to choose between two people they dislike. Finally, there is also rampant voter suppression which pulls many voters of the registry or physically makes it very difficult for people to reach polling stations to vote. I do not think counties should force people to vote, but I think all democratic nations have an obligation to make voting as easy and simple as possible

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Hi everyone! I think there are quite a few reasons that may explain the low voter turnout.
Firstly, it may point to a general lack of faith in the transparency of the political system- if the citizens think the system is rigged and corrupt, their views will never truly be represented.

Secondly,  there may be a lack of awareness/education among the general public, or they don't feel like they can identify with any of the candidates which is often the case in countries that follow a two-party system due to the limited options. In the recent US elections for example, it was evident from online discourse that many did not particularly identify with either of the candidates. In such a scenario, it is still important to vote for what one considers the lesser of two evils. Electing a candidate is not the end of the process, it is about choosing someone who will help aid the ongoing fight to reach one's ideal vision of the country.

Third: I think another factor may be that people are confused about the process of voting itself. Since every state has its own ID requirements and deadlines, the lack of uniformity may overwhelm citizens.

With reforms that have been known to work, such as such as automatic voter registration and early voting, there is hope to increase awareness among citizens and increase the voter turnout. I feel that social media has gotten the youth especially more involved in the political sphere as we are now exposed to all sorts of opinions and current affairs, which could indicate a more pronounced political presence in the years to come when today's youth is of  voting age.

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If people don't vote to choose a leader, then it shows the public belief that the candidates are so similar to each other (or one controls the other), that there will be no difference if they'd vote for one or the other.

What an interesting situation.

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Hi everyone!
I suppose that the remaining 33.1% of the population that did not exercise the vote, may be because they are not sure for whom to vote or they really did not want to do so, since I believe they are not obliged to do so. They may also feel the same way about voting because they think it won't matter or because they are millions of people and one less vote won't affect anything. Another factor may be that the people who did not vote are not as interested in politics. So that people focus on politics and want to run is good, considering that what they are going to do is for the common good and not just for their benefit, for their popularity or to make more money, they should do it because they want to help the people of their nation, to make a change and get better every time.

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Hi everyone!
As you all know, America just had a crucial election last week, finally putting some sort of pause to the horror of this year. Though the election was widely regarded as one of the most important in our country's history, roughly two-thirds of the population voted. I was extremely surprised by this statistic because, although I am unable to vote, I understood the significance of this election. Given the outcome of the election in 2016 and the terrible turn of events this year, I would have expected a higher turn out and more people coming to the polls.
One way that we, as a country, could possibly change this result is to begin educating people on how to vote and the importance of doing so. If we were to instruct how to vote in an easy way, voting could become less tedious and more people would be capable of completing it.
A major role in the election is the Electoral College. For those of you who don't know what this is, there is a point system rewarded to states based on population and the first candidate to reach 270 votes wins the presidency. Candidates gain points by winning states and the numbers range from 55 (California) to 3 (Alaska, Delaware, District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, , Vermont, and Wyoming). A great portion of the controversy surrounding the Electoral College comes from the 2016 election. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote (votes from the citizens) by 2.1%, nearly 3 million votes. You may be wondering, "Whoa, then why isn't Clinton president.?" This is because although Clinton handily won the popular vote, Donald Trump beat her with 304 electoral votes to 227. There are several discrepancies with the Electoral College and how many votes each state has. For example, one electoral vote in Wyoming accounts for 193,000 people, while in Texas it accounts for over 700,000. Another problem it has is that it causes many people to believe that there votes do not matter. For example, the last time Massachusetts went red/voted primarily Republican in a presidential election was in 1984. Because of Massachusetts's left-leaning history, many Democrats decide not to vote because they believe it doesn't matter since the turnout will be in their favor. If the election were to depend on popular vote, however, everyone would know that their vote matters. Because of these discrepancies, I believe that the Electoral College should be abolished and the candidate should be decided by popular vote because it makes more sense and if more fair.

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Hawraa k, Lebanon, Tyre
Hello guys!

It is significant to ask ourselves "why doesn't everyone vote?" The major factor that push most people not to vote is that political situation is not a thing that they are interested in, as long as they have what they need. In addition, we have prevailing parties that they control the elections. Therefore, some people feel that they don't need to vote, because they already know that this parties will dominate the elections and be the president no matter who voted or not. On the other hand, there are people who care about politics, due to the fact that they think that this will affect them positively in the future and make a difference. At the end, i want to let you know that in our country, election is available for any person who is older than 20 years and has a great reputation to be the minister. Also for voting, you should be 18 years and above.

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Hello everybody! I am so eager to read all of your responses!

I find it disappointing to know that only 66.9% of voters voted in this election, but that this is a relatively high percentage. So many people in America might not vote because they think that their vote does not matter, they don’t like any of the candidates, or they don’t want to get into politics. In the American presidential election’s voting system, I can understand how it would be easy to feel that your vote may not count. We use a system called the Electoral College, in which 538 electors vote based on how their state’s population voted. Essentially, the President is elected not by popular vote but through this Electoral College. In turn, many people might think that because they are not directly voting for the president, their vote does not matter. I think that if the United States decided to shift from using the Electoral College to using a system like ranked-choice voting, as Katie suggested, people would not feel limited in their votes. However, the Electoral College has been in place for a long time, and people have tried to abolish it many times unsuccessfully. This system is so ingrained in our politics that I do not think it will be removed anytime soon. People also might not vote because they don’t like the candidates or don’t like politics in general. I believe that politics shouldn’t be regarded as an optional interest, because it effects everyone. Even if someone feels that they won’t benefit or be harmed by anything in politics, someone else will. In order to raise a higher voter turnout among those who don’t like politics, I think there need to be more  educational campaigns  focussed towards explaining candidates’ plans and beliefs, so that people recognize any political decision will have effects.

