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I feel like young people from all around the world feel like they cannot make a change and that their vote does not matter. The government in every country should encourage young adults to vote by informing them about elections and how they can make a big change. I also think that the election in the United States could have gone either way if all young adults had voted. There was also accusations of voter oppression in the election.

Everyone has different views and opinions about politics and everyone should be able to vote.

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I think that the main reasons that people do not vote are inaccesibility, apathy, exclusion, and thinking that their vote does not matter. I personally believe that the government should do as much as possible to make voting easy. Whether this be mailing ballots to all eligible voters, automatically registering citizens to vote when they reach voting age, or making voting day  a national holiday, there are many steps the government can take to ensure that everyone is at least *able* to vote.
I think there are also people who either feel that they wil not be affected by elections (this applies primarily to the uber priviliged) or, at least in the American presidential race, saw both candidates as too evl to vote for. Again, this stance is also primarily held by those whose lives are not in danger, because otherwise they would know to vote for the lesser of two evils.
There are also people whose voices are not heard in politics, and whether that makes itself seen via voter suppression or by these people not voting because they do not know how, it still has the effect of silencing the needs of a large portion of a population.
Lastly, there are people who do not think their vote matters, and the unfortunate part is that, in some places, though not true in smaller elections, this is true for the presidential election due to the electoral college. I am personally not in favor of the electoral college, and think that abolishing it would lead to higher voter turnout, because every voter would know that their vote counts.

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One of the reasons as to why not everyone votes is because they believe that their voice doesn’t matter in the context of millions of people, thus they think that it’s simply “not worth it” to stand in extremely long lines for hours just for the sake of democracy. Although I grew up in an immigrant family who supports speaking out and being represented, others in my neighborhood wouldn’t want to participate as they believed that change wouldn’t occur either way to whomever they choose as president. There’s this idea that because neither candidate resonates with their principles and there’s a certain dissatisfaction with the political system, it’s not worth it to participate.

Another reason as to why there was a 33.1% non-voter turnout is because the voter system disproportionately impacts minority groups and this can range from various ID restrictions, distance in regards to polling locations, and language barriers. Several people ranging from seniors and people of color do not have proper identification, either because the process of getting one can take weeks and prices can be costly. As we saw during the election, very few decided to walk miles from their home just to vote but the majority didn’t and of course, transportation issues were present in addition to the health concerns of riding publicly. Language barriers, I think, are significant as many people whose native language is not English are not likely to vote because they are not understanding what each candidate is like or what they believe in. And as Emma said, voting is difficult to the extent that minorities who tend to work longer hours cannot prioritize it over sustaining their lives.

Voter turnout can be improved if people had the means to educate themselves on who their candidates are, and if the voting system was a lot simpler than it is now. There should be repeated contact and reminding people to vote in the case that they have busy lives and may forget in favor of their work. In terms of language barriers, there should be more access to translators who can properly relay the candidates’ intentions and help those who are filling out their ballots. From these, I think that there will be an increase to access of voter information and also encourage people to understand who they want to vote for.

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I think there are several reasons why people do not vote. One reason might be, as many have already said, that people simply do not their their voices matter, due to being overwhelmed by opposing opinions. Another reason might be that people simply don't care, due to a lack of education on candidates and policies. A final reason might be because America is a country which deliberately and successfully hinders the process to vote.

The first of these reasons holds up when we look at the Presidential election, which includes the electoral college. Since the President is determined by the electoral college, and not the popular vote, many may not feel as though their vote is being counted if their state isn't a swing state and is staunchly blue or red. Additionally, for those who support a third party, their candidates are never likely to get substantial support. If this is the issue, maybe getting more participation can be eliminating electoral college or implementing ranked choice voting. I think either of these actions would make voters feel that they are participating more greatly and significantly, and that they have more of a say in this process.

A second issue is that people don't care to read up on issues or study candidates. I don't think many people pay attention to local issues, and as a result, many won't vote in local elections due to simply not knowing what's going on around them. Even in the primaries, many people didn't know the specifics about candidates and their stances and plans, partly due to a lack of disclosure, and partly due to a lack of research on our parts. I think to solve this, we could actively try to read up on people more. Sources like the New York Times will put together summaries of information on candidates, so we just have to seek them out. With knowledge on these comes the tendency to care about them.

