Voter Registration

Reflective Memo: The topic of this essay was very interesting for me to research.I did not know much about voter registration when I started this essay.I wanted to pick a topic that directly affected myself.Since I just had registered to vote a few months prior I thought that it would be an interesting topic to research.The most challenging part was finding reliable sources to back up what I wanted to argue in my essay.Overall, this piece helped me understand how I and others can be affected by voter registration.Have you been through the long, strenuous process of U.S. voter registration?Voting has the power to prevent the government from making serious decisions that are not in the people's best interest.It is a constitutional right that allows every citizen to be able to cast a ballot on election day.In previous years, women and minorities were not always given this right.However, that has all changed and now every citizen possesses the right to vote, so why do so many people still not vote in the elections?Citizens must register to vote in every state but North Dakota.The registration process varies from state to state; however, many have deadlines and other restrictions that can potentially prevent U.S. citizens from exercising their right.Registration is implemented and maintained by the federal and state government, and it benefits registered voters and political parties.Voter registration causes the U.S. to have low voter turnout and unequal representation, which affects low income and minority voters directly by restricting their right to vote.This system of control was first created in order to limit the voting rights of many minorities.During the nineteenth century, many registration laws and voting regulations were put in place, such as literacy tests and poll taxes specifically limiting African-American participation in elections (Stone 522).This began a trend of using voter registration to restrict certain types of voters.Many African-Americans during this time period could not pass the literacy test or afford to pay poll taxes that were required to be eligible to register.This was the start of the flawed system.The government and many politicians began to use the voter registration process to manipulate and control the popular vote, violating many people's constitutional rights.Even without the threat of literacy tests and poll taxes, governments still find ways to limit many people's right to vote.Many of the states in the U.S. have different rules and regulations for voter registration.This system of control can also be caused by the state's individual laws.Many of the states "do have the power under the Constitution to set voter qualifications, thereby defining the group of