The U.S. government is a representative government. This simply means that we the people elect people to represent us in the government. These people who are elected are meant to express the people’s opinions on matters and make it so we have a voice. This type of government was formed to prevent against the tyranny that was experienced in Great Britain.
Elections are held so people can vote for candidates who will accurately express the voice of the people. This can only be done if people actually vote. According to The Economist, in 2012 only 59 percent of all registered voters actually showed up to cast their votes. This means that only 59 percent of the population is accurately being represented by the person who is elected. When the other 41 percent of people do not vote, those people are not being represented in the government and that causes the representative government to crumble. If almost half the population is not getting a voice, it destroys the point of a representative government.
Most of the people who are not voting are young people. According to The Economist, in 2010, only 21 percent of people between the ages of 18-24 showed up to cast a vote. This is really bad because the young people of the world are the ones who will be running the future government. If they simply stop doing their part in the government, then it will crumble and not work the way it was intended. I say that people, especially the youth, need to do their duty and go cast their votes. This will help the government continue to run.
Madelyn Duran
Bayfield
