01-EFG Global civic obligation initiative: on getting engaged with government by Judi Freeman https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m Groups E-G (sec 01) en-us 2020-11-07 15:25:25 UTC 2026-02-16 01:13:40 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/78451811/a5af2029dc56a5e762df13a5f912d7cf/world_flags.png Regina C, Boston,Massachusettes rchiem https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/906362888 Although it is inspiring to see that right now in America that we have had the greatest voter count since the 1900 election, I think ultimately it was because of the growing divide that has been influencing the minds of many in the past four years. Also especially with the pandemic and the growing concern throughout the US more people are effected by government choices. I think that there are a lot of factors that go into why people do or do not vote. First of all, in Massachusetts we have been fortunate enough to be in an area where voting is accessible to different parts, however this is not always the case. Secondly, some people do not feel as educated as they should be to make a decision, therefore they choose to sit out on the voting process all together. Thirdly, I've heard from many Bostonians that because we live in such a blue state, their vote towards either side will not make a difference overall since the state is already decided. Also,  I've seen from videos posted throughout social media that some people believe that "the election does not effect them" which is a privilege to even say but is a blanket statement that is incorrect. Another reason could be that they don't think that their vote matters because of the overall numbers. Because of all these reasons and many more, people choose to sit out on the election. The most important two things that are needed for a bigger turnout in my opinion, is creating resources for education around the election so people are informed about the facts of the election and making resources and places accessible in order to vote. The more informed a person is about the topic, the more confident a person is in their voice and how their vote matters. Having areas that are more accessible to all people will not only save them time waiting in line to cast their vote but will encourage them to vote because of how attainable it is.]]> 2020-11-09 22:24:24 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/906362888 Jack T, USA, Boston, Massachusetts jtrapanick https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/906389116 I believe not everyone votes because many people do not have faith in the electoral process. Specifically in the US, the complicated Electoral College has led many in reliably red or blue states to believe that their vote will not count. Beyond the College, many simply think the system is "rigged" or that who holds office does not matter. For those who do not keep up enthusiastically with the news or are without a strong education in history/civics/current events, it might be difficult to understand how the president actually has an impact on our world. Many believe that their lives will be the same regardless of who is president, which is often true, but of course, we should not just vote for ourselves. As Regina mentioned, voter suppression is also a significant reason why people do not vote. Some Republicans have seized on the pandemic as an opportunity to suppress votes in areas with marginalized populations, such as by limiting people's ability to use mail-in ballots instead of voting in person. By making it harder to vote, these actions also decrease the turnout.
To change this, we should include civic education classes in all school curriculums to ensure that youths learn about the importance of engaging with their democracy. Instilling a sense of duty and educating young people on current events can also show them the value of keeping up with the news and understanding the world around them, thus equipping them to change it. 
Doing these things would overall get people to run for office, vote, and engage more often.]]> 2020-11-09 22:37:47 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/906389116 Grace P, USA, Boston, Massachusetts gpham21 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/907021863 Despite having the highest voter turnout this year, many people still do not vote because they have less flexibility and are unable to take time out of their day to wait in a long line to cast their ballot. In many other cases, people do not vote because they feel that none of the candidates represent them in terms of their values and views on certain issues or they feel that their one vote will not matter, so they are discouraged from voting. Voter suppression also factors into the large gap in voting, as many citizens are put at a disadvantage for voting, especially minorities. Some states carry out voter purges that prohibit eligible voters from voting based on inaccurate data about individuals and on unfair regulations. Felony disenfranchisement most often targets African Americans with criminal records, banning them from voting during incarceration and sometimes for life. In addition, strict voter ID laws hinder people from easily casting their vote. The threat to the right to vote, other rights, and our democracy urge people to vote and participate in the elections. The record-breaking voter turnout was triggered by the fact that people witnessed one of the most powerful people in the country undermining the government. People realize that their well-being is at risk, whether it is healthcare, reproductive rights, immigration regulations, rights for the LGBTQ community, or environmental policies. They see no significant efforts to decrease the number of cases and deaths in the country by taking the proper measures and are troubled by the complete disregard of human life during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

