Should Election Voting Be Mandatory?

[mtblujeans]

My DS and I recently learned that voting in Australia is mandatory with refusal to vote punished by monetary fine. Needlesstosay, voting has a great turn out in that country!!

Should voting in this country be made mandatory?

 

[Bob Slydell]

No

 

[Beth76]

Absolutely not!

 

[Philadisney]

although it would be great if more people voted, i am also nervous that this could cause people who 'just don't care' to sell their votes. of course, i suppose that can still happen now.

 

[NMAmy]

No, but I think that COMPLAINING about the government when you don't vote ought to be banned.

 

[tandrjohn]

No!!!

 

[Philadisney]

No, but I think that COMPLAINING about the government when you don't vote ought to be banned.

bravo!!

 

[Miss Jasmine]

No. I don't want people who don't care or who are not educated on the candidates voting.

 

[iwantahemi]

It should be mandatory that you cannot complain after an election in which you didn't vote . The biggest blabber mouths in my office didn't even vote in the last election.

And no voting shouldn't be mandatory, as I could see the voter fraud going thru the roof.

 

[mickeyfan2]

Absolutely not.


ETA: For those who voted yes; what is your reason?

 

[Laura]

No. I don't want people who don't care or who are not educated on the candidates voting.

That still happens with voluntary voting.

 

[Bob Slydell]

That still happens with voluntary voting.

It doesn't mean you should magnify the problem by forcing others to vote.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

That still happens with voluntary voting.

Yes, but with mandatory voting it would happen on a much grander scale.

 

[Chicago526]

No, but I think that COMPLAINING about the government when you don't vote ought to be banned.

That gets my vote!

 

[ericamanda01]

I think it takes away from the freedoms of the US to force someone to vote. But I believe that if you don't vote then you don't have the right to complain.

 

[Missy1961]

I also voted no. I guess none of the "yes" voters want to get flamed.

 

[kpm76]

No. DH and I are very involved politically (in fact we met while working on a campaign) so we take our right to vote very seriously. However, with that right comes a responsibility to educate yourself on the candidates and the issues so you can make an informed decision. I wish voter turnout (especially among young people) was much higher but I don't think the solution is to force people to vote.

 

[mtblujeans]

Ok....to mix things up a bit.....everyone seems to be thinking that only people who vote educate themselves about the issues involved. Under that frame of referrence, then, if everyone were required to vote....who is to say everyone would not then take the time to educate themselves about the issues!

 

[Sirius]

Good god no.

More people should want exercise their right to vote.

 

[roger_ramjet]

Interesting thread here - I am an Australian so I can you give my viewpoint on the matter.

One thing to keep in mind: voting itself is not actually mandatory. Showing up to the polling booth and getting your name ticked off IS. So, one could conceivably show up and then write 'all politicians are crap' on their ballot and no one would be any the wiser.

This may seem like a strange system, but I think the idea is that, by making voting mandatory, they will get more people to think about their vote, instead of just having the passionate ideologues turn up to vote. Not everyone is going to be informed, but I would hope that if one has to vote, one would at least have a look at the issues and make a decision on that. While it does have the disadvantage that some uninformed people end up voting, this is really no different to anywhere else - just that the numbers may end up being magnified

I'm not sure that the principle of it is undemocratic, per se, in fact it's sort of paradoxical - force people to vote so that the true will of the people is seen! Having said that, because there are a great many people who wish to see Australia become a republic before long, this system may well change.