The Unheard Voices of America

When looking at our governmental system we often tend to look at the discrepancies between how the government works in regards to how it listens to the needs of all its citizens. Democracy stands on three fundamental principles, popular sovereignty, political equality, and political liberty. The United States is a liberal representative democracy—which means that people do not rule directly, but rather through elected representatives.

Popular sovereignty is the basic principle of democracy that states people are the ultimate source of government authority and of the policies that the government leaders make. Popular sovereignty has seven conditions that are especially important in order for it to flourish. One in particular that I would like to focus on is that of people participating in the political processes. When we think of a democratic society, we assume that the majority of people’s voices are heard because that is what we understand as the definition of a government that is run by the people for the people. However, when we truly think about it, is that always the case? Do we all really have a voice in politics?

The answer seems simplistic given we are a democratic society, but the truth is we are not accurately representing the voices of all of our people. When thinking of reasons why people wouldn’t be participating in the political process, one can come up with many ideas. However, the most serious reason that we need to take into account is that poor and minority groups are less likely to vote given their socioeconomic status. In an interview by The Atlantic’s Daniel Weeks with Cassandra, a middle aged black woman who manages the Contact Center’s outreach to families in need in Cincinnati, Ohio we get a firsthand account of what it’s like to be a minority facing America’s democracy (The Atlantic).

“When I ask Cassandra why she sees problems like these persisting over time, she turns immediately to politics and the democratic process. Money and social status is how you make yourself heard, she says, but people below or near the poverty line have neither. “We’re not equal citizens.”

When you look at people like Cassandra, and hear their stories, you begin to wonder if our democracy is weaker than we perceive it to be. How is it that we have men and women out there who don’t have the means to even make it to the ballots to vote?

The following is an excerpt from The Atlantic article, it goes into further detail as to why the poor and minority groups are less likely to vote in elections. After reading this excerpt, I would like everyone to think how is it that we can say that we have a strong democracy that properly represents our people, when so many of those who need the most political support and need their voices to be heard, can’t even find the means to cast their votes.

“Black and Hispanic citizens, for whom the poverty rate is close to three times that of whites, were three times as likely as whites to not have the requisite I.D. and to have difficulty finding the correct polling place. They were more than three times as likely as whites to not receive a requested absentee ballot, and roughly twice as likely to be out of town on Election Day or to have to wait in long lines. They were also substantially more likely than whites to report transportation problems and bad time and location as reasons for not getting to the polls, while white voters were the most likely to cite disapproval of candidate choices. Taken together, the surveys suggest that white citizens who abstain from voting do so primarily by choice, while the majority of minority non-voters face problems along the way.”

With the information given, how is it that we can say we are truly representing all of our citizens, when so many minority groups don’t even have the ability to make it to the ballots on Election Day. The wealthy and privileged have the choice not to vote, but poor and minority groups have actual barriers prohibiting them from voting. Attached below is a graph depicting voter turnout by family income from 2008-2012.

The graphs clearly display that the wealthier and more privileged one is, the more they tend to vote, and therefore, the more their voices will be heard in future political processes. With all of the information provided including Cassandra’s interview, the article by The Atlantic, and the graphs above, how is it that we as a country can say we are truly adhering to all of the basic principles of a strong and functioning democracy? If we are not able to include the minorities in our voting processes and have their voices be heard, how will our society ever improve? With less political participation comes a weaker democracy, and that is I believe, an issue our country is facing today.

Sources:

Weeks, Daniel. “Why Are the Poor and Minorities Less Likely to Vote?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 10 Jan. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-are-the-poor-and-minorities-less-likely-to-vote/282896/.

Textbook: The Struggle for Democracy

4 Responses to "The Unheard Voices of America"

Brett Tivnan says:

January 27, 2018 at 5:50 pm

Hi Haley,
I felt that your article was incredibly well-written and informative, and introduced several points that I had no idea about. I believe that you are completely right about how important of an issue this is. It was especially telling to me that many impoverished non-voters, most of whom belong to some minority, were unable to vote or were practically denied either due to problems with absentee ballots or long lines likely due to living in more urban areas with greater populations. In the previous Presidential election, when I saw how counties in Florida (where I lived) often had very little minority turnout for voting, I was of the mind that these groups simply didn’t have as much interest in the election and chose not to vote. I had never really considered that other factors may have led to the lack of minority turnout during said election.
There is one thing that I was wondering about in your post however. In regards to the bar graph, is there any information regarding what percentage of the population falls into each economic bracket? I’d have to imagine that over 60% of the overall voting population fits into the middle three economic brackets, which I believe is important as it represents a great deal of voter turnout that could easily decide any election.
Kelly Gough says:

January 27, 2018 at 7:02 pm

Haley,

I really enjoyed reading your post about the “Unheard Voices of America.” Your thorough explanation of the type of Government the United States utilizes as well as explaining the three fundamental principles was particularly beneficial in setting up the rest of the post.

