I think to most citizens the term voter apathy would mean a lack of interest in the voting process all together, If this is the issue it’s been mostly resolved in recent years as we see a 10% increase over the last decade. This can be attributed to various causes, celebrity endorsements, over dramatization by the media, the flux of the internet, or just a drastic need for a change. I on the other hand don’t see the problem simply as being a lack of voters, more so the apathy of any given voter to find out more about the politician they are voting for.
If a person who knew nothing of politics, economy or history decided not to vote my mind would be more at ease. Instead I see videos, reports and illiterate statements in relation to why a person is voting for any certain candidate. Never mind the facts that education levels in America are barely average on international scales or only 30 percent of Americans go on to college. What I find unsettling is the large amount of voters, which, based on trivialities like physical attributes, party leanings, popularity, or spite decide on which candidate is best.
Whether this has always been the case is yet to be seen as certain, although it’s more apt to happen today because of the flooding headlines and opinions that leave out specific detail on each inspiring politician. As it stands the internet is spread wide with speculation and false information that is often mistaken as fact but still impacts how some people vote, causing a major flaw with the voting process.
We can try to educate each individual, but we cannot force them to participate in learning about each candidate. What we can do is require a fact based test to be taken on American history and economy prior to a person being registered to vote. This test would be administered in the American language, as this is usually what a candidate speaks when he explains himself vaguely on the issues. Also we can use another fact based test on the history and stance...