In America, voter participation is very low and compared to voter turn out across the world, America has one of the lowest rates. Several factors play in to why eligible voters do not vote. For a lot of people, they find it hard to find time to vote when they work during Election Day. The process at the polls also can take a lot of time and people can’t always commit that much time to waiting to vote. A lot of times, eligible can’t make it to the polls because they have no means if transportation to get there. These people could vote by absentee ballot but maybe people do not know about those ballots or how to get one. Another reason people do not vote is due to voter identification laws since not every person has a valid drivers license or state ID.

In an attempt to increase voter participation, the election process could be changed in ways that benefit the people. Election Day could be declared a national holiday so people can get out and vote, or some form of secure online voting could be made available with proper safeguards. Another change to the process could be more workers at the polls to help speed up the process so people don’t have to wait as long to vote. Also, there should be more information available to people so they can more easily get absentee ballots if they still can’t make it to the polls. If people are not voting due to the voter identification laws, those can be loosened so more people could vote if they are eligible. All of these changes could help increase voter participation and reduce barriers to voting

In the picture above is my mentor, Beth Ann Powers, and myself. Beth Ann is a second year student who is originally from Dayton, Ohio and is majoring in political science with a minor in society and environmental issues and is planning to go to law school once she finishes her bachelors of science. She is very passionate about the environment and wants to be a part of the changes that are occurring surrounding environmental concern. Due to this, she plans to be an environmental lawyer and be active within her community. Service means a lot to Beth Ann, so she gives blood as often as possible, participates in Buckeyethon, and works with her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, and a program called fighting hunger. She also spent some time advocating for organ donation during one of her more memorable classes. Being involved and giving back were some of the main reasons she joined the sorority Alpha Gamma Delta, which she loves being a part of. Besides service, Beth Ann loves to play soccer, she was actually on the club team for a while, and she runs on her own time. She also wants to be a resource for others on campus, which is part of the reason she is a PSL mentor and is part of the STEP program. Even with all of her involvement, Beth Ann is still very focused on her academics and is taking several classes this semester that will prepare her for her future as an environmental lawyer.