With compulsory voting many countries become successful. Germany,Peru, Australia and many more countries have been required to vote since the late 1800’s to the late 1900’s (Doc A). In Brazil those who don 't vote have to pay a fine, causing many to not miss their voting slot time
You want your people to be excited about their government and if they are forced to vote they will no longer want to be a part. Inspire them, encourage them, and show them how special their government is, and how excited they should be that they actually can have a part! When the citizens are happy, Xlandia can be happy. And that, is our words of advice. Make note that we have taken into consideration every single aspect, and it all boils down to the your citizens.
When Thomas Jefferson wrote that we were ‘dissolving the bands’ between Britain and the United States, he was putting into practice the political philosophies born from centuries of people being mistreated and ignored by tyrants, and stating unalienable rights given by God. The free-thinking sparked by The Enlightenment and The Great Awakening helped change society’s thinking about the power of government and people’s own power over political, religious and personal freedoms.[1] This all culminated in a bloody family feud, and two separate but equal nations. The Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The argument for compulsory voting is basically undemocratic because the first amendment talks about how you have freedom. The freedom of choice must include the freedom not to choose. Democracy deeply values individual freedom which means if compulsory voting was mandatory, It is a clear violation of liberty and the first amendment. I argue that voting should not be mandatory in America because first, non-voters are uninformed, it doesn’t improve the democratic climate, and it requires a national database. American is one of the most powerful and big countries in the world.
Hey jackson! I completely agree what you said in your discussion. The low voter turnout should not be worried about and that it is a good thing in general. The people should not vote if they are not interested or are not educated on the election. As you said, If you introduce and educate the people on politics this should help the low voter turnout in time.
Nowadays, the young generations are not aware of how important it is to go out to a poll and vote. Without the votes, voter turnout will continue to decline. The citizens should be more aware of what is going on, fight for their beliefs and issues, and make a
“ While compulsion of any kind is a restriction, so is the compulsion to drive only on the right side of the road.” ( “Is It Time To Consider Mandatory Voting Laws? Worsening Voting Statistics Make a Strong Case.” by John W. Dean.) One way voter turnout can increase is by compulsory (required) voting.
(http://www.nbcnews.com/id/49701718/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/why-percent-americans-wont-vote/#.VwFIQ1XR_BU) The United States ranks 120th of the 169 countries for which data exists on voter turnout, falling between the Dominican Republic and Benin, according to a January 2012 study from the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. (Not all countries ranked were democracies, a factor that could skew the
Voting is one of the many civic duties, as an American citizen, that is the most exercised. In the recent years, the voter turnout has increased from the previous years, but the turnout is still less than desired. In the 2008 presidential election alone, 61.7% of the eligible United States population voted and 53.7% of the eligible Texan population voted. This is much better than previous years, but still does not show a collective effort on the part of all eligible populations to vote. Americans have been known to have low voter turnouts.
In the United States, low voter turnout rates depend on numerous aspects, such as: the type of election, the requiring of registration, level of education that has been accomplished by the voter, and the voters’ socioeconomic status. The type of election in America is different compare to other democracies around the world. Most democracies have more than one day to vote, but in the United States is on the first Tuesday of November. During election season many citizens do not vote due to the registration process. The responsibility is on the citizens to get registered to vote.
The serious lack of voter turnout contradicts this responsibility. There are individuals who speculate that it would be beneficial to make voting mandatory, with repercussions for those who do not vote. At the beginning of the course, I had believed that voting should be made mandatory. I thought that it would inspire people to vote, and would increase the numbers of turnout that way.
Another solution to the low voter turnout would be to allow citizens to cast their votes online. Although this is susceptible to fraud, they can limit the votes per person by only allowing one vote per IP address or by issuing each registered voter an account login. This method would allow people to cast their vote in a matter of minutes at their own time. The last suggestion that could increase voter turnout would be removing the registration process to vote. Younger voters are not familiar with the voting registration process or they think it is too complicated.
In the Bush verses Kerry election the participation was around 60 %, one of the highest rates in recent elections. It will be interesting to see the voter turnout this cycle with prospective matchup of Clinton vs Trump. Socioeconomic factors such as education have shown to have an effect on voter turnout. The more education one has the more likely they are to be involved in the process and vote.
Throughout the recent years the majority of the able voting population are exercising their privilege to vote. Even during the presidential elections the voter turnout rate was 50% or less than that. The act of voting should be a personal responsibility of every citizen meaning it should be a obligation. But to specify on this statement, it should not lawfully required to vote because people also have the right not to vote too (and it would be weakening personal liberties) , but it should be a personal responsibility for citizens if they are to complain about how the government run rather than every citizen. A personal responsibility is when we are the cause of our own actions.
However, one of the key characteristics of a healthy democracy is a high voter-turnout. If people do not turn up on Election Day, it is likely that they do not see the point of holding elections or the conditions are not suitable for them to vote. People vote because they believe that their vote has the power to make changes in the country. Voter apathy often develops when voters do not see voting as a way of voicing their concerns. America therefore continues to tread on risky ground, if a way of increasing voter turnout is not found.