Yes jury duty is mandatory, have you seen people called for jury duty?
Turn it around, what problem are you trying to solve? In Ohio, yeah yeah I know, the Secretary of State’s website lists a population of 11,545,202 and a registered voter total of 7,985,428. Not bad, especially if you subtract children and those not otherwise eligible to vote. Now look at the number of votes cast in yesterday’s election, 5,364,303. That is well over 50% of the registered voters and darn near close to half of the actual population. At the moment, the difference between the two major candidates is two full percentage points exactly. I think we have a good statistical representation here.
But more importantly, voting is a civic duty. While I would like that it be made easier for national elections, I don’t want it to be compulsory. If you choose to not be part of the process, then that is part of the freedom this country is supposed to be based on.
Moreover, if a person is so apathetic that they do not want to participate at all, how can they be relied upon to make an informed decision?
Many years I choose not to vote as my way of demonstrating my contempt for both of the candidates I have been offered. I wish there was a box I could check that says, “You both suck.” I would show up every year if they let me do that.
Even if there is an ‘I don’t give a shit’ box, many, perhaps most of the people you will be forcing into the system will check some candidate at random, or just check all the candidates on a randomly chosen party line, rather than check the ‘I don’t give a shit’ box. It merely introduces a random element that may well swing a close election to the guy the majority who are informed didn’t want. This does not improve the system in any way.
That just makes you look too lazy or disinterested to vote. If you want to differentiate yourself from that, show up and vote third party or mickey mouse write in - at least it conveys the message you wish to convey.
FWIW, Nevada has a “none of the above” entry and I like it. I used it in the senate race this year, which was full of shitbags.
Oh, I’m sure some of them are. I’m also sure it was a rhetorical device that most readers understood not to be entirely literal. Let’s try this one, instead: “The masses are asses.”
don’t ask didn’t list any advantages
But if you’re allowing a “I don’t give a shit” vote, then it doesn’t do this at all. Not any more than a mandatory semester of US Civics and the endless onslaught of political ads and paid time off work to go vote does. Some people just don’t care. Force them into a voting booth, and they’ll still not care, but they may make some random and damaging doodles with their voting pens.
Yes the draft is compulsory (for 18 year old males). This is not a highjack, see OP.
We haven’t had a draft call up since Viet Nam. The “all volunteer” services’ demographics have changed because of that IMHO.
Imagine the flight to Canada if voting was made compulsory.:rolleyes:
This is the eternal problem with democratic elections. Frankly, I would support a poll test, but that has been ruled unconstitutional. So if there is no requirement to know about anything to vote, then we might as well require everyone to vote and at least record everyone.
I think (and hope) the SCOTUS would overturn such a law. Refraining from voting can be and is a form of protest. Even if you offer a choice of “no vote”, you still force people to participate in the system they may want to protest.
Additionally, we don’t run elections nationally in the US. The states do. This is not a federal matter.
Those who don’t show up make a statement that means: I don’t trust democracy.
Those who do show up and vote for nobody make a different statement: I trust democracy, but I don’t trust you.
Mandatory voting eliminates that difference. Does democracy want to know? If not, why not?
Simple. Not showing up means nothing. Perhaps you don’t trust the process, perhaps you are apathetic, maybe the line was too long to bother with, maybe you had a cold, etc…
Compulsory voting eliminates all the non political reasons for not voting. When you check the “I choose to abstain” box you are making a statement about the process in general. When you choose the “I choose to vote for no one” you are making a statement about the candidates presented. While there will always be margin for error, this system properly counts those who feel disaffected with the system as well as those who choose to completely abstain for political reasons. Everyone else will just select a candidate, or write one in and send their ballot back. At the end of the count we have a fuller, more accurate picture of the populace and its opinions, (informed, ignorant or otherwise)
The simple act of voting does not confer legitimacy, the act of *voting for a candidate *does. That is the difference. Leaving the option open to abstain provides both the opportunity to confer legitimacy as well as the ability to discern what percentage of the population is not being adequately served by the current system.
Jury duty is not a right. Draft is not a right. Being a witness in a criminal matter is not a right. Voting is. You make in mandatory, you’re taking away my right to vote.