Finally, the United States is a democratic society which makes voting excessively difficult. Our country doesn't make Election Day a National Holiday, which mostly would impact the working class since they would have to work long or strict hours and might not prioritize voting. As Danny shared in his comment, people who are incarcerated (or formerly incarcerated) cannot vote, which is odd because there are definitely crimes which arguably have no relevance to whether a human being and citizen should be denied their say. Additionally, as we saw with Stacey Abrams, there are attempts by the state at voter suppression — which can include anything from closing polls early to directly turning away voters for no reason. Some polling sites are few and far between in areas predominately inhabited by people of color. Finally, the process is just very complex, long, and particular. If people's names or signatures do not match perfectly, there can be issues in voting. The state policies on ballots and deadlines vary across the country, which might confuse voters. Ways to fix this can include more education and aid for voters, as Stacey Abrams has worked tirelessly towards. As Addy mentioned in their post, our country could make Election Day a National Holiday, to aid people in getting to polls, or even just to signify that voting really does matter in a country which boasts of its democracy.

Becoming more informed and involved with the process and importance of public office is also a way people are encouraged to vote. To get people to run for office or engage in campaigns, I think we need to see more awareness of grassroots movements. People might not run because they believe they'll lose, or are unqualified, or have no name. By amplifying the power and influence of grassroots movements, more common people will see the power in themselves, just as people like AOC or Cori Bush have, and not necessarily think they must have a certain degree or come from a certain family to succeed.

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I am in a family of first generation Asian Americans. Similar to what Aidan C said, my parents don't believe that their votes matter. They are both conservative and although Dorchester (my neighborhood) has a very high population of conservative Viets, Massachusetts is a blue state which makes them think their vote doesn't matter because of plurality.

Another problem that some people face is the accessibility to voting polls. People are often discouraged by the long lines or cannot vote because of conflicting work schedules. However, the process was made easier this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. If citizens felt unsafe attending a crowded poll site, then they could utilize mail in ballots. As long as they followed the guidelines, this system is very safe. As we saw on election night, most of the votes were received, only take a few extra days to be counted. But overall, I believe this day should be a national holiday. This would encourage the people with a tight schedule since they would have nothing to do at home.

I found Addy's reference to Georgia's voting count very interesting. Biden did only win with a 0.2% lead and if more people turned out to vote, there could have been a different outcome for the state.

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I believe that many people don't vote because they don't know how to engage in our political system. In America, we don't have a uniform commonality of civic education being taught in schools across the country. This means that even when we as a population become old enough to vote or engage in civil discourse, we choose to back off because a lot of it can seem like too much to handle. In order to stimulate a more engaged democracy, our leaders must act in ways that invest in educating us on how to vote or run for office for example early on so that it doesn't seem too complicated once we are able to participate.

Another reason that many people don't vote is because they don't feel represented in any form within our government. For example, although we shouldn't blame the Latinx community for some of Trump's wins in the sunbelt, we do know that Trump and republicans cut into the margins that democrats had within these communities. This is because we have treated the Latinx community as a monolith without reaching out to them and asking for their vote. Without going out of our way to engage communities that are marginalized in our political systems, Democrats must mobilize and make sure we are representing their values as best as possible instead of just taking these constituencies for granted.

People also don't vote because the system prevents them from doing so. Voter suppression runs rampant in America, and can significantly deter democracy from being carried out as it should. It also has largely targeted communities who have long been forgotten by our institutions and face many forms of discrimination. For example, in the primary in Georgia back in June, vote tabulating machines were malfunctioning in some of the most diverse communities in the Atlanta area. This caused long lines to form outside of polling locations and people were waiting to cast their ballots for hours. However, in the affluent, mostly white suburbs, it was reported that voters were at most waiting 15 minutes to cast their ballots. Many people who already feel disenfranchised by society may be deterred away from voting and engaging in our political system even if doing so would benefit them because it seems like such a strenuous process.

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I believe that many people don't vote because they simply think that their vote will not have an impact on the election results. With millions of people giving in their ballots, people think that their vote is insignificant among the rest. It has been proven though, that this is not the case, and as Addy mentioned, we saw that as Georgia counted its votes, Biden winning by only a small amount. Especially in states that frequently lean a certain way, individuals believe that their blue vote for example will be lost among the majority red vote in their state. Many are discouraged by that and believe it is not worth the trouble to make an effort to cast their vote.

Another reason that the 33.1% of people neglected to vote is because they supported neither candidate, and believed that neither person was ideal as a President. Due to their doubt of the effectiveness the candidates would hold while leading the country, they chose not to vote.

