Voter turnout is at an all time low and here is how to fix it:

1. We must allow election day voter registration. [Deprecated?] Only 6 states in the U.S. allow this New Hampshire, Maine, Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Since most people are busy with their own lives, taking the time out to register and then wait on documents and information to vote is a huge hassle to the average American and a significant time waster. People are just simply too tired or too busy to vote for someone who “won’t even listen” to them. People need to feel empowered and encouraged, not powerless and discouraged from showing up at the booth.

2. Bring voter education and registration to high school students, especially before they turn 18. Schools, both private and public, are perfect times to teach our young children the merits of our Democracy and voting system. Since children also tend to scientifically be more “idealistic” than their older counterparts, they will gladly go through the hassle of registering to vote instead of playing say baseball. The younger people learn of our democratic voting system, the sooner they will use and participate in it, just as the founding fathers had wanted for all of us.

3. Repeal or reform abusive and restrictive voting laws in states. Here in California, we have by far the highest signature requirement for independent candidates of any state in the US. That is why you never see independents running for Governor or even Assembly. This seems almost criminal given that almost 20 percent of the voters are not registered with any political party – what a travesty! A democracy doesn’t function if such a large minority or majority of people are not given a vote or voice in the government. It’s tyrannical to say the least.

4. Remove forever the “Winner take all” system because candidates can win with less than 50 percent of the of vote, winner-take-all elections often discourage citizens from voting for the candidate of their choice for fear that they will split the vote, and feel compelled to vote for the “lesser of two evils”. A famous south park episode explored this notion when the school children had to choose between a “Giant Douche” and a “Turd Sandwich”. Funny but so true.