General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsShould voting be mandatory in America?
Recently with all of these voter ID laws being proposed, I started pondering what it would be like if voting was mandatory instead, like how the U.S. Census is required every few years. Not that there's much of a chance of it happening anytime soon with all of these Republicans in power wanting to keep people from voting, but I believe voting should be mandatory because it's only fair that everyone should have a say in how the country is ran.
niyad
(113,581 posts)dimbear
(6,271 posts)Americans, let's face it, aren't too bright. Let's let the motivated continue to rule.
The Magistrate
(95,255 posts)Most of the worst features of our politics are attempts to 'shape the electorate' which turns out on a particular date, by discouraging some demographic elements and exciting others to great fervor. Simply ensuring everyone of voting age came out to vote would render such tactics null.
Lint Head
(15,064 posts)COLGATE4
(14,732 posts)If you fail to vote you pay a fine. I for one believe it would be a marked improvement in our system, particularly if Election Day were changed so as to take place on a Saturday or preferably Sunday so voters would not have to compromise their pay in exchange for fulfilling their civic duty.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)that would accomplish.
yeah, we'd get people to the polls, but what happens after that?
I'm not sure I would like an unqualified person being elected accidentally just because a whole lot of pissed off people, forced to vote, happened to pull random levers.
trackfan
(3,650 posts)2ndAmForComputers
(3,527 posts)RebelOne
(30,947 posts)Johnny Rico
(1,438 posts)If someone can't be troubled to vote of their own accord, I don't want them to have a say in how the country is run.
SugarShack
(1,635 posts)for not voting. France, Venezuala, they vote at 85% too. They all have healthcare and actually get something for all of their tax dollars. WE...can't even get a pothole fixed!
bart95
(488 posts)any leader worth people being forced to vote for, is worth forcing people to mourn for
loyalsister
(13,390 posts)I look at it as a privilege and a duty. If it were to be considered only a duty, I think it would lose an important conceptual element of it's value.
cynatnite
(31,011 posts)demosincebirth
(12,543 posts)Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)Postal ballots for all, with a postage-paid envelope. No more polling places or having to vote within a specified time window on a specific day.
demosincebirth
(12,543 posts)to suppress voting in certain states and cities? I agree with you...postal ballots.
dpbrown
(6,391 posts)Australia makes voting basically mandatory, and also uses ranked choice voting. That's the direction we should be going here, not into making voting even more exclusion with faux voting fraud and new Jim Crow laws.
ohheckyeah
(9,314 posts)let's line people up and shoot them for not voting.
Seriously, why would we force people to vote?
-..__...
(7,776 posts)and it would be my sincerest wish that the legislator that introduced any such bill, the bills cosponsors, the legislators that voted "yea" and the CiC that signed the bill into law, be promptly voted out of office.
Now... how do you like dem apples?