We Need More People To Vote
American history is a history of non-voters. Onerous registration requirements, disinformation, gerrymandering, apathy, and even laziness are just some of the problems. It’s time to make voting cool.
By Jeremi Suri
Elections in the United States are not decided by who votes, but who does not. This is particularly true in party primaries and non-presidential elections. In 2022, for example, only thirty-seven percent of the voting age population in Texas voted for governor. From that group, a little less than fifty-five percent elected Greg Abbott. That means about one in five eligible Texans (twenty percent) cast a ballot for Abbott. Fewer voted for Beto O’Rourke. More than three in five Texans did not vote for anyone. Those non-voting Texans could have elected an entirely different governor.
Texas is an extreme version of a common American phenomenon: low voter turnout, which means the winner usually receives votes from less than a majority of the population. This is true even in what Americans call a “high turnout” election, like the 2020 presidential race. Joe Biden received seven million more votes than Trump that year, but his vote total (81,283,501) was still less than a third of the total voting age population of the country (252,274.000.)
A system creating cynicism rather than enthusiasm for democracy
This is a challenge for democracy. The majority of people should elect their leaders – a simple truth. This does not happen because too few people vote. The reasons are numerous, including voter suppression and apathy. Registration requirements, the absence of a voting holiday, and other measures make it hard for some people to vote. This is very well-documented. Disinformation, unrepresentative candidates (who are products of this system), and gerrymandered districts discourage voting as well. And then some people are apathetic, or perhaps even lazy.
All told, trickery, obstacles, and disinterest help elect figures who excite only a small minority of Americans. That repeated reality encourages more of the same. We get cynicism rather than enthusiasm for democracy.
This is a problem built into the U.S. Constitution, which does not include a guaranteed and explicit right to vote. The various voting amendments to the Constitution prohibit race, sex, and age (if eighteen or above) limits on voting, but they allow all kinds of other restrictions, such as onerous registration requirements. For that reason, throughout American history, more citizens have not voted than those who have. American history is the history of non-voters.
We need pro-vote laws, a culture of voting, and younger candidates
How can we change that? Isn’t it about time?
First, we can make every effort to facilitate voting by Americans. We can pass more laws, like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the proposed John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that prohibit common restrictions. The Voting Rights Act, for example, ended poll taxes and literacy tests, frequently used to keep certain groups from casting ballots. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will, if passed, prohibit onerous identification requirements and discriminatory gerrymandering which dilutes minority votes. Pro-voting laws can make U.S. elections more representative.
Second, we need to create a culture of voting. It should be a celebrated and encouraged part of being a patriotic American, not just an afterthought. Election Day should be a federal holiday. Communities should have parties to celebrate the day. And celebrities should make a show of their voting to encourage others. Many of these practices were common in late nineteenth-century America, when our country saw its highest turnout numbers for white male voters. We need to create a twenty-first-century culture of voting for all citizens.
Third, and perhaps most important, we need younger and more exciting candidates who will inspire voters. The historical record shows that millions of citizens stay home when they are not motivated by strong support for at least one of the candidates. Old incumbents and party regulars often discourage voters looking for change. Too many campaigns are negative and fearful, not hopeful. Unqualified outsiders repel people who understand the importance of experience and competence. To increase voter participation, parties should place more emphasis on finding candidates who have both youth and experience, as well as some crossover appeal between various voting groups. The ideologically rigid candidates often favored by parties today attract voters like themselves; they do not draw in new or non-voting citizens.
Note the enthusiasm that Kamala Harris has generated as an experienced, minority, female, and relatively young candidate, rather than the aging traditional Democratic partisanship of Joe Biden. Harris draws in groups that feel connected to her as a non-traditional candidate with their background, their policy preferences, and some of their life story. In nearly every state, voter registration sky-rocketed when she entered the race. Exciting candidates motivate voters.
These pragmatic steps to increase voting are not sufficient and they will not eliminate non-voting habits in the United States. They will, however, increase the number of voting-age citizens going to the ballot box. Higher turnout will help people to feel more connected to their government. Higher turnout will make our leaders more representative of our society.
In a moment when Kamala Harris appears to be riding pro-voter energy, especially among young voters, it is worth thinking about how to build on the current energy. Passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is a valuable step, and it should be a top priority in 2025.
Talking up voting and calling out limitations should get widespread attention from citizens at all levels. Anyone who discourages or intimidates voters should be condemned.
And we need good peer pressure. Make sure everyone you know is voting. Remind them to register. Take them to a polling location on Election Day. We must make voting cool because our democracy depends on it.
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Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor in the University's Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Professor Suri is the author and editor of eleven books on politics and foreign policy, most recently: Civil War By Other Means: America’s Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy. His other books include: The Impossible Presidency: The Rise and Fall of America’s Highest Office; Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from the Founders to Obama; Henry Kissinger and the American Century; and Power and Protest: Global Revolution and the Rise of Détente. His writings appear in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN.com, Atlantic, Newsweek, Time, Wired, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and other media. Professor Suri is a popular public lecturer and comments frequently on radio and television news. His writing and teaching have received numerous prizes, including the President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Texas and the Pro Bene Meritis Award for Contributions to the Liberal Arts. Professor Suri hosts a weekly podcast, “This is Democracy.”
We had a group of 17 year old Uruguayan Youth Ambassadors staying with us last February. We talked a lot about what voting looks like - their country has automatic voter registration at the age of 18. Election Day is a National Holiday and the kids described it as a party - families gather and they all walk to the polls and cast their ballots together, bringing the children along to see the process. Uruguay also has compulsory voting with a fine imposed if you do not vote.
Until hearing from these very engaged young people about what this model could look like, it felt impossible. And seeing our system through their eyes was very sobering.
What do you think about democracy vouchers?