]]> 2020-11-10 04:27:26 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/907021863 Melikshah K, Turkey, Sivas https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/913327383 I think democracy and other regimes in the past has already shown that no matter what rule it is under some people are always unfullfilled about life and their expectations. Past few years not just for USA but also for the rest of the world have not been that well, we can always see the people straying further from life with each day and only reason being that the life is not the way they expected it to be, that being said connecting to our main question I think people don't vote because they have seen things haven't been the way they wanted or for example people vote for someone certain and support them because of what they will provide but it ends up in a different way. So in my opinion that this should get the attraction of politicians more than people, they have to proove themselves some way -gaining peoples trust- which eventually will lead people into voting not just for them but will also encourage people from the other parties to get more active, to get more productive and that leading everyone to be more promising.]]> 2020-11-11 16:08:29 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/913327383 ASJA Č, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, SARAJEVO https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/914377884 The problem of low voter turnout rates is globally recognized. However, every country has it's own system and therefore different motifs that encourage and/or discourage people to vote. In Bosnia, as I have learned from my experience with young people through the work of the Association for UN, the main factor discouraging young people to vote is that they believe their vote will not change the situation we are currently in. As Bosnia is a post-conflict country, nationalism is something you encounter at every corner. Thus, our government and their politics are submitted to that ideology (we have three presidents because of the three nationalities living in Bosnia). Anyway, most of our population is unhappy with the system, but have accepted it as it is and thus do not have the will to be politically active or even vote. Moreover, I believe that the lack of education about democracy/civic responsibility/our role in society/our impact on the political systems is an enormous factor affecting the way people (mostly young people) perceive democracy and politics generally. This lack of knowledge leads to people forming aversion or just indifference towards political activism and the mere act of voting. In my opinion, education is the the foundation of making people more civically responsible. Some do not even know their responsibilities as a citizen. That is why I believe having a subject in high school, aimed to educate teens about their incoming responsibilities is a crucial step. Moreover, holding roundtables or open discussions with all age groups on the topic of civic responsibility might also lead to an increase of public engagement in politics.]]> 2020-11-11 21:33:05 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/914377884 I think many people choose not to vote because they don't believe it will make a difference to their own lives. In presidential elections, the electoral college system gives more or less power to a person's vote depending on where they live in the country. The vote of a person in one state could be worth 3 times as much as a vote in another. This system was initially created in the 18th century when we didn’t have the ability to transmit information so quickly. A few electors were sent to represent the majority opinion of their state because that was the most secure, practical method back then. But today we have the technology to safely count votes from all over the country, and so this system is not necessary. The two party system, which we are forced into by the winner-takes-all way our elections work, also contributes to a lack of voter engagement. Some people may feel its unnecessary for them to vote in federal elections because one party always wins in their state, no matter who the candidate is. However, there are also local issues on the election day ballots which each individual vote can have an equal impact on. Federal elections get much more attention and publicity than local elections, which have an even lower voter turnout. If the voting age for state/local elections was lowered to 16, students would be able to engage politically while they still have their school to provide resources and motivation. They would be able to form a habit of voting while they are most eager to get involved, which would disrupt the trend of low voter turnout among 18-34 year olds. I think young people are more politically aware and educated now than ever. People shouldn’t worry that teenagers are too immature to vote seriously because even among adults, only those who are most informed and passionate about the issues will take the time out of their day to vote. Another part of the issue is that voting is not accessible enough. No one should have to wait hours outside just to cast a ballot, especially during a pandemic. This also deters people who need to work on election day. Maybe making election days national and state holidays would encourage more people to educate themselves on the issues and then go out to vote. However, if both schools and workplaces are closed, this could create challenges for voters who lack other child care options. Hopefully now that absentee ballots have become very popular, information on how to obtain them will become more wide spread, and voter turnouts will continue to rise like they did this year. rroncka https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/914639026 2020-11-12 00:09:53 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/914639026 Isabella S, USA, Boston, Massachusetts isalazar34 https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/917689214 I think that are many different reasons people don't vote. Sometimes people don't feel that any of the candidates represent their ideas and needs. Also not everyone has the time to wait in lines for hours because they have jobs or school that they can't miss. Voter suppression is a very big thing in the U.S. because a lot of the times minorities are treated unfairly when it comes to voting. Either they don't have the time to vote because they are working, or there are different laws put in place that prevent  them from voting. I know in my inner circle the language barrier is another huge reason why people are dissuaded from voting.  