To Democratic Congresspeople: Not enough of your voters are voting. We need online voting
The issue
Only 57% of eligible Americans voted in this last election, and that percent is even lower than the last election. With fewer and fewer people voting, we need to examine why they aren’t showing up and what we can do to increase voter turnout.
This question is particularly relevant to Democrats, because as we begin looking at who isn’t showing up at the polls, it turns out these voters are disproportionately absent:
Minorities and poor people are far less likely to vote than white people because of practical problems, like transportation and working. (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-are-the-poor-and-minorities-less-likely-to-vote/282896/
Urban populations have a harder time voting than rural because of the logistics of setting up voting stations. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/11/03/planning-to-vote-tomorrow-it-should-take-15-minutes/ and http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/4/13501120/vote-polling-places-election-2016
Disabled people, who aren’t necessarily more Democrat but who definitely care about health care services, also struggle to vote for practical reasons. (https://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Lisa%20Shur,%20Political%20Participation%20and%20Attitudes_OCR.pdf and http://www.vox.com/2016/10/28/13440928/voting-disability-disabled-2016
Young people, possibly the most liberal group of all, experience life through the internet and are awful at doing things that require them to physically show up and stand in line. (http://www.npr.org/2016/05/16/478237882/millennials-now-rival-boomers-as-a-political-force-but-will-they-actually-vote and http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/millennials-technology-social-connection.html
Overseas people, who have been known to turn elections, struggle so badly with the mechanics of voting that 15% of them aren’t even sure if they voted or not. (https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-03-01/america-s-overseas-voters-are-not-impressed and https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Reports/FVAP-OCPAsummarybrief.pdf
These people, who number in the millions, are becoming more and more disenfranchised because of the practical issues of showing up to the voting booth in the middle of the day on Tuesday.
Nearly 80% of Americans have access to the internet. Online voting is a viable solution to these basic accessibility problems and will result in better turnout.
We need online voting. Millions of voices would be heard.
The issue
Only 57% of eligible Americans voted in this last election, and that percent is even lower than the last election. With fewer and fewer people voting, we need to examine why they aren’t showing up and what we can do to increase voter turnout.
This question is particularly relevant to Democrats, because as we begin looking at who isn’t showing up at the polls, it turns out these voters are disproportionately absent:
Minorities and poor people are far less likely to vote than white people because of practical problems, like transportation and working. (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/01/why-are-the-poor-and-minorities-less-likely-to-vote/282896/
Urban populations have a harder time voting than rural because of the logistics of setting up voting stations. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/11/03/planning-to-vote-tomorrow-it-should-take-15-minutes/ and http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/4/13501120/vote-polling-places-election-2016
Disabled people, who aren’t necessarily more Democrat but who definitely care about health care services, also struggle to vote for practical reasons. (https://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/Lisa%20Shur,%20Political%20Participation%20and%20Attitudes_OCR.pdf and http://www.vox.com/2016/10/28/13440928/voting-disability-disabled-2016
Young people, possibly the most liberal group of all, experience life through the internet and are awful at doing things that require them to physically show up and stand in line. (http://www.npr.org/2016/05/16/478237882/millennials-now-rival-boomers-as-a-political-force-but-will-they-actually-vote and http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/millennials-technology-social-connection.html
Overseas people, who have been known to turn elections, struggle so badly with the mechanics of voting that 15% of them aren’t even sure if they voted or not. (https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-03-01/america-s-overseas-voters-are-not-impressed and https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Reports/FVAP-OCPAsummarybrief.pdf
These people, who number in the millions, are becoming more and more disenfranchised because of the practical issues of showing up to the voting booth in the middle of the day on Tuesday.
Nearly 80% of Americans have access to the internet. Online voting is a viable solution to these basic accessibility problems and will result in better turnout.
We need online voting. Millions of voices would be heard.
The Decision Makers
Petition Updates
Share this petition
Petition created on 11 November 2016