The Meme App to help figure out if you lean more Democrat or Republican.
Understanding the demographic, the aim of the project was to relate and address one of the barriers many first time voters face when voting. Hoping to ease one of the many barriers first time voters face, I used either/or questions to guide users to an end result. Trying to make a serious issue light hearted and unbiased, a meme like visual identity was branded.
Overview
Building on The Birds & The Bees Talk campaign, I want to continue bringing awareness to the voting process and the many barriers affecting the age group of 18-29 year olds, many which are first time voters. First time voters have the lowest turnout rate during Presidential elections, many factors that play into low turnout are education and information on political candidates and polling requirements. The aim of the app is to help educate potential voters about political affiliation and how each party affects them. The meme visual identity is used to help attract the demographic of 18-29 year olds, and to make a serious issue seem less serious.
Knowing The Barriers
Barriers to voting vary among age, social, racial, and economic groups. Younger people, for instance, are often too busy to be bothered, or feel they have little or no stake in the outcome of an election. There is school to attend, tests to take, work to be completed, money to be made, and parties in the offing. There is simply no time to vote, particularly if there is a line at the polling station. This is the "barrier" of inconvenience, of not caring enough to make the effort. Put another way, this is the difference between being a "party animaquot;-or for the first time in one's life, making a few good bucks-and being a political participant. Younger people often express the view that it does not matter who is in the office, since what politicians do has little direct impact on their lives. This attitude is changed, to some degree, by marriage, a mortgage, children, taxes, and all of the residuals that accompany those lifestyle milestones. Interest grows as the ways in which political decisions affect one's life increase; a vote becomes more important.
Education is another factor in voting trends. More educated persons vote more often than those with less schooling. Only 23 percent of those who never attended high school voted in 1994, compared to 40.5 percent of those with a high school diploma. These percentages rose to 49 percent for persons with some college and to 63 percent for those with four or more years of higher education. The barrier in this instance is one of knowledge-the more people know, the more apt they are to vote because they realize the importance of having some influence on the political system. In a free society, the most important way to change these percentages is to encourage people to stay in school.
Wide-spread voter fraud is nonexistent. Proponents of voter ID laws claim the laws prevent in-person voter fraud, but, in-person voter fraud in the US is very rare. The Washington Post found only four cases of voter fraud in the 2016 election out of over 165 million ballots cast.
Voter ID laws require unnecessarily strict forms of identification. Voter ID laws differ by state, but most states require a government-issued photo ID with the voter’s current address. Voters must visit a local Department of Motor Vehicles or other government agency with limited hours of operation to obtain IDs. Additionally, most states charge a fee for a government issued photo ID. These provisions hinder low-income workers, elderly, and rural voters from obtaining the required documentation.
Photo ID requirements disenfranchise marginalized communities. Brennen Center for Justice studies show that 11 percent of eligible voters, 21 million individuals, don’t have updated, state-issued photo IDs. This number includes 25 percent of African Americans, 15 percent of those earning less than $35,000, 18 percent of senior citizens, and 20 percent of voters ages 18 to 29. Further, transgender and gender nonconforming individuals are disproportionately harmed by ID requirements because the gender markers on their federal and state documentation may not align, and their photo ID may not match their current gender and/or physical appearance.
Voter ID laws are like a modern-day poll tax. The cost of a photo ID ranges from $5 to $54 depending on the state. Some states discount photo IDs for individuals with disabilities and give seniors photo IDs. An ID fee can be insurmountable for low-income voters that struggle to make ends meet. Furthermore, the 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, bans “both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax.”
Problem Identification
Young people can’t be bothered
Miseducation or no education about the polling systems
Strict ID requirements for registration
Cost of ID makes it hard to obtain in some states.
