Should voting be mandatory?

[Jedidiah]

Among the non-voters are those who see voting for politicians as choosing industry's puppet based on questionable promises that will not be kept, and those who believe real problems and solutions are being masked by manufactured problems and solutions...

Understood.

...Sure, there could be many that are fine with the status quo...

There are.

...Making me vote will not change that...

Correct.

...I would be happy to vote on issues I care about and effect my community if the voter registration records in my state were not being made available for sale...

I don't understand the relation between the former and the latter, but if you want to vote on issues directly rather than indirectly, you should consider running for office.

...Consider that there is a percentage who don't vote because their voter registration information wouldn't be completely private.

What information is this, beyond name and address and perhaps party affiliation ?

 

[rexlunae]

I agree. Although I think making Election Day a national holiday, or scheduling it for the weekend would be a pretty good alternative. Then people who would prefer not to vote would still have time to go down and hold up "None of the Above" signs and such.

Agreed. Make it a holiday, register people to vote at every possible opportunity, and I would add make it STV.

 

[patrick jane]

Frank Chodorov, Out of Step (1962):


Why should any self-respecting citizen endorse an institution grounded on thievery? For that is what one does when one votes. If it be argued that we must let bygones be bygones, see what can be done toward cleaning up the institution of the State so that it might be useful in the maintenance of orderly existence, the answer is that it cannot be done; you cannot clean up a brothel and yet leave the business intact. We have been voting for one “good government” after another, and what have we got?

one bad government ?

 

[patrick jane]

Agreed. Make it a holiday, register people to vote at every possible opportunity, and I would add make it STV.

what's STV ?

 

[Tyrathca]

what's STV ?

Single transferable vote?

 

[rexlunae]

what's STV ?

Single transferable vote?

Yup.

It's almost too complicated a name for what it is. It just means you rank your preferences, and votes transfer from a person's highest preference down to try to get every vote to count. It's a lot harder to gerrymander, it allows smaller parties to participate meaningfully in elections, and it still gives you local representation. And most importantly, you can vote for who you really want rather than strategizing about how other people are going to vote.

 

[resodko]

... if people started showing up at the polls and encouraging others not to vote, in protest; that would likely get some real local attention.

:think:

Spoiler

 

[resodko]

Should voting be mandatory?

do we want retards like peggy joseph voting?

i can understand why bammy does

 

[resodko]

So in fact, not voting is not an expression of freedom, it's an expression of stupidity and irresponsibility, that hurts all of us.

and you want those who are stupid and irresponsible to help determine the course of our country? :freak:

 

[rexlunae]

and you want those who are stupid and irresponsible to help determine the course of our country? :freak:

I'm pretty sure they already do.

 

[resodko]

well they got bammy elected in 2004


retards, every single one of them

 

[1PeaceMaker]

I did... apathy is apathy... and indifference is indifference how does service to ones country end? By deciding that you don't care any more?

You really double-stepped in it, now. :doh:

You think not voting is not caring or making a difference?

You really think the passive lever pulling you do is passionate and makes a difference? LOL It's pretty apathetic, especially considering your vote happens in a vote rigged system.

( :sam: to let us steal your vote.)

I am not the one that is proudly proclaiming my apathy...for shame indeed!

Non-voting is hardly that, especially when (without it coming to a vote) you now automatically are registered to vote.

... to say you have checked out on this nation because it just does not matter anyway is by definition apathy.

But that's not what's going on. Do you think people can't have a voice if they can't vote? As if.

Why do you want to use a rigged system?

Why assume people who don't vote don't want to. Maybe they do but know better than to right now. Ever thought of that??

So your answer is to give up, do absolutely nothing, to allow evil to prevail without dissent from the citizenry at all?

Absolutely not.

But voting isn't fixing our problems they are only getting worse.

Sorry 1PM, I cannot just give up...not in my nature.

Neither can I. I'm just moving on a different strategy.

Even if my vote is an exercise in futility which seems to be your assertion, I will stand for what is right & good till I take my last breath.

Then stand by what is right and good. How can you call a stolen vote good? I don't know... but do what you must.

 

[quip]

I vote no.

 

[HisServant]

If there was mandatory voting, both republicans and democrats would lose power and a 3rd party would win.

 

[Tyrathca]

If there was mandatory voting, both republicans and democrats would lose power and a 3rd party would win.

Unlikely, the USA's lack of preferential voting makes the establishment of 3rd parties in your system difficult. Which is unfortunate as it might have acted to release the political tension currently roiling the presidential primaries currently.

 

[kmoney]

If there was mandatory voting, both republicans and democrats would lose power and a 3rd party would win.

How do you figure? You think everyone who stays home would vote 3rd party if they did?

 

[kmoney]

Unlikely, the USA's lack of preferential voting makes the establishment of 3rd parties in your system difficult. Which is unfortunate as it might have acted to release the political tension currently roiling the presidential primaries currently.

Very unfortunate.

 

[ok doser]

How do you figure? You think everyone who stays home would vote 3rd party if they did?

they'd vote third party all right


each one their own third party

 

[Tyrathca]

they'd vote third party all right


each one their own third party

No they wouldn't, don't be silly.

 

[Town Heretic]

Obama thinks so. . .

He's wrong. Mandate the vote? No, if people aren't motivated enough to invest their time the last thing we want is to require their participation. There are enough uninformed people advocating for candidates as it is... Rather, incentivize intelligent voting. Create a basic civic's test and connect it to a tax break/credit for passing and every year where a person casts their vote in the national cycle.