Should The US Have Mandatory Voting?

[branford]

18. No mandatory voting.

Last edited Mon Dec 1, 2014, 01:55 AM - Edit history (1)

Option A: Compulsory voting is almost definitely unconstitutional, primarily as an infringement of the First Amendment. Besides, not voting is still making a choice, it's little different than an abstention that goes to the majority.

Option B: Major federalism problem and practical concerns. The states themselves set most of the voting rules for their citizens, and Congress both cannot, and will not, usurp such authority or even allocate the funds for the "free" cards. Moreover, the nature, type and extent of early voting is still controversial in many areas, and is best left to the states.

Option C: Online voting is a disaster waiting to happen. Despite you confidence, cyber-security is hardly foolproof, no less for something as important as elections. Our government is routinely hacked and there are still problems with the ACA website. Why would a government voting system be different from any other online activity, public or private?

I would also note that you should be very careful what you wish for. Just because you make voting mandatory, it does not necessarily follow that many more people will actually vote, particularly since fines or worse will likely be very unpopular (think about how the ACA penalty still polls miserably with all segments of society), and that's assuming you garner sufficient support to pass the law through Congress. More importantly, those new or once lazy voters are not guaranteed to vote the way you want. All you may accomplish is increasing the number of Republicans in Congress, at least in certain areas.