When it comes to politics, Americans have become pretty pessimistic. People don’t trust the political parties. Voter turnout is mediocre. Cynicism and polarization are rampant. But this pessimism belies a truth: Individual Americans have more political power than they realize.
From the Tea Party on the right to the Trump resistance on the left, citizen activism has helped change American politics in recent years. If politics is a conversation, every American has a voice. Here’s how you can use yours more effectively.Voting is the most fundamental form of civic engagement in a democracy. But the United States has among the lowest voter turnout of developed nations.
One reason is that the simple act of voting often turns out to be not so simple. Most American elections are held on weekdays, forcing people to plan around work and family schedules — especially if their polling place has long lines. Making matters worse, elections for most elected offices don’t coincide with national elections, as the political scientist Sarah Anzia has noted. That can make it difficult to keep track of all the times you can vote.
