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Social
Work Abstracts
Voter Participation
The concept of “voter
apathy” is a misplaced explanation for low voter turnout and participation,
which is influenced by voting rights, voting mechanics, and voting
systems. Less than 52 percent of eligible voters voted in the 2000
general elections. A 1998 Census study found that nearly 5 million
registered voters did not vote because they could not take time
off from work or school, or were otherwise too busy to vote. On
the other hand, a League of Women Voters study found that voters
were much more likely than nonvoters to see a positive role for
government in their lives. While federal law requires that states
offer registration in conjunction with motor vehicle licensing
and by mail, as well as in person at government agencies, efforts
to simplify registration need to be enhanced by other reforms.
Citizens should be assisted in every possible way to exercise their
basic right of voting. Social workers are encouraged to educate
clients to be informed voters and to mobilize them to cast their
ballots.
To get more voters
to the polls, NASW supports a number of policies, including:
- full
implementation of the National Voter Registration Act in all
states and passage of a constitutional amendment establishing
and protecting the right to vote;
- research
into nontraditional means of voting, to increase voter participation;
- making
federal Election Day a national holiday;
- the
use of machinery and technology to assist individuals with
disabilities in voting;
- uniform
national rules for handling all absentee ballots;
- full
restoration of voting rights for all ex-felons who have served
their sentences;
- campaign
finance reform and accurate media coverage to promote informed
voter participation; and
- the
involvement of social work professionals and students in the
election process to work against voter intimidation, particularly
intimidation of historically oppressed populations.
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