Voting is an essential part of our government system. It is designed to ensure that a leader who has the best interests of the people in mind is in power and to keep those who aren’t up to the task out of office. At least that was the original intent, however nowadays it doesn’t seem to be playing that role anymore as many feel the focus of voting has shifted away from the quality of candidates.
For starters, the political system in the United States only favors well known candidates and large parties with major backing, while leaving little room for voters to challenge what candidates may push. If voters don’t agree with what either party or candidate is promising in their campaign, there isn’t much that can be done. In simpler terms, it has devolved from a matter of whether a candidate is equipped for presidency and rather a popularity contest.
Another factor is that voters often prioritize party affiliation over the actual candidates themselves. To explain what I mean, there is inherent bias in the mind of voters and simply people in general. Bias drives people to fall back on what they know and what they believe whether it’s right or wrong. When concerned with political parties, this bias often drives voters to prioritize which political party they were taught to vote for and often defaults to either party that they were raised to vote for. Voters often only listen to what candidates have to say if they can apply their biases to that information in a way that makes their favored party look good and hurts the party they dislike. Although this does not go for absolutely every voter, it is a problem in the voting system that occurs often. Essentially voting has become a struggle to prove the other side wrong rather than who can do well in office.
