# Idea: Tax Deduction For Voting **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 22, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004 "2014-05-22T14:15:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/41 "2014-05-27T17:18:11Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Convictions come pretty frequently for this crime: > > [http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/newsroom/newsfromclerk/Pages/Absenteeballotfraudcasesendsmessage.aspx](http://www.cookcountyclerk.com/newsroom/newsfromclerk/Pages/Absenteeballotfraudcasesendsmessage.aspx) > > [http://www.inquisitr.com/692763/ohio-poll-worker-convicted-of-voter-fraud/](http://www.inquisitr.com/692763/ohio-poll-worker-convicted-of-voter-fraud/) > > [New Jersey Politics | Channels | Observer](http://www.politickernj.com/60053/essex-man-convicted-absentee-ballot-fraud) > > [http://txstage.ny.atl.publicus.com/article/20020817/NEWS/208170327](http://txstage.ny.atl.publicus.com/article/20020817/NEWS/208170327) > > [http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29349339.html](http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/29349339.html) > > [http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/melowese-richardson-former-poll-worker-to-be-sentenced-on-four-counts-of-voter-fraud](http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news/melowese-richardson-former-poll-worker-to-be-sentenced-on-four-counts-of-voter-fraud) So fraud happens, that’s not surprising but is there enough to warrant doing away with vote by mail? Vote by mail is great for people like my mother, who is somewhat confined to a wheelchair & now a nursing home or people like myself who don’t leave their homes easily or often. I don’t see it. Are there any numbers or percentages on how many fraudulent votes are cast in an elections? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/42 "2014-05-27T17:30:19Z")
Absentee ballots are necessary for those who cannot come to the polls either due to disability or being out of town at the time. If they are limited to a small number of people it becomes harder to do fraud. A general vote by mail system would be subject to massive amounts of fraud. The concerns are the same as for voting machines. It’s a “hackable” system. If you tried to send in 5000 ballots under the current system that would raise eyebrows. Doing it when everyone votes by mail, it would be lost in the crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Phu\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Phu\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phu_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/43 "2014-10-26T18:11:48Z")
Honestly, Honesty, PLEASE! tell me you’re not a Republican. Voting is just about the most precious right we have and you want to reduce it to our being PAID for doing it? You should be on you knees thanking every sholdier that’s ever gone lived before you that you still have that privilege. I agree that more people should get their lazy behinds to the polls and vote, but paying them is not the way to do it. Beside, you’d only be paying yourself, assuming you voted. As a side note, if we don’t stop ISIS soon you won’t be voting much longer. Phu Cat ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/44 "2014-10-26T18:25:43Z")
I don’t think **Honesty** ’s going to tell you anything. Looks like he was BANNED sometime after posting this thread back in May. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/45 "2014-10-26T18:48:22Z")
> [@Phu\_Cat](#): > > As a side note, if we don’t stop ISIS soon you won’t be voting much longer. Maybe we could give people a tax deduction for not joining ISIS. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/46 "2014-10-26T18:51:19Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Maybe we could give people a tax deduction for not joining ISIS. I’m still waiting for my check for not joining Al Qaeda. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/47 "2014-10-26T18:54:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Maybe we could give people a tax deduction for not joining ISIS. We can offset it with a special tax on font size abusers. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/48 "2014-10-26T19:05:52Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > We can offset it with a special tax on font size abusers. Typical Democratic response to a common sense Republican solution to the ISIS problem!!! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/49 "2014-10-26T20:31:04Z")
> [@Phu\_Cat](#): > > As a side note, if we don’t stop ISIS soon you won’t be voting much longer. If the Soviet Union and Red China were incapable of destroying America, I seriously doubt ISIS/ISIL poses an existential threat. Our Democracy is not so fragile that a few terrorist acts can bring it down. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/50 "2014-10-26T20:39:57Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > If the Soviet Union and Red China were incapable of destroying America, I seriously doubt ISIS/ISIL poses an existential threat. Our Democracy is not so fragile that a few terrorist acts can bring it down. Sure, ISIS might not be a threat. But what about **ISIS**? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/51 "2014-10-26T21:29:18Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sure, ISIS might not be a threat. But what about **ISIS**? That looks 3 times as threatening!! ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/52 "2014-10-26T21:37:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sure, ISIS might not be a threat. But what about **ISIS**? They are much bolder. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/53 "2014-10-27T01:00:07Z")
Better idea. National election day is a national holiday. No banks, post offices that aren’t polling places and no schools. Should be a paid holiday, if possible. Eliminate Columbus Day holiday to make up for it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/54 "2014-10-27T01:07:16Z")
Who gets off on Columbus Day? I’ve never been off on Columbus Day. I’ve never even found anyplace that’s closed on Columbus Day. Really though, all these ideas for increasing participation only help at the margins. Colorado’s mailing people ballots whether they ask for them or not, and people are going to their doors to ask them if they’ve voted and they don’t know where they put their ballot. There’s no way to get people to vote if they don’t care. How about we try good candidates? Barack Obama pushed a lot of new people to vote because they thought he was different. Of course, those people aren’t likely to be voting again. They have better things to do than get fooled again. But if we could get candidates who were everything Obama claimed he was, you’d never have to worry about people not participating. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/55 "2014-10-27T09:42:23Z")
Tax deduction for posting is a terrible idea. Mostly because the biggest benefit is going to the people most likely to vote anyway, who don’t need any incentive. And a tax deduction is in no way going to help with the problems that the least likely to vote group (or those that have the most difficulty registering) anyway. A $500 deduction in 6 months doesn’t help one whit with the $100 I am missing out on today for not working while I am queueing to do the appropriate paperwork - and anyway, if I can’t vote by post, how am I going to be submitting tax returns. But yes, Election Day should be a public holiday ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/56 "2014-10-27T11:37:59Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > But yes, Election Day should be a public holiday Merge it with Veterans Day: it times out about right, plenty of folks get the day off, and it defaults to a built-in _thank-the-troops-for-protecting-your-right-to-vote_ angle. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/57 "2014-10-27T11:56:54Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Tax deduction for posting is a terrible idea. I missed this news. Is it too late for me to send my SDMB posting log to the IRS for a tax refund? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/58 "2014-10-27T19:26:37Z")
If it is a deduction, that there is no incentive for people who are too poor to pay any income tax to vote. If, on the other hand, it is an exemption, then this is bribing people to vote, which I am against. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/59 "2014-10-27T20:11:35Z")
Well if you don’t want to bribe them, how about _forcing_ them? 🙂 I came of voting age in Australia, where voting in federal elections was made compulsory in the 1920s. Turnout at elections since then has averaged about 95%. I make this suggestion with my tongue reasonably firmly in my cheek, because i know that the more libertarian bent of the United States, especially when it comes to the power of the federal government, would never allow such a measure to be seriously considered in America. A measure designed to increase voter partcipation like this would be shot down as undemocratic or, at the very least, an infringement on liberty. I understand those arguments, and even have some sympathy with them. Still, it always seemed to me that having to turn up to your local polling place and have your named crossed off a list every few years was a pretty small price to pay for living in a democracy. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004/60 "2014-10-27T21:39:58Z")
Our founding fathers believed that democracy survives best when the votes cast are by the informed. Forced voting is anti-democratic. So is bribed voting. Freedom and democracy are for those who want it and are willing to work to preserve it. Placing the fate of our freedom and democracy in the hands of those who don’t care one way or the other is a convenient way to diminish freedom and democracy while claiming to uphold its values. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/idea-tax-deduction-for-voting/689004.md?page=4)