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I believe one of the main reasons people don’t vote is because they don’t think their vote matters. However, as we have seen in many elections, particularly some in certain states in the most recent US election, every vote counts. Elections have been decided by only a few thousand votes, which compared to the 239 million people eligible to vote, is a very small number. Hopefully seeing how close the results were will help increase political efficacy, but if not, there are other ways governments can take action. In the US for example, our government could implement rank choice voting. Rank choice voting would prevent the inevitable two party system that results from our winner-take-all voting structure, in which two parties whose ideals do not align with the majority of Americans’ rule supreme. Having the opportunity to vote for candidates that you agree with more, who actually have a legitimate chance at winning, could encourage people to cast their votes. As for encouraging people to run for office, I believe the US needs stricter campaign finance laws. The way our system is set up now, only candidates with access to sizable funds are able to keep up with their competitors, with those candidates that can’t afford to spend millions on commercials being forced to drop out. If we could reform campaign finance laws so that candidates who aren’t billionaires or one of the party nominees could still have a chance, I think more people would be encouraged to run.

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Colin McCarthy, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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Colin McCarthy, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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I think most of the ppl in the 33.1% who didn't vote, did not vote because their expectations were lowered by our last president. I think also people didn't not vote or choose not to vote because they might have felt that it wasn't worth it. I still think it is very important to vote because every single vote and everyones vote matters no matter what your beliefs are. I think a way to get more people to vote is to educate them on our candidates and our government and show them why their vote matters.

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Amna F, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo

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Amna F, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo

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Hello everyone!
I think that the people who don’t vote are usually very passive and think that their vote won’t change anything. Unfortunately, that ends up in a way that the minorities choose people who will represent the whole nation. In our country, people who don’t vote are usually the elderly, those who find it physically difficult to go to the voting, but also those who plan leaving the country, as well as too passive ones and the citizens who live outside Bosnia and Herzegovina (there is a possibility for them to vote, but they obviously find it not worth their time). Our elections are on 15th of November, but not the presidential ones (our country is a bit complicated, having elections every second year). I truly hope that more people will become aware of the fact that every vote is relevant. These are the last elections on which I will not have the right to vote, since I am 17, but I hope that these elections will be the last ones on which my voice won’t be heard.

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Anastasija ( North Macedonia )
Yeah I agree! It's crazy how that many people wouldn't vote. I can't think of a specific reason. I guess everyone has  different grounds?

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Hi.

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Sophia Ahearn, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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Sophia Ahearn, USA, Boston, Massachusetts

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I am so excited to be sharing with you all, and having this conversation from a global stand point. We have been talking about this a lot the past week in the US and it is so important to hear other perspectives.
Hara, it is so good to hear that the new government is being welcomed in happily. That is what we are hoping for here in the U.S.
I think the main reason people choose not to vote as Maianh mentioned, is because they believe their vote won't matter, or they feel they are not educated enough on the candidates to make a decision. This past election had the highest voter turn out in history but still a third of the population was missing. In this election specifically many voters felt that they had to choose between the 2 bad candidates. Or they had to choose the less of two evils. I think this was the main reason that many people didn't vote for this election. But, regardless of who the candidates are I still believe that it is our civic duty to vote. When it comes down to it our country is built on democracy. And democracy is built on the people's choice. And if the people are not making that choice then democracy can not be upheld, and therefore our nation can not be upheld. I think one thing that can be done to help encourage people to vote is simply distributing policy and information equally. Making information know on both sides is something that will allow people to make a decision. Until people start voting and advocating for who and what they want they are never going to get it.

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Hi everyone, happy to hopefully be engaging with you all!

In terms of the USA's missing voter turnout of 33.1%, I think that these people didn't vote for a lot of reasons. For one, there are always people who aren't interested enough in voting or say they don't care about politics. Personally, I think that people who have the power to vote should use it to help others who may not be able to. I feel that it is selfish not to use your vote simply because the election won't effect you. You should use the privilege you have to stand up for people who cannot. Another reason people don't vote is because they may not have a good grasp on how the government works so they feel like they would chose the wrong candidate (for example, citizens who do not speak the language). But on a broader level, I think that people don't vote because they feel like their vote won't matter or make much of a difference. Something that could get more people to vote is to educate them on the subject and show them that their vote does matter. In order to have them run for office or be more actively engaged in politics, they might need to be really exposed to flaws in the government to want to go out and change it.

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Hnin Ei Wai Lwin (Hara), Myanmar
Hello everyone! Glad to talk to you all. Some people don't vote because of some reasons. Maybe they are not interested. Maybe they don't understand enough about the government, the election process or individual party policies. Maybe they feel their vote would be wasted. For me, as I am just 16, I can't vote. But I'm very interested in the policies of the government. I feel that voting is very important because even a vote can change the future of our county and people's life. So we must choose the right government who could fulfill our lives. Our election was held 2 days ago. All the people are welcoming the government happily.

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Vitalina Dolinska, Ukraine, village Dolishniy Shepit.
Hello! In my opinion, people can't run in the election because they don't see any of these people as a worthy candidate.
There are also people who are not interested in politics and therefore do not vote.
Also some people do not believe in the changes that can happen after the vote.