When you began talking about how “we are not accurately representing the voices of all of our people” I was intrigued to read more. I found the quote you included from Cassandra to be particularly beneficial. I completely agree that “money and social status is how you make yourself heard, but people near the poverty line have neither.” It is easy to believe that because we have elected officials and utilize the democratic process that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate. Unfortunately, that is not the case, this is exemplified in your statement that “minority groups don’t even have the ability to make it to the ballots on Election Day.” It is a sad truth the higher income and privileged Americans are more likely to be heard in the political process because it is not representative of the nation as a whole.

In order for democracy to work, all citizens need to be heard equally. This begs the question, what can we do to help people who have less resources get out and get their voices heard?

One suggestion I would propose is to run an initiative to have a politics class in high school become a requirement in schools across the board. Then, all public high-school students would equally understand the importance of voting.

Another suggestion I would propose is to make it easier for people in low-income areas to vote and have their voices heard. This could be done with better transportation opportunities for whoever needs it.

Lastly, I would imagine it is difficult to find the time to go and vote if it is crucial to someone to meet a certain amount of hours of work in order to pay specific bills. If people were allocated a 5-hour window of paid time off that they could use to go and vote, perhaps people would be better able.

I am not sure about the logistics or ethical dilemmas these solutions would pose but it does give me hope that as a nation we would be able to work together to figure out a way to make sure that everyone is equally represented and heard in this democracy.

Thank you for the insightful and engaging post!

Kelly Gough
Samuel Lambeth says:

January 28, 2018 at 4:20 pm

Haley,

Your narrowed focus on popular sovereignty dealing with citizens political participation is an interesting take on determining whether we all truly have a voice in our democracy. Much of your reasoning for citizens lacking political participation relied on the issue of socioeconomic barriers preventing potential voters. For example, your analysis on the Atlantic article supports the idea that several minority groups do not have the means of transportation to make it to the ballots and that the wealthy and the privilege have more of a choice to vote. I also agree that socioeconomic barriers play a role in restricting the political participation of voters during elections. However, I also believe that a lack of political participation in voting is caused by a lack of incentives and intrinsic motivation. Politically disengaged citizens do not perceive or understand the benefits of driving to a polling place and casting their vote. The past 2016 presidential election was different than previous elections because the issues mattered more than the demographics. “The Hidden Vote” allowed Trump to defeat Clinton in the presidential race because he was the first republican since Ronald Reagan to win the rust belt states as many of their voters appealed to Trump’s plans for a positive economic change. (Placing Priority by the Voter Study Group) The voters in the 2016 election were intrinsically motivated to participate because the promises offered by the presidential candidate were beneficial to the frustrated voters. This idea is also supported by the Voter Study Group’s analysis that structured Trump’s voters into five distinct categories, such as the “Democrat/Independent Liberal Elites” (15 percent of the electorate), the “Democratic-Leaning Working Class” (the largest cluster, at 25 percent), the “Moderate Younger Middle-Income” voters (17 percent), the “Conservative Older” voters (21 percent), and the “Conservative Younger” voters (12 percent). (Placing Priority by the Voter Study Group)

https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publications/2016-elections/placing-priority
James Weakley says:

January 28, 2018 at 5:58 pm

Haley,
I found your blog post on the “The Unheard Voices of America” extremely insightful. Prior to reading the article, I had very limited knowledge on the voting patterns of minorities. While I was aware of the lower voting turnout from minorities, I hadn’t really known why. I assumed non-voting minorities had either chosen not to vote, out of a lack of interest in politics or poor political efficacy. The struggles low income minorities face in attempting to exercise one of their most basic freedoms is extremely worrisome. If every citizen’s voice isn’t equally heard by government, the theoretical perfect view of democracy we all have failed. Which brings me to my next point. While, it is a tragedy not everyone’s voice is heard in our version of democracy, it would be extremely naive to believe our democracy works perfectly. There are plenty of problems with democracy in The United States. Voter ID laws, gerrymandering, and money in politics all plague the perfect democracy, described in the Constitution. I do agree that all of these problems should not be tolerated and be fixed as quickly as possible. That being said, while we all should strive for a more perfect democracy, creating the the perfection one is impossible. The troubles facing low income minorities in voting is unacceptable but, I do not believe it will spell the end of functioning democracy in the USA.
Thanks for the great post.

Comments are closed.