Lastly, the saddest reason is that some people don't vote because they are confident that whatever way an election goes they are not going to be affected. They are selfish and blind to their privilege, and aren't thinking of their fellow humans that will be heavily impacted by an election. This was the case this year because even though so many people voted because people's rights were on the line, there were many who didn't see that and only thought of themselves. I think the only way to change that is to educate people from an early age to think of others not only yourself. So many people were affected by the presidential election this year especially because of the pandemic and all the social injustices occurring, so they voted. Although this a good thing, it shouldn't just be this year that so many people vote. People should pay this much attention to every election because even if it doesn't affect you, it will affect someone else that you care about. Regarding voter suppression I think there has to be a change in laws preventing black people, especially,  from voting after they've been incarcerated or even after. Having more discussions about politics and the issues surrounding it is the only way to get more people to want to run for office or just be more engaged in politics.]]> 2020-11-12 18:00:08 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/917689214 Tandin JW, USA, Boston, Massachusetts tjohnsonward https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/918109987 It is interesting that there are so many people in our country that do not vote or did not vote in this election. Although this election had the highest turnout in the history of our country, there was still 33% of the country that did not vote - which is millions of people. It is surprising that millions of people in our country do not participate in their democracy when given the chance. However everyone has their own reasons for not voting in elections. Many people may not think that their votes matter, that one vote will not impact the result of the election. And in some ways they are correct, one vote will not change who wins the elections. The problem with this however is that millions of people have this mindset that their vote does not count, when if these millions of people did vote, it could have a significant impact on the result of the election. I think another big reason that many people do not vote is that they feel uneducated about the candidates, or even that they do not have adequate civic education, and do not understand the process of voting. The election process in our country can be complicated and confusing. I think something that needs to happen in order for more people to vote is better civic education. If more people understood the process, they would be more likely to vote in elections. I think another reason that people do not vote is that they do not like either candidate. They do not agree with the candidates, so they choose not to vote at all. I also think that election day should be an official holiday. Unfortunately many people do not vote because they are unable to get time off of work in order to vote. This would allow everyone to vote on election day if they need to. I think one reason that people do not run for office is that they might not see themselves represented in the officials that are in office. Even if they have good ideas, they might think that no one will vote for them. They also might not understand the process or how to run for office. We need better civic education to get more people engaged and participating in democracy in our country. ]]> 2020-11-12 19:24:54 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/918109987 Ziqi Z, USA, Boston, Massachusetts zzhen https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/919216433 There a lot of reasons why people don’t vote. First off, like Jack said, the electoral college is set up in such a way that people simply don’t feel like their vote matters. Rachel said that in some states one vote could be worth 3 times as much as another, with California vs Wyoming being the most common and most prominent example. The presidential election seems as though it’s like 50 individual races going at once, rather than a collective voting for their candidates. You are bound to your state, and bound to the majority choice of your state. Faithless electors (which is not punished by law in 16 states) could cast their vote for a different candidate if they desire, further derailing what “the people” want. The electoral college was set up like this because well the states essentially treated each other and acted like separate sovereign nations and Americans were more connected to their states rather than the federal government. There’s also the idea of making sure that the minority voice aren’t getting swept under the rug (and at that time the main minority voices were the rich southern slave owners.) There are reasons for it, but is the electoral college truly the best way to decide the presidential election in 2020?

Second, voting is still not universally easy. It’s true that many states do allow absentee votes and we’re slowly making voting easier, but like Tandin said Election Day is not a federal holiday, meaning that you still have to work during the day. Some poll stations are very thinly spread, meaning that lines could be extremely long and tedious or you have to travel around for hours before arriving at a poll station. Gerrymandering has been going on for a long time now and is still going on. We aren’t addressing the poverty-ridden areas enough or heck just low income people in general and we certainly are not discussing how one’s socioeconomic status can impact them to vote or not to vote. After all I’ve said, I haven’t even touched on the indirect institutions disproportionately affecting certain minorities, making exercising your right to vote as difficult as possible, like the mass incarceration system which Grace touched on. 