I think simplifying the voting process and making it so that everyone can easily be eligible to cast their vote will increase the number of participants casting their ballots. I agree with Addy that Election day and even maybe the week should be considered a national holiday so that everyone has the time and opportunity to vote by having a day off. Education is also certainly crucial and I believe that if everyone was better informed upon the importance of voting in elections many more would engage in the voting process. I believe that many individuals in society are unaware of the large impacts Presidential candidates will have on everyday life, and the importance of electing a President who will improve the country. This education will also cause people to engage more in politics and be more passionate about their outcomes.

I'm so excited to hear your ideas!

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Growing up in a family of immigrants, the reason that my parents always gave for not voting was stating that “my vote doesn’t matter” on the broader scale of things. In saying this, they meant that firstly, as immigrants they felt that their needs were rarely noticed or even cared about in the country, and secondly, the electoral college voting system in the United States seems to drown out voters who support one party but live in a state dominated by another.

My belief is that there are many voters out there who sympathize with the viewpoints of my parents - a primary issue that Americans, and people around the world must address, is encouraging minority groups to participate in elections. While this may not be a prevalent issue in every country around the world, the truth of globalization is that there will be much larger minority groups present in areas around the world which were formerly ethnically homogenous. Another way that we must address voting in the US is facing the issue of the electoral college system. By moving to a popular vote system, or even a divided electoral vote system like Nebraska or Maine, we can move towards a system where each single vote is much more valued, rather than the specific demographics of an area over shining a larger majority.

I also think that in the US, it’s time to look to other countries around the world and possibly consider adopting a multiple party system. While in theory, the US does maintain numerous political parties, the fact of the matter is that these groups are largely ignored and we might as well practice a 2 party system. In places like the EU and other locations around the world, their governments run off of a varied political party system. In places like Germany, the largest political party has about 30% of the population’s support. By switching to a multiple party system, many people might be more encouraged to vote because they feel that their needs are better represented, and they can choose what works best for them, instead of settling for the “lesser of two evils”. In addition, a multiple party system can also encourage more cooperation between political units - the Democratic and Republican parties within the US have fallen into a pattern of solely attempting to override the other, instead of trying to foster compromise. In a multiple party system, no single group could dominate in this manner, and compromise would be a necessity in maintaining order throughout the government. However, I’m uncertain of how we could even bring about such a multiple party system in the first place...

Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!

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I think there are several important reasons why people do not vote, but the high turnout this year is also a great success. First of all, most people think that their vote won't change anything because they look at it by saying what can a single vote change? But I think they shouldn't look at the situation like that because everything starts with something trivial. Another reason is that some people still don't go out because of Covid, we can actually take them with a little more understanding because nothing is more important than health. but the most ridiculous reason is they are not interested, they do not care about the important issues that will affect their lives. “What does it matter” “what would happen if this person became president”. These people look at it as nothing changes in my life .I think this is a proof that they are tired of their own lives, but no matter what, everyone should vote because it should not be forgotten that you are one of the people in a democratic country and you will have a share in making the decision. I will definitely vote in the future.

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Minha Umay,Malappuram,Kerala,India.

In my opinion,most of the people are not interested in voting especially the youth.Like most of you said, people don't think that their ballot could change anything,it is really serious if they feel it like that.People have to believe that their one vote can change everything.some face financial barriers,limited information can make it difficult for older people.One of the main problems is lack of access to transportation,I know America allowed postal votes.But,here in India the government servents who works in election process and military people are allowed to do postal votes.India is one of the few countries,which does not allow prisoners to vote,I don't know whether your country allows prisoners to vote.This may causes decrease in votes.I think many Afro-americans and Asian-americans had lost their trust over the government because of the recent problems happened there,they may believe that this won't going to stop.

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Emily Araujo, Dominican Republic, San Pedro de Macoris .

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Emily Araujo, Dominican Republic, San Pedro de Macoris .

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I think that 30% of those people who did not vote was because they did not follow any of the candidates for the presidency and decided to stay home, although the United States is a world power, there are ignorant people who do not care about the future of their nation  .

in each country there are problems with pre-presidential elections, whether it be corruption, mismanagement of the presidency or being at odds with the nation, all of this can make many people decide not to exercise the right to vote.

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In my opinion, there are so many reasons that let people don't vote. First, Thinking that their vote will not change anything. Secondly, is that they don't trust the candidates or we can say distrust.
So specifically, I think that the problem is from the candidates, His idea did not reach them because of using hard words. I believe that if they  transformed their idea to simple words, that everyone can understand. The majority will vote.
For me, I find the appropriate way to get people to participate or engage in political activities is to make them aware of its importance in society.

