Why Some Americans Think Voting Isn’t Worth the Hassle | Amanpour and Company

I live in a red state where it's "winner takes all" so my vote for President never counts, thanks to the Electoral College system.

As a Canadian, I have never understood why voting is so much of a hassle in the US. In Canada, so long as you pay taxes and are over 18, you are automatically registered to vote. You get a voting card in the mail before the election and you bring this with you to the voting station. Voting stations are ubiquitous and easily accessible. I have never ever waited for more than 15 minutes to cast my vote. In my recent provincial election, voting took 5 minutes in and out. The thought of waiting 8 hours or more would make me not want to vote too. For a country that preaches democracy to the world, you really are bad at it.

End the electoral college. Publicly fund elections. Ranked choice voting. -In that order.

One hundred million non-voters is not simply voter suppression. If the largest turnout for an election left 100,000,000 not voting, then that's a huge problem for democracy in the U.S..

Young people don't have the kind of jobs that they can leave. Especially these days. They are in food service and other lower paying jobs. We should have election day off. It is a blatant disregard for the majority of Americans, who are working for their living.

Absolutely- my husband, right before he died, went to vote with his oxygen machine and the line was too long .

Yup, that's me. I strongly dislike both of the two probable candidates. And in the state where I live the outcome is virtually certain. so what's the point? our electoral college system makes my vote irrelevant. and I'm too old to care anymore.

Everyone votes by mail in our state. No hassle at all. Seeing photos of long voting lines looks like something out of the 19th century. It also makes voting more intelligent for down ballot issues. Both parties like this system. It is also cheaper. Paper ballots are easy to recount. This works in both red and blue states.

The opposite of good is not evil, it is apathy. - Eli Wiesel

Democrats need to get out and knock on doors, our hope is grassroots imho. What I have heard that is giving the republicans strength is a Spanish speaking t.v. station that is extremely right winged but the Dems have none. Door knocking is a must, especially with high populations of Latino citizens.

Excellent reporting; thank you very much.

We need third party for things to actually change. Real debates, less money driven politicians, more younger candidates, and eliminate special interest groups behind the scenes, funding the campaigns. The current system is a joke.

There’s a saying “If voting mattered, it would become illegal”. The politics of today, proves that to be right.

Many people who do pay more attention to politics learn over time that the two party system has given us a static situation which reoccurs every four years. Lame candidates and campaigning based not on policy but on fear of the other party. Feels VERY contrived and like we're being played on a meta level.

In England, everyone is automatically registered every October. In 40 years voting I never queued to vote. Walk in, vote, easy ! The US is so 3rd world in so many ways...

Voting is NOT that difficult. Registering takes 10 minutes. Most places offer mail-in ballots. They (mostly) have no excuse.

being an informed citizen and voting is the very least you can do. i spent all day tues working the polls. there is no such thing as an unimportant election.

Good stuff ..as usual...however..theres no mention of the fact that the Electoral College determines the winner...not the popular vote.This has happened a number of times in the last 25 years and Im confident it plays a role in people not voting.Thank you

1. Some cities don't have enough polling sites and the lines are hours long. Some people work multiple jobs and cannot spend so much time trying to vote. 2. Most states have highly gerrymandered districts, in which the outcomes are a foregone conclusion. 3. These highly gerrymandered districts don't represent the majority of voters, who feel their concerns go unaddressed, year after year. ...all factors contributing to voter apathy.

The USA free market electoral bribery system/ competition is such a huge insult to anybody rational. I’ve been on mail vote most of my life. No way in hell would I ever wait over 1 hour. It’s also so discouraging to have to endure the pomposity of year around election campaigns. Everything about our political system is an intellectual slap in the face.