Should Americans Be Required To Vote Essay

The United States of America uses a system of democracy to govern the country. In a democratic government, citizens have the right to voice their opinion regarding who will run their country and their tactics in doing so. American citizens should not be required to vote because mandating voting would take away from the overall meaning of a democracy. Democracy is about freedom and by making voting compulsory, the freedom of citizens is limited (Text 4, line 11). A democratic government is established with the intention of giving more rights and power to its citizens. Just because rights are allotted to people, does not mean that they have to be exercised. In this way, the right to vote is also the right not to vote and mandatory voting

Just because everyone in America would vote if it were to be compulsory, does not mean that each vote would be casted with the utmost quality. If penalties and fines were issued for those not voting, more people who originally did not wish to vote, would then simply vote to avoid the consequences without thinking about what they are voting for. With this, compulsory voting would not truly compile the honest feelings of Americans, but just some random opinions to avoid consequence (Text 3, lines 31-32). In order for a democracy to be considered healthy and actually fulfill its obligations, it is about the quality as opposed to the quantity of votes acquired (Text 4, lines 46-47). American citizens should not be required to vote and making voting compulsory would take away from the unique principles of democracy that separate it from other forms of government. The rights and freedoms given to the citizens of America are privileges, meaning citizens have the right to practice or not to practice them. The freedom and rights of citizens would be infringed upon if voting became compulsory, and a more flexible form of democracy would be used to govern