We must show people what’s going on. If they’re apathetic because they don’t think their vote’s going to count, show them instances where a couple thousand votes, heck, a couple hundred votes decided a election or a race. Georgia literally went blue for the first time in 30 years because of efforts from people like Stacy Abrams, Tamieka Atkins, Helen Butler, and many more advocating for voting. If they don’t care about who the president is because politics don’t affect their lives, show them the headlines. Show them the statistics and the news. Show them the number of people that had died, show them the number of people who are unemployed, and show them the number of people who feel as if certain policies and decisions have slowly been stripping their opportunities. 

I’m a huge advocate for a civics education curriculum in our schools nationwide. If our top judges don’t even remember some of the stuff in our government, doesn’t it represent how much our education system is not working? It’s true we don’t need to know how everything operates up to how senate debates are structured, but it’s important to know what they’re supposed to do and what you can do to help our nation. After all, isn’t furthering the common good a good thing? 
]]> 2020-11-13 03:34:00 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/919216433 Ali Mattout, Lebanon, Tyre, AL-Bus alimmattout https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/920521100 there are a lot of reasons why people don't participate in politician, but the main reasons why is that because most of them don't care about the political situation in our country as long as they have what they need. Moreover, in our country there are dominant parties, dominant people, which control the elections so some people feel that they don't need to vote because they are aware of these parties they will dominate the election, they will be the presidents or the ministers no matter who voted or not. Any person  who is older than 21, has good reputation can participate in the elections(be minister)and anyone who is older than 18 can vote. To sum up, elections in my country are decided before the election day :) . Oh and btw the places that I personally wanna visit are JAPAN and FRANCE]]> 2020-11-13 15:35:48 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/920521100 Andy Montrose, USA, Boston, Massachusetts amontrose https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/922196248 There are plenty of answers to the question of "Why doesn't everyone vote?" The most common answer is people just don't care enough to vote. They think whoever is elected won't change the way they live their life so they don't vote.  I think in these people's mind there are two scenarios that play out. Either they have voted before, but their candidate didn't win because of a technicality or a loop hole in the democratic system, so they've lost faith not only in voting, but in people to make the right decision. I know people who had said during this presidential election that they will never vote again if Biden lost. Their reasoning was if Biden lost, there's no hope for America and they would've lost faith in the American people. If you tried once and you failed why try again? The other scenario is people who aren't affected by politics. They have noticed that throughout their life politics hasn't been a significant factor. Their lives have been so great so far they have never needed to take a look at politics, because nothing in their life needs to be changed.  They love their life the way it is and as long the candidates aren't trying to mess with their lives, they don't care. I think what would get people to care about politics is telling them their vote really does matter. I can only speak for America but here people tend to focus on themselves and not others. Everybody is too busy caring about themselves that they don't notice when you make a mistake in class. A lot of Americans think like this . There's a mentality of "I'm only one person what can I do", but democracy is the exact opposite of that. People who don't vote need to realize they aren't "just one person". They are a part of a whole, the voting population. And for the people who don't vote because they want their life to remain unchanged. They have to realize just because something doesn't affect them doesn't mean something, it doesn't affect someone else. They need to realize the choices they make have affects on other people, but some of them know that and choose to ignore it. Now another question arises: How to get the people who ignore other people to care? I don't have an answer. It is something politicians have been to solve for years, and here in America, the highest we've been able to get is 67%. Not even close to every voter. How to get people evolved in politics, is an even harder question to answer. If we can't even get people to care for other people, how are we going to get people to care about politics? And there are still no answers and there's a good chance there never will be answers. There's a good chance that this is just how the world functions, and the default setting for humans is to just care about themselves. ]]> 2020-11-14 00:32:51 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/922196248 Nikitas Kariotis from ATHENS/GREECE https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/923243902 Many people dont vote. Some just decide not to, some were raised by their parents into that thinking proccess and some just simply dont care. But why? In my experience of the elections in my country, there is basically no "good option". There are certain political parties with the offsprings of the same people over and over again. There is never something new. They always disappoint you with their consistent lies and you dont trust them. How can you. And how can you trust their kids and their kids kids when they are raised by the same mindset, (excactly the same phenomenon with those who don't vote). they cant just vote someone who will "not do as bad". People dont accept this option ans they have every right to. In USA its even worse but this year tou really had to vote the "less harmful" in my opinion. I personally want to vote and will vote and will always vote when i am asked to but i tottaly get why people decide not to]]> 2020-11-14 19:37:29 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/923243902 Megumi Fujinaga, Hiroshima, Japan https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/923453667    People, especially young people are not interested in politics in Japan. They don’t think they affect the result of elections even if they vote because there are many more elderly people and politicians say good things for elderly people. Also, it’s said people don’t care politics because we didn’t get freedom and rights by fighting; the government gave us it. So people don’t know the importance of politics and democracy.
