Maximization of voter turnout should be entirely non-controversial

[pecksniff]

As a basic non-partisan civic principle. Anyone who believes in democracy at all should want all legally eligible voters to voter in every election, regardless of what party it might favor, and to facilitate that by whatever means might help, including drop boxes, polling stations within walking distance of everybody, whatever might help.

In Australia you can be fined for not voting. That's the kind of thinking we need about this, at all times.

 

[LittleDixie]

To the surprise of no one, I am going to point out that voting is implicitly giving your support to the idea that you need a ruler. I personally do not need a nanny, so I object to the idea from the onset. However, I did and will vote, because the government isn't going to go away just because I think it is stupid and I'd rather choose the least power hungry, evil, narcissistic asshole over the slightly more power hungry, evil, narcissistic asshole.

I would hope that the wisdom of the masses would kick in and a democratic election would come out with the best outcome, but I would stop short of trying to get people who can't be bothered to go to a polling station and vote to weigh in on politics. If it's too much trouble for you to go to a polling station and vote, then you're probably not the kind of person who stays informed on things, and I don't trust you would make a good choice.

Fining people for not voting? That's insane. How many more ways do you want to propose that the government can sink it's fangs into you and siphon off your money?

 

[pecksniff]

To the surprise of no one, I am going to point out that voting is implicitly giving your support to the idea that you need a ruler.

You will always have rulers. Everyone will. Anarchism is never on the table and libertarianism is laughable.

 

[LittleDixie]

You will always have rulers. Everyone will. Anarchism is never on the table and libertarianism is laughable.

Not everyone wants to remain a child their whole lives and have mommy and daddy protect them. Government is the Josef Fritzl of parents.

 

[pecksniff]

Not everyone wants to remain a child their whole lives and have mommy and daddy protect them. Government is the Josef Fritzl of parents.

Whatever. It's not going away. Having some small voice in it is the very best you can ever hope for..

 

[YDB95]

In Australia you can be fined for not voting.

I'm of two minds about that. On the one hand, I applaud the sense of civic responsibility it encourages.
On the other hand, if people really just don't care, you cannot force them to care. You also can't force them to learn anything about the candidates, so you could end up with people pulling the lever for some neo-Nazi party because their candidate has the same last name as a girl they had a crush on in high school.

Having said that, no, there is no excuse whatsoever for the kind of voter suppression the Republicans are pushing these days. Shame on them.

 

[colddiesel]

In Australia you can be fined for not voting. That's the kind of thinking we need about this, at all times.

Compulsory voting was introduced because at its inception in 1924 the country only had 2.3 million voters in a country the size of the continental USA. These days postal votes are available to all registered electors, and some states send them out unasked.

Any excuse will do to get off the massive fine (A$20 - US$14); last Federal election one voter got away with the excuse that he had an appointment with the Ginza Empire (one of Sydney's premier brothels)

One of the results of compulsory votes is that extremist parties never get a look in, it's always a choice between slightly left of centre or slightly right of centre. The single transferrable preference vote also tends to produce that outcome.

 

[Chobham]

As a basic non-partisan civic principle. Anyone who believes in democracy at all should want all legally eligible voters to voter in every election, regardless of what party it might favor, and to facilitate that by whatever means might help, including drop boxes, polling stations within walking distance of everybody, whatever might help.

In Australia you can be fined for not voting. That's the kind of thinking we need about this, at all times.

Absolutely NOT!!!!! Voting should require effort on the citizens part not some casual thoughtless drive-by drop off. With rare exceptions it should be in-person with a valid photo ID that matches the voter rolls.

 

[WillJ8787]

As a basic non-partisan civic principle. Anyone who believes in democracy at all should want all legally eligible voters to voter in every election, regardless of what party it might favor, and to facilitate that by whatever means might help, including drop boxes, polling stations within walking distance of everybody, whatever might help.

In Australia you can be fined for not voting. That's the kind of thinking we need about this, at all times.

