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Political Participation in the USA - Coggle Diagram
Political Participation in the USA
Voting
For example
, in the 2020 presidential election
67%
of the American population voted, consisting of almost
160 million
votes being casted. This shows a huge turnout of voters and the majority of Americans were able to cast their vote.
However
, it is clear that not everyone is given the right to vote in the US, and some people simply neglect their right to vote. Groups including non-citizens, prisoners and Hispanics are banned from voting in some states.
Citizens have the opportunity to vote in many different elections, but arguably to most important one being the presidential election which takes place every 4 years, and normally has a very large voting turnout.
Standing as a candidate
Examples
of people who have successfully run for president are
Donald Trump
of the Republican Party, and
Joe Biden
for the democrats winning the 2020 election. This clearly shows how easy it is to stand as a candidate because there aren't very much barriers.
However
, it may seem like their are hardly any barriers from stopping, one from standing as a candidate. Candidates will need an absurd amount of funding to even having a chance of winning.
US citizens may choose to run as a candidate for a number of positions, such as congressman or women, or state governor or even as a president as long as they meet the age requirements and are citizens of the country.
For example
, in the
2016
Presidential election Donald Trump spent
$400 million
on his campaign, and Hillary Clinton spent
$770
million on her unsuccessful campaign. This clearly shows that having money to spend on a campaign is a requirement to even having a chance of winning.
Supporting a candidate/contributing to party funds
Citizens can get involved in politics by supporting a candidate. Citizens can get involved in the political campaigns in many ways such as delivering leaflets, displaying and making posters or advertising through social media, and even by contributing to party funds.
For example
, in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, the democrats were given financial support from celebrities such as Beyonce and Tom Hanks. President Trump got financial support from Clint Eastwood and Kanye West.
Joining an Interest group
Another way that citizens can get involved in politics is by joining an interest group. Interest groups attempt to put pressure on the government and influence amendments or introduce new laws.
For example,
The National Rifle Association
(NRA). Is an interest group which supports gun rights. An advantage they is that they posses a large amount of wealth. In the 2016 presidential election NRA spent
$30 million
on Donald Trumps presidential campaign. This clearly shows they are at a significant advnatge not only due to their wealth but their access to the government.
However,
not all groups are as fortunate as this as they have limped access to the government and funds.
For example
,
BlackLivesMatter
is a human rights movement who campaign against police brutality and racism. Despite their being thousands of protests after the killing of George Floyd, and being named the largest civil and political movement in US history, no notable changes to the law have been made and police brutality continues.
Protesting
Another way for citizens to participate in politics is through protesting. Citizens have the right to protests in a peaceful manner to express their views to the state and national governments.
For example
, two of the most notable protests to form and take place in America are the annual
Women's Marches
(since 2017) and the BlackLivesMatter protests of 2020. Women Marches took place on the first day of Donald Trumps presidency, as many as one million went to the streets of Washington DC, in support of gender equality and women rights.