Political Party Loyalty Challenging Voter Conscience
Photo courtesy of www.theodysseyonline.com.

Political Party Loyalty Challenging Voter Conscience

Republicans and Democrats have been pitted against each other since the parties were founded.

Identifying as either of the two is part of a person’s social identity. Whether one agrees with every stance taken by their party or not, people are usually loyal and vote along party lines.

Research done by Yale University shows that the president in office along with current events of the time such as ongoing wars, state of the economy, etc. greatly influences party loyalty for new voters.

For example, people who reached legal voting age during the democratic Kennedy Presidency, were more likely to become partisan to the Democratic party than Republican.

On the other hand, the republican G. W. Bush Presidency has a negative connotation associated with it due mostly to 9/11 and the Iraq War. The same trend was seen with new voters leaning democratic, despite it being a republican administration.

It is difficult to know where Trump and Clinton stand on major issues in this election due to the publicity of their disagreements. There are people voting against their party lines because they do not agree with the nominee.

Democrats voting for Trump are not doing so because they agree with him, but because they disagree with Clinton, and vice versa. Staunch republicans are voting democrat for the first times in their lives because of their opinions of Trump.

Voting along party lines is often not only about supporting your own party, but also denouncing the other as being wrong.

Filling in the bubble with the (D) or (R) next to the name is a choice that is challenging the voter conscience in 2016.

The mayoral office in Stevens Point is one of the few positions in the city that is non-partisan, meaning there is no party affiliation.

Mike Wiza, current mayor of Stevens Point, is non-partisan and believes choosing a candidate should be based on their accomplishments and their record of service. Facts that can be researched.

The number of people that blindly believe what is said in the media “is frightening” he said. “I don’t know a way to encourage people to make informed decisions.”

Wiza hits upon the danger of “blind voting” which occurs in every election. Voters may not know much, or anything at all, about the candidate up for election but because the (D) or (R) designation is on the ballot, they blindly vote along party lines rather than the candidate’s record.

However, eliminating the party designation on the ballot may not solve the problem.

It is uncommon for the average citizen to do the research necessary to make a fully informed decision on election day. Removing the party designation will only create confusion or even reduce voter turnout.

For a democracy to work to its greatest potential, as many people as possible need to participate and vote.

In Stevens Point, there are five elections to vote for including President and Vice President, State Senate, US Representative, Representative to the Assembly and District Attorney.

Although party lines are important, learning as much as possible about the candidates and voting on who will best represent their respective district, state, or country is crucial.

Samantha Stein
Reporter
Sstei173@uwsp.edu

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