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I take issue mainly with the idea that the legal status is insufficient for citizens. The argument about increased voting presented by Dagger on p. 99-100 seems to have valid points, yet invalid ones. If we look at any European country with higher voter turnout, what is the main differences between the U.S. election process and that country's? The most significant answer is that European countries with high voter turnout have much smaller populations, allowing candidates to gain a greater feeling of personal relation with individuals. I'm not for sure, but I believe voter turnout in opening states like Iowa and New Hampshire may be higher than other states in the U.S. percentage-wise, due to the attention candidates give those states. This is similar to some European countries, in that a candidate may only have to spend time campaigning among 10-25 million people, compared to the 300 million+ in the U.S. I think Dagger should have left this out of his argument.
Still, the legal status being insufficient is questionable. By moving into the ethical dimension of citizenship, it could be said that citizenship loses its objectivity. Some may argue this undermines the legal status position, as the law is supposed to be, in principle, objective rather than subjective. I'm not saying I disagree with Dagger, but I think he has failed to flush out some of his argument...
Mental Models of Purpose of College
2 years ago
Find out if Iowa and NH do have higher voter turnout. Then compare it to other states that appear to have similar characteristics. If they do have higher turnout, what can this be attributed to? How would you go about figuring out what it could be attributed to?
ReplyDeleteEven if you're correct about the cause of lower voter turnout in the US, does this mean nothing should or could be done in the way Dagger suggests to increase voter turnout?
Well, in my research the states with highest voter turnout were Iowa, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Colorado, and Maine (followed closely by states like Wisconsin and Alaska, but those states won't be discussed here). Maine seems to be an exception in this case, as the other four states each seem to hold a greater political siginificance (either by having the first caucus, primary, or being an alleged battleground state).
ReplyDeleteI will say that, apart from the obvious political significance of these states, the idea of community participation within these states may vary compared to the rest of the United States, especially when comparing Midwestern concepts to that of states on the coast. I think Dagger's argument could be linked to voter turnout, but I still question if that degree of community is affected by the size of the populous and concentration of political efforts on certain groups. It seems logical that European political parties would have an easier time reaching out to members of their respective societies in comparison to the United States-simply due to population.
Now, although I believe Dagger's argument doesn't have a great enough correlation to voter turnout as to be highly significant, I cannot claim Dagger's suggestions would be ineffective. To go any further on this subject, I feel I need to re-read the material, but I thought I would respond briefly about the results of my quick research.