Should voting be mandatory?

[shagster01]

Obama thinks so. . .

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/19/politics/obama-mandatory-voting/index.html

I've heard this idea kicked around a few times on this board.

How do we offset the influence of big money in politics while fixing the country's abysmal voter turnout rate? President Barack Obama suggests it might be time to make voting a requirement. "In Australia and some other countries, there's mandatory voting," Obama said Wednesday in Cleveland, where he spoke about the importance of middle-class economics. "It would be transformative if everybody voted -- that would counteract money more than anything." The clout of millionaires and billionaires in campaign funding has been enormous, and many claim the uber wealthy have undue leverage in politics. "The people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily towards immigrant groups and minority groups," Obama said. "There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls." At least 26 countries have compulsory voting, according to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Failure to vote is punishable by a fine in countries such as Australia and Belgium; if you fail to pay your fine in Belgium, you could go to prison.

According to the article only 37% of Americans voted in last year's mid-term. 144 million Americans skipped out.

Is this a road we want to travel?

 

[1PeaceMaker]

No, because not voting is a vote. A vote off no faith or confidence. We the people are the political hostages of a mass-corporate coup. Mandates to vote would only add insult to injury.

 

[Nick M]

It was mandatory in Iraq and Hussein got 100% of the vote as a result. lain:

 

[1PeaceMaker]

It's not he who votes that counts, it's he who counts the votes.

 

[Rusha]

No ... If they care so little about the issues and what is going on around them, it's preferable that they do not vote.

 

[Mocking You]

Basically, Obama wants to take the freedom of not caring about government away from people. Voting should not be mandatory.

 

[chrysostom]

you can all stay home
and
whine about it on tol
but
you have to let me do all the voting

 

[One Ugly Christian]

Well, of course Obama wants this; Stupid people overwhelmingly vote liberal:

The guy who thinks voters are 'stupid'

 

[Rusha]

you can all stay home
and
whine about it on tol
but
you have to let me do all the voting

And let you have all the fun ... Noooo!

No worries, I always vote.

 

[1PeaceMaker]

you can all stay home
and
whine about it on tol
but
you have to let me do all the voting

If they force us to vote, they force us who believe the voting system is corrupted to observe the vote count and expose the fraud when possible. Sounds like a recipe for more hassle on the part of the enforcers.

This would damage their opportunity to engage freely in corrupt practices - they should consider that carefully! :chuckle:

 

[Buzzword]

Not so long as we worship the "first past the post" election system.

The Problem

Maybe if we adopted a system for voting for prioritized alternatives, mandating the vote would make slightly more sense.

The Solution

 

[CabinetMaker]

No, because not voting is a vote. A vote off no faith or confidence. We the people are the political hostages of a mass-corporate coup. Mandates to vote would only add insult to injury.

Or it might change things.

 

[1PeaceMaker]

And let you have all the fun ... Noooo!

No worries, I always vote.

Do you think the vote is counted fairly?

 

[1PeaceMaker]

Or it might change things.

I agree with you this time, CM. :noway:

That could be the corporatists' Waterloo. They might just lose the Empire like Napoleon. :idunno:

 

[Buzzword]

Or it might change things.

Only if:
1) You have the choice of a candidate who is willing, able, and motivated to change things.
2) The above candidate is telling the truth about his/her willingness, ability, and motivation to change things.
3) The above truth-telling candidate actually wins the election.
4) The above truth-telling candidate does not find him/herself paralyzed from making any changes by the financially controlled system of lobbyists and other corporate toadies already in place before he/she was elected, OR the fickle extremist constituents who suddenly change their tune once the election is over.

Most of the time, we don't get past #2. If we do, nobody can agree on what should change, or how to change it. And of course the toadies are in the thick of it sowing chaos for their employers' benefit.

 

[1PeaceMaker]

Maybe if we adopted a system for voting for prioritized alternatives, mandating the vote would make slightly more sense.

That's been tried. The problem is, you could end up with the guy that was everybody's third or fourth choice. The guy nobody actually wants.

A better method would be vote for anybody you want, including everyone on the list, a write-in included, or nobody at all.

 

[Buzzword]

That's been tried. The problem is, you could end up with the guy that was everybody's third or fourth choice. The guy nobody actually wants.

When, in American history?

A better method would be vote for anybody you want, including everyone on the list, a write-in included, or nobody at all.

In that setup you'd still have "the guy with the most money wins" because he/she would be able to buy an overwhelming amount of media airtime, and get his/her name on the minds of the most voters.

 

[CabinetMaker]

Only if:
1) You have the choice of a candidate who is willing, able, and motivated to change things.
2) The above candidate is telling the truth about his/her willingness, ability, and motivation to change things.
3) The above truth-telling candidate actually wins the election.
4) The above truth-telling candidate does not find him/herself paralyzed from making any changes by the financially controlled system of lobbyists and other corporate toadies already in place before he/she was elected, OR the fickle extremist constituents who suddenly change their tune once the election is over.

Most of the time, we don't get past #2. If we do, nobody can agree on what should change, or how to change it. And of course the toadies are in the thick of it sowing chaos for their employers' benefit.

The current method of voting fits the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different result. Maybe if voting was required by all then something would actually change. It might be hard to predict what that change would look like, but it would at least be different.

 

[Buzzword]

The current method of voting fits the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over hoping for a different result. Maybe if voting was required by all then something would actually change. It might be hard to predict what that change would look like, but it would at least be different.

How?
Mandatory voting in the current system simply leads to the government forcing the public to continue to the cycle of insanity instead of individual citizens being able to abstain if their conscience does not allow them to vote for anyone running.
There is nothing inherent in mandatory voting to force qualified candidates, candidates who are not openly self-serving, or candidates who are not openly corporation-serving, to run or be elected.

Also, "at least it would be different" seems to me to be the absolute worst motivation for changes in or additions to government policy.
Especially if that's all the motivation you can find.

 

[Word based mystic]

No ... If they care so little about the issues and what is going on around them, it's preferable that they do not vote.

exactly...:up:

and obama may tax us if we don't vote
or buy health insurance

another danger.
“When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic.”

I have not yet met a single person who really wanted to vote and spent a bit of time ensuring that they have the opportunity, be sent away, or been refused the chance to vote.

we have however here in the atlanta areas had many dead democrats come back to life on the voting roles/books.