U.S. Midterm Elections, their value, and how they aid Democracy.

As of 10 November there stands to be 48 senators for the Democrat Party, 49 senators for the Republican Party, and 3 states still undecided. In this years polls Gen-Z voters showed up in overwhelming numbers for the Democrat party, voting blue more than any other age group. It could be said that the young generation of voters are the reason Democracy will stand in the United States.

?With the ongoing United States Midterm Elections, an understanding of the value of midterms, their impact, and voter turnout is incredibly important. The United States midterm elections allow you to take a pulse on how well the president elect is doing. Maintaining that congress is the same party as the president tends to support that the president is not incredibly polarizing. Interestingly, the party that occupies the White House almost always loses seats in midterm elections. The value in sustaining the same party in congress as in the White House is in having mass support for any new legislature.

The pursuit of the presidents advertised goals leading into their presidency needs backing by congress in order to not be crippled. President Joe Biden has made great strides in delivering on his promises made during his run for president. Biden ended the war in Afghanistan, expanded background checks for gun purchases, provided military aid for Ukraine, reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, and lowered prescription-drug prices. One of President Biden’s most impactful accomplishments was his student loan debt forgiveness bill which forgives the remaining balance on federal student loans. Otherwise, Bidens presidency has been increasingly productive, with a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package and a more than $65 billion bipartisan infrastructure law which supports the rebuilding of American infrastructure through roads, bridges, access to clean drinking water, tackling of the climate crisis and investment into communities that are “too often left behind.” The infrastructure law is crucial in the pursuit of driving employment and easing inflationary pressure which plagues the US at present.?

Congress remaining blue is increasingly important, if states went red it would have potential to cripple Biden's progressive agenda, possibly blocking aid to Ukraine and reducing economic assistance to those who need it. Leading into this week's midterm elections Republicans were hopeful of a red-wave; however, this was not the outcome. Historically midterms are hard for the party in power, in the past when Democrats held the office Republicans swept the polls; however in this election that was not at all the case with most outcomes being far closer than anticipated. Interestingly, in 2018 midterm voter turnout had reached a 40-year high with 53% of the total voting-age population voting. The 2020 elections had experienced a 30-year turnout high with 62.8% of Americans eligible making it to the polls.?

At present, it is predicted that this year's midterm elections will break another record for participation; however the United States still lags behind many other countries in voting-age population turnout. While the United States had 62.8% turnout, the United Kingdom last had only 62.3% voting turnout. While American voter turnout is on the rise, there are many reasons Americans choose not to, or are unable to vote. Lack of interest in politics causes Americans to not vote, this is typically rooted in privilege as your socio-economic status or race grant you the ability to be comfortable regardless of what happens in government. A general distrust in the government, belief that their candidate will win easily, believing that voting doesn’t make a difference, and the lack of convenience in voting are all more reasons that Americans sometimes choose not to vote. While on many college campuses young voters are encouraged to participate through aids to help absentee voting, this is not a guarantee as some campuses do not have those resources. Additionally, voter suppression for people of color is still a large problem in the United States. There are many voting rules which make participation disproportionately difficult for Americans of color; these rules include strict voter ID laws, long election day lines, and the hundreds of years old issue of gerrymandering. The racial turnout gap grew significantly in states that enacted strict voter ID laws, and voters of color in states across the country lack the access to the needed ID to vote in their state. Wait times for voting are longer in neighborhoods with more racial and ethnic minorities increasing the inconvenience of voting for many people of color. Lastly the “packing” and “cracking” of gerrymandering is deeply influential on the weight of the vote of people of color. Gerrymandering is the process in which politicians discourage minorities from voting as district lines are redrawn so that the minorities are under-represented. “Packing” refers to the way in which map drawers place all “undesirable” voters in a category so that they only count for one district. “Cracking: refers to few “undesirable” voters being scattered in districts where they are the minority, effectively reducing the weight of their vote.?

Midterm elections are crucial, and witnessing the increase of American voter turnout is a prideful moment; however, there are many ways in which American politics have room to grow to encourage democracy.?