I'm sure mandates to require voting to further Democracy will be seen as violating "liberty and freedumb" by some of our "patriots" here.

I agree, basic requirements in civics is never a bad thing and making visiting easier, not harder, is a no brainer.

 

[Chobham]

The day for the holding of elections was chosen for a reason.

"By 1792, federal law permitted each state to choose Presidential electors any time within a 34-day period[3] before the first Wednesday in December.[4] A November election was convenient because the harvest would have been completed but the most severe winter weather, impeding transportation, would not yet have arrived, while the new election results also would roughly conform to a new year. Tuesday was chosen as Election Day so that voters could attend church on Sunday, travel to the polling location (usually in the county seat) on Monday, and vote before Wednesday, which was usually when farmers would sell their produce at the market.[5] Originally, states varied considerably in the method of choosing electors. Gradually, states converged on selection by some form of popular vote." - From Wikipedia.

Of course the US was largely rural at the time and that has changed over the years and is no longer valid. For that reason I am not opposed to a limited window of early voting to include at least one weekend and as close to the appointed election day as possible. Nor would I be opposed to making election day a national holiday. Those measures should make it possible for every voter to make it to an appointed polling station to fill out and submit their ballots subject to verification.

 

[oggbashan]

In the UK, the last few general elections have been preceded by a cross-party campaign to get people to register and to vote - for anyone.
It has had some impact on student votes (they can vote either in their home town or at their university town but they have to register in only one) and also on bed-sit areas where the population tends to be transient. They might have changed addresses between the registration and vote date.

But the campaigns have had little influence on the outcomes.

 

[Champakian]

Absolutely NOT!!!!! Voting should require effort on the citizens part not some casual thoughtless drive-by drop off. With rare exceptions it should be in-person with a valid photo ID that matches the voter rolls.

Amen. It is a Civic Duty and not a Natural Right.
The only people who strongly object are the beneficiaries of fraud.

 

[Chobham]

Amen. It is a Civic Duty and not a Natural Right.
The only people who strongly object are the beneficiaries of fraud.

Indeed, a thieves life is hard enough.

 

[Champakian]

Here's a thought, if someone who isn't inclined to vote is compelled to vote,
how vested will they be in the outcome and how informed will they be on the issues/candidates?

I'm willing to bet that both of those are on the low side and I think that uninformed and unmotivated voters
are not an enhancement to Democracy or the foundation of a strong Republic, they are but a detriment to both...

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

In the US, voting can be very difficult. You actually have to get out of bed, register, complete a ballot, and mail it in. You typically only have a month or so to do it, and in some places you might even have to show up at a polling place.

 

[Chernosoth]

Voter turnout was higher when local and state governments had more power and education standards were higher. Bureaucratic centralization reduced the incentive to care about city councils, school boards, county commissions, etc. Literacy and verbal comprehension are a long way down from 1850s people who never attended high school but could still understand the longwinded Lincoln-Douglas debates.

 

[oggbashan]

My eldest aunt was a UK suffragist (non-violent unlike suffragettes) who campaigned for the right of women to vote. As a property-owning woman over 30, she voted in the first election that allowed some women.

 

[Rightguide]

Let's maximize the tax pool as well and make every American citizen pay a percentage of their income, no matter how small, to the federal government. No exemptions and jail anyone who doesn't comply. See how that works.

 

[pecksniff]

Absolutely NOT!!!!! Voting should require effort on the citizens part

Why should it require effort?

 

[pecksniff]

Let's maximize the tax pool as well and make every American citizen pay a percentage of their income, no matter how small, to the federal government. No exemptions and jail anyone who doesn't comply. See how that works.

Are you in some kind of nonsequitur contest?

 

[Champakian]

Why should it require effort?

Because people value that which they have to work for (/pay for)
a lot more than what is given to them or is free.

Maybe, we've gotten into a spiral where the easier you make it to vote,
the less people value it and participate in the activity which
leads for more calls to easing restrictions which
opens the door to fraudulent voting.

Now, maybe you think the fraud is insignificant numbers-wise
but anytