If voting was compulsory in the USA, would we all be better off?

[ConcernedCanuk]

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By "we" I mean not just the citizens/voters/taxpayers of the USA,

but the whole World in general.

Interesting to note -

"The percentage of eligible voters who cast ballots varies from election to election, but voter turnout in general — even in presidential elections — is lower than in most other democracies.

Since 1960, voter turnout has generally declined from 64 percent (1960) to just over 50 percent (1996), although it increased again over the last two elections to just over 60 percent"

http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/elections-in-brief/states.htm

[NightWatcher]

1. NO! I dont want more ignorant voters, only those who give a damn enough to do it volutarily

mandatory voting would be a horrible thing

[Cleita]

5. My thoughts exactly. n/t

[trof]

7. I second that emotion.

[knowledgeispwr]

10. Ditto!

Could you imagine a worse gimmick than McCain/Palin being serious contenders because apathetic ignorant voters thought it would be a funny gag to vote them in?

[endthewar]

21. Agreed!

[stray cat]

2. Not unless education about issues was also required - ie pass a test before you vote

and I'm not in favor of that because of potential misuse.

[NightWatcher]

4. that has already been judged unconstitutional. (both poll taxes and literacy tests)

this was a tactic employed to keep blacks from voting

[clydefrand]

3. No, how would you enforce that? I don't believe that is Democracy.

It would be good if more people cared enough to learn and vote; but I don't think it's possible to enforce that and still have freedom.

[stray cat]

9. You could encourage it by linking it to a tax break or extra pay

however if someone doesn't care enough to vote they don't care enough to understand issues and I don't want them voting.

[Sebastian Doyle]

6. Religious Reich co-founder Paul Weyrich had the right idea, but applied it to the wrong side.

He thought the country would be better off by eliminating as many votes as possible. I say it would be better off by eliminating as many IDIOTS from voting as possible.

Seriously, mandatory IQ tests before you can vote. It wasn't smart people who voted for Chimp, and it isn't anyone with a three digit IQ who believes Moosealini is qualified.

[tbyg52]

11. I agree with you in theory

But I believe that every test of this sort has been perverted for purposes of vote suppression.

[Kitty Herder]

19. It's surprising to me how many intelligent people actually did vote for Bush.

Intelligent, but selfish, or simply enculturated to conservative "values."

Like my sister-in-law who is incredibly intelligent, but racist, classist, mean and nasty. Or my ex-boyfriend, who is also quite bright, but can't seem to think outside the conservative box imposed by his upbringing. Or my grandmother who is sharp as a tack, but who follows the dominant political ideas in the area where she lives, where over 80% of the county voted for Bush.

[tbyg52]

8. Yes, because that would help with the vote suppression problem.

(I hope - but Rethugs can mess up anything.)

[jbnow]

20. Amen. It would end voter suppression and that would

be worth so much.
Stupid people vote now and they vote by rote, they don't need to know much either.

Many who don't vote don't think they make enough of a difference to try to squeeze it in between getting the kids on the bus and getting in to work...or to have to pay babysitter extra...or to sludge through a wet heavy snow...whatever.

If people had to vote it would be made easier, be a national holiday or spread out over days via early voting. More people would pay attention.

Al;so Dems would have a better chance of winning.
Not that I am biased of course.

[Hangingon]

12. No. We need informed voters.

There would be a terrible danger that those enforcing the mandatory vote would skew the count.

[ITsec]

13. No... if we are truly a free country, then we are free to choose to vote or not vote...

Being forced to vote is nothing less than a dictatorship.

[cynatnite]

14. Forcing people to vote is one step away from dictating who to vote for, IMO. n/t

[RC]

15. I voted No only because there was no "HELL NO!!!"

Enough ignorant voters keep voting against their self interest already. Too many people think politics does not affect them and/or think it is just a game, like their Sunday afternoon football.

[Greyhound]

16. Oops.

[Journeyman]

17. Just because someone is forced to the polls. . .

doesn't make them an educated voter -- democracy is dependent on quality, not quantity, and simply stuffing the ballot booth is no guarantee the ballot box will reflect wisdom or even self-interest.

To hell with this idea we should "be ashamed of ourselves" because the ignorant and the disinterested don't vote. Look at the 2004 election, and the huge numbers who were motivated to go to the polls for the sole purpose of voting against gay marriage -- and once there, they were manipulated into voting a slate of candidates who have governed in contradistinction to the interests of the lugheads and nitwits who voted, first, to protect the "sanctity of marriage" (though I suspect most of them considered it in terms of voting against 'them queers'), and then, voted for people they believed would support their hatred. Is this the type of democracy we should cherish? And then believe it especially good if we can get the lunkheads to vote our side of the ticket?

Two illusions of democratically-ruled countries were shattered in the early part of the 20th century by the rise of totalitarian movements in the European nation-states. The first was that a modern democracy is always governed by majority decision. What was shown instead is that the politically neutral and indifferent masses can be manipulated and prodded to act against their own interests and, in the proper situations, can easily become the majority in a democratically ruled country, proving that democracy could function according to rules actively recognized by only a minority. And the second illusion shattered by the political involvement of these disinterested masses was the belief that democracy rests upon the involvement and participation of an enlightened citizenry. On the contrary, by drawing the disinterested into the process, and turning it on its head, totalitarianism showed that democracy rests as much on the silent indifference of the inarticulate as on the articulate and visible institutions and organizations of the country.*

Rather than seeking merely to get-out-the-vote, we should instead be far more interested in cultivating an educated citizenry who will act for the good of the nation because it will be in their own interest to do so. Once a people is properly involved and motivated, they'll seek the polls for themselves.

But when we encourage the politically uninvolved to vote we quickly find that such voters can be easily swayed not by reason or self-interest, but by flash & filligree and a little fear for good measure -- perfect candidates for BushCo's nonsense.


*Paraphrased from Hannah Arendt, Totalitarianism 1952.

[ConcernedCanuk]

18. Interesting write-up on "compulsory voting" - wish I'd read it BEFORE making this poll

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For example,

another choice could have been to ATTEND a voting station, but not necessarily vote . .

Read . . .

"The exact nature of compulsory voting, where practiced, differs around the world. A few examples are briefly investigated below:

Belgium
Compulsory voting has existed in Belgium since 1892. Entering a polling booth is mandatory, but marking a ballot paper is not. After the election, a list of all non-attendees is sent to the office of the public prosecutor.

Prosecutions are carried out where there is an absence of a decent excuse. Explanations such as a medically certified illness, being abroad or an 'act of God' are usually good enough reasons to escape without punishment.

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/article.php?id=46 - interesting read . .

and lets not assume how many of the voters in the USA are well-informed, nor how "ignorant" those may be that stay at home.

or vicey-vercey

Interesting responses here though . .

Thanks :hi:

[Blue_In_AK]

22. I don't want the stupid people voting.

Informed voters, please.