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Sana, Hiroshima, Western Hiroshima, Shiwa

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Sana, Hiroshima, Western Hiroshima, Shiwa

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I think the reason why don’t everyone vote is because people don’t think that their vote have power to change something, and because they don’t understand the election and don’t have enough knowledges about politics. They might think that their opinion is minority and cannot understand others, because especially in Japan, people tend to agree with major opinion. This tendency makes them to feel that their vote doesn’t matter, like Damon N said. And also, politics seems like a little bit difficult for young people , because there are many terms that are difficult to understand. This also make people especially the young less interest in election.

So,, I think that educating about politics from elementary or junior high with easy words is good for young people to understand the importance of election and also how important to have their own opinion is and the election is.

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From my personal point of view, I think that the lack of enough political knowledge leads people to not vote. Some of them may not know how voting is important and how much a vote means.As Addy said, the lack of confidence and trust in a candidate can also be a reason why many people do not vote.I agree with it. They may know enough political knowledge but when they can't believe the candidates of the election,they do not vote. In my country,Myanmar, covid -19 is really hitting seriously these days. As you know,our 2020 election was held on November 8th. Because of covid,many people do not vote.This is the current reason why people do not vote.

If we want more people to participate in voting,we should share enough knowledge about voting.We need to explain to them that even a vote can change the fortune of their country. For the political parties, they should not promise what to do and how to do only by speech.They need to do the right action to get trust from people.
I think when people understand the impacts of elections,they will get more interested in participating in political action. But if we want good candidates for the election,education must improve first. Because only the educated people can decide what's wrong and what's right.

I'm sixteen years old now. I didn't have a chance to vote for this 2020 election. But I'm sure that I'll vote when I become 18.

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I think a major reason why people don't vote when they can is because they don't believe their vote matters. Being one in 239 million citizens being able to vote, their voice might seem irrelevant, but with the recent election we see this to not be true. Many states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin could have changed the outcome of the election and each vote in those states matter in determining Joe Biden as the next president.

I think after this past election, more people will vote in the next election. Seeing how close the numbers were, I think both sides, democrats and republicans, were equally nervous about the outcomes as the days passed. I think a incentive such as a small cash prize, $20-50, would also help voter turnout. This money would also be used to stimulate the economy, assuming that the voters would use the money.

I think being engaged in politics isn't for everyone. There's a lot of information and misinformation to sift through and this can be more difficult for some. To have them become more active, I believe that people should be taught that they can change the things they don't like around them and that the people generally have a influence on their surroundings. In my opinion, that should be taught at a young age, so they can internalize that they are the force of change. I believe if this mindset is instilled in people then more citizens will be engaged in politics.

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I think that a lack of confidence and trust in the candidates causes many people to not vote. Additionally, as Greg pointed out, in a presidential race with millions of voters, one vote is seemingly insignificant, which causes many to believe their vote doesn't matter. Yet, their vote does matter, and the election results from Georgia during this presidential election emphasizes just how important each vote is as Biden just barely won with less that a 13k vote lead, less than a 0.2% difference.

Although not related to any recent elections or the US, elections in many other countries are not fair. In Brazil, politicians can buy votes in order to win. Because they can't trust their elections, many just choose not to vote. During the early 1900s, the US had to deal with a similar situation as political bosses would influence the vote by threatening the job security of any constituency who may vote against them.

I think that election day, or even the week of the presidential election, should be a national holiday. This would allow citizens to vote without having to take time off from work. One of the reasons there was such a high turn out for this election was due to the high volume of mail-in ballots, which gave the opportunity to vote to many Americans who, previously, were unable to find a time to do in-person voting. Additionally, more youth are voting than ever before because, in my opinion, schools and the education system, at least in the Northeast, are taking the steps to educate youth in the importance of government and the democratic process. Facing History is a perfect example of a class that is causing students to become engaged in politics.

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I think the main reason why many people do not vote is because they do not feel that the effort of voting is worth the impact it has elections, the country's policies, and their own lives. In the United States, the voting process is not the easiest and most convenient thing in the world, and on top of that, many people feel that their vote does not matter or do not think politics in general matter in their lives. I imagine this is similar in many other countries, but other factors like fear, lack of knowledge about how to vote, and more could play a role in so many people not voting.

I think the easiest way to get more people to care about elections and to vote is to simplify the voting process while making sure elections stay fair. Changing the format of elections to ensure every vote is truly equal might boost participation. We could also somehow incentivize voting, maybe by giving small tax cuts or other benefits to those who vote.
In terms of encouraging people to participate overall in politics, or even run for office, I think the only way would be to try and educate people on why politics are important and should matter to everybody.

I look forward to hearing other peoples' ideas!

Voting Lines from the Recent Election