In 2000, George Bush won the presidential election by a couple thousands of votes. I knew that this election was very close, but I did not know that 6 million votes were lost. Voting is a pillar of the American democracy, yet many aspects of the voting system seem undemocratic. There are confusing ballots that can cause someone to vote for a different candidate, gerrymandered maps that can benefit a specific party (although this is improving), and poor technology that can distort the polls. I also find it hard to believe that there are still some parts of the country where votes are counted by humans. Imagine a poll worker forgetting to count your vote. Charles Steward and Stephen Ansolabehere’s discussion on voting rights issues was very eye-opening. Since the 2000 election, thankfully, the number of lost votes has reduced to around 3 million (roughly half of what it was in 2000). There is still a long way to go,  but technological advancements have greatly helped secure more votes.

Professor Ansolabehere made an interesting point that mandatory voting would benefit my generation the most (people ages 18-24). I cannot believe that my age group is under-represented. Young people should be the most active in politics because the policies politicians implement today will have the greatest impact on my generation and future generations.

As the next election approaches, I strongly encourage everyone to vote.