Democracy: Do Our Votes Matter?

In democratic nations, votes from its people is an integral part of democracy because the people's voice are heard. But what happens when people loses trust in the election system?

Americans are among the least likelihood to trust their election system out of most democratic nations. In recent times, many Americans believe that their votes don't matter due to election fraud, postal workers intentionally destroying ballots, counting ballots well after the deadline, and straight up using votes from dead people. The worst part of it all is the never ending cycle of whenever a side loses, that side accuses the winning side of committing election fraud.

So how can we change the election system to regain people's trust and participate more?

It is my belief that when the people of a country stops voting, there will be nothing to stop their governments to control them.

*** I argue that more voting requirements should be considered over the existing age of 18 and citizenship requirements. I believe that too many "unqualified" people are voting.

• We should consider that people with higher stakes should be able to vote or a least have their votes matter more. An example of this are parents. Having children should put you in a higher priority because you have a future generation to worry about. People who are childless should not have the same weight behind their votes. Another example of some people should have more importance behind their vote should be the votes from entrepreneurs (1099) verses votes from employees (W2). I believe that people who are business owners should have more say during elections because they have much more to lose and small businesses are the backbone of the American society.
• More examples to consider for voting qualification is a mixer of age and educational requirements. 18 is way too young to think like an adult. The age should be raised to at least 21. On the side of education, this can be having a college degree or at least finishing high school. Most importantly, the quality of your education matters. Right now, there are way too many people who are not even taught civics in high schools that become voters.

However, I'm aware that imposing voting requirements can be a dangerous double-edged sword because history has shown how governments utilized "requirements" to subjugate a people.

Questions to Ponder:

• Do you believe your vote matters? Why or why not?
• Do you trust the election system? Why or why not?
• Should all votes carry the same "weight?" (We'll discuss this more in-depth during the meeting)
• Should we eliminate mail-in voting and revert back to in-person voting?
• What are your thoughts on voter ID?
• How do conservative states differ to liberal states on voting laws?
• How does the electoral college affect the popular vote?
• Are people misunderstanding how elections work?
• What happens when political ideologies clash and what advantages does the winning side have over the losing side?
• Even if your party won, can you say your vote had a say?
• Should there be a third party?
• Are political parties really necessary?
• Is it fair to have population dictate voting percentage?
• Why do only 1 or 2 counties decide for the entire state?
• What is rank based voting and do you support it?
• Why do people participate more in the presidential elections over their local elections?
• Why did you vote for Trump and were you surprised by the results?
• Why did you vote for Harris and were you surprised by the results?
• Are the younger generations voting less or more than their parents?
• How does socioeconomics impact the votes of racial minorities?
• Has there been an increase in racial minority voting?
• What makes people lose trust in the election system?
• What can be improved to regain people's trust in the election system?
• Do you study the candidates before voting for them?
• In what other ways can you participate in politics besides voting?
• How can we make sure that candidates keep their promises when they are elected?
• Do you believe that all politicians should wear body camera during working hours?
• Question for the foreigners of the group: How does election work in your country and do people trust their system?

Guidelines:

• If your name on Zoom does not match your Zoom name, you will be removed or not admitted.
• Hand raises are required. There are no limits on how many times you can raise your hand.
• There will be a 2-3 minute timer for every person depending the size of attendees. However, in this group, I do allow a brief back and fourth interjection from others if it's something that's related to the person who was just speaking. This is a way to prevent the group from feeling too "robotic" in style and get your pressing question asked to the speaker and get the answer right away without waiting all the way back to your turn again.
• Be authentic & civil!
• Please refrain from using Ad Hominem (personal) attacks. This includes in voice, in meeting chat, and in the comments section below. Instead, please attack the points from others. Severe Ad Hominem such as racist behavior will result in being removed from the meeting.
• Zoom link is posted well before the day of the meeting but you will not be able to join until 10 minutes before the meeting start time.