 One of the reasons people do not vote is lack of convenience to vote. I think more people would vote if they could vote at supermarkets and convenience stores. 
  Also, many young people don’t know how to vote and they think it is embarrassing to ask how to vote. My school has “fake election”. Teachers teach us how to vote and we experience the voting. I feel it’s quite a good idea.]]> 2020-11-14 23:16:56 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/923453667 Abdulaziz Zein, Lebanon, Beirut https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/924923263
Well when it comes to voting there is a certain age in the USA its 18 however there are other reasons to why a good amount of people do not bother to vote. A lot of people do not really care, they just focus on themselves and their family. They do not want to be a part of what is going to happen to the country even if it's good they just do not want to get involved. Another reason might be that people do not trust their country's political system since the outcome is always the same. These reasons could be linked to my country Lebanon. A  lot of people in my country do not vote for the same exact reasons. 
In Lebanon we do not vote for the president we just vote for the parliament members who vote for the president, prime minister, and the speaker of the parliament.  So, the people cannot really choose who will run the country. Also, the people do not trust the parliament's choice often since they are divided into different groups depending on their religion, and these parliament members just keep choosing the same people; for example the speaker of the parliament has been the same person since 1994. Basically there is no change in the system, that is why a lot of people here do not vote they know for a fact there will not be a change. These reasons can be found in other countries too.



]]> 2020-11-15 18:35:44 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/924923263 Débora Z, Germany, Ingolstadt, Bavaria https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/924925703  Participating in democracy is always important, especially in this election, where millions of lives were at stake.
I'm glad to see the USA having such a high turnout of 69.9%. Needless to say, there are still 33.1% of eligible voters who didn't vote. This can in part be due to the lack of accessibility. Due to the pandemic, risk groups like the elderly not only had a much harder time voting but also doing service at their local polling station. Standing in line to vote was dangerous as well as ridiculous (as seen on the sign held at the Primary elections in Wisconsin this spring). People would have to choose between exercising their right to vote and protecting their personal health.
Others didn't care, either because they feel that the new incumbent won't affect their life or because they feel powerless within the voting system. Education can counteract the first reason. As well as in Germany, many people in the USA don't know their parties' policies and future plans. By funding more political education, perhaps more people would see how the respective new presidency would affect their life.
The latter reason can be traced back to the two party system, the electoral college and the swing states. The abolishment of the electoral college, would not only take away power from the swing states but also boost the engagement in the political process. 
The ongoing demand for racial and social justice prompted many Americans to vote for the future of their own lives and for marginalised groups if they themselves are in a position of privilege that allows them to not bother about the outcome.  ]]> 2020-11-15 18:37:17 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/924925703 Zamora Cervantes Leilani IxchelZapopan, Jalisco. https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/929663242 Well, I had already made my opinion but I see that it is not. I think that people who don't vote is because they either don't really care; by the pandemic; because they are young and they don't see it as something Necessary for themselves or for others; or maybe they didn't have to vote with. 
I think that in order for them to care about the US, they must get involved and show interest, see what is happening in their country, town or city.
They need to see how necessary it is to vote.
The last question would be: Concern for a State free of corruption and free of racism, because I am going to say it, America is very racist and needs a leader. ]]> 2020-11-16 23:40:55 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/929663242 Utako O, Japan, Hiroshima https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/935990875 Even though Japan changed the voting age to 18 in 2017, the overall turnout is about 53%. Voter turnout for young people is still low. This is because they are not interested in politics. In fact, most teens in Japan don't know about politics. Furthermore, Japan has less opportunities to participate in the activities. I think we should spend more time to learn about politics. ]]> 2020-11-18 10:37:49 UTC https://padlet.com/freemanjud/h4799g5pb9m2dq6m/wish/935990875