Scarlet Gallagher is a second-year international business major and writes “Sprouting Thoughts” for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
Low voter turnout is an issue that’s plagued the United States for many years. Within Indiana, it’s no different.
Indiana ranks second last among all 50 states plus Washington D.C., plus it has very nearly the worst turnout in the country, according to the 2023 Indiana Civic Health Index.
Voting is an important right, one that many people across the world don’t have. Whether it be because they live in a country where there is a dictatorship or because they are barred from voting because of their gender, race, religion or ethnic group — or a multitude of other discriminatory reasons — these people have no voice and no say in their own government.
People have made huge sacrifices fighting for democracy. Millions of Americans are unable to vote even though they want to. And yet, many Americans choose not to vote. According to the Pew Research Center, the 2020 presidential election saw a third of eligible voters not cast a vote, and it was the election with the highest voter turnout since 1900.
One common reason given by those abstaining from voting is that they don’t feel that the results of the election will personally impact them, according to an Ipsos poll taken in 2020. Others feel that their vote won’t matter or make a difference.
The idea that an individual vote doesn’t matter not only quickly adds up the more people who feel that way, but it also simply isn’t true, especially in state and local elections. Many races at these levels are won by only a handful of votes. In one of Iowa’s House of Representatives districts, the winning candidate in 2020 won only by 6 votes.
Voting can directly impact your life, ranging from the taxes you pay to the civil liberties you have. It is a way to have your voice heard in politics.
Those who choose not to vote are not the only ones who do not cast a ballot. Millions of Americans are involuntarily prevented from voting, whether because they lack transportation to the polls, are unable to vote because of work or have been disenfranchised by the state after being convicted of a crime, among other reasons.
According to a Global Citizen article, at least 21 million Americans didn’t have a government-issued photo ID at the time of the last presidential election, which prevented them from being able to vote. This is still the case as this year’s election approaches.
Additionally, Election Day isn’t a federal holiday in the U.S., unlike many other countries. This means many Americans are at work for the majority of the time the polls are open, as Election Day always falls on a Tuesday, discouraging or even preventing some workers from being able to vote.
There have been efforts to make Election Day a holiday, with legislative proposals made in Congress by several politicians, including by U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo in February 2024. None of them have been successful so far.
Furthermore, a large percentage of college students are nonvoters, with the overall student voting rate in 2022 only at 31.3 percent, according to a Tufts National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement report. Reasons for this low number echo many of the reasons other Americans don’t vote, such as transportation or schedule conflicts.
It can also be difficult for them to decide whether to register in their hometown or the town of their university, but either one is a valid choice. Another option that might be the best fit for a college student is a mail-in absentee ballot. There is a page with voter information specifically for college students on the Indiana State Government website.
The process of registering to vote can feel intimidating and discourage people from voting.
Many groups have organized to try and provide assistance to voters and combat barriers to voting. There are nonprofit resources such as VoteRiders and Vote411, which work to inform citizens about voting requirements and help them get registered. There are also initiatives like curbside voting that help disabled people who are unable to physically enter an inaccessible polling location to still cast their vote outside the polling place.
Existing barriers to voting are not the only ones making voting challenging. There have also been a number of legal changes related to the election and voting process since 2020, causing confusion and uncertainty. According to a 2024 Brennan Center research brief, which focused on swing state policy changes, there have been extensive changes enacted by states since the last presidential election.
In the majority of cases, these changes were restrictive ones, such as Florida imposing new restrictions on voting by mail. However, there have been a few changes expanding voting access, like in Michigan where new laws made voting by mail easier, increased the number of early voting days and expanded the list of accepted voter IDs.
Policies like the ones Michigan has enacted, as well as same-day registration and accessible voting options, help encourage higher voter turnout. Unfortunately, they are in the minority right now, likely contributing to low voter turnout.
Voter registration purges, a sometimes-flawed process to clean up voter rolls by removing names from registration lists, have also become an issue. According to the Brennan Center's research on voter purges, the rate of voter purging has significantly increased over the last several decades, with election denial groups pressuring government officials to remove large amounts of voters using unreliable information.
It is not enough to only register to vote — eligible voters must now frequently check their registration to ensure they have not been removed. You can do so by going to Indiana Voters and using ‘‘Confirm My Voter Registration.” Don’t allow yourself to be wrongly disenfranchised.
The Indiana registration deadline is Oct. 7 for all methods of voter registration, and absentee ballots must be requested by Oct. 24. You can register to vote online at Indiana Voters if you have a valid driver’s license or other state-issued ID. The website also provides information on polling locations and what will be on the ballot, as well as allows voters to double-check that they are registered.
If you haven’t already, take an hour to register to vote and plan how you will vote in the upcoming election. Whether by mail or in person at the polls, there are options available to you and services to help ensure you are able to exercise your right to vote.
Contact Scarlet Gallagher via email at samantha.gallagher@bsu.edu.
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