6.3 Decision-Making and Power
Elizabeth B. Pearce
Much of the decision-making in the United States is executed by elected officials via legislation that passes through several branches of government. While most are elected by popular vote, the president is elected through the electoral college and some leaders, including the president, have the authority to appoint other decision-making officials such as judges and cabinet secretaries. People who have the right to vote, and who choose to vote, have some influence on who gets elected. Voting is important and is one aspect of representation, a potential equalizer in a country in which some decisions are made via direct democracy (each individual has a vote) and others are made by representative democracy (elected representatives).
As we will explore in this section, however, there are complicating factors that affect elections and equity.
Who Votes?
There are a variety of reasons that people don’t vote in local, state, and national elections. Thomas Jefferson is known for saying, “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.” Ironically, Jefferson was a part of the legislature that limited which people in the United States actually had the right to vote. In fact, what he could have said was, “We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority of people whom we have allowed to vote and who participate.” This text aims to examine how institutions still limit voting rights both explicitly and implicitly.
In general, voter turnout in the United States is higher during presidential elections, which occur every four years. As shown in figure 6.7, many people must vote physically in person at designated times. In measurements between 1984 through 2016, people who are older, non-Hispanic, and more educated are most likely to vote. Those who are 60+ years old vote the most, followed by those aged 45 to 59 years, then by those aged 30 to 44 years, and with 18- to 29-year-olds having the lowest likelihood of voting with more than double 60+-year-old voting (65%) compared with 31% of 18- to 29-year-olds voting in the 2018 election.
It could be argued that the youngest citizens have the most at stake and could have the greatest impact on the future of the United States and yet they are voting less. And yet, younger, less educated, and Latine people are less likely to vote. What is behind the numbers that people in these demographics are voting less?
Voter Registration Across the United States
Elections are state-by-state contests. They include general elections for president and statewide offices (e.g., governor and U.S. senator), and they are often organized and paid for by the states. Because political cultures vary from state to state, the process of voter registration also varies. Voter registration is the process that is determined state by state for citizens to register in order to be eligible to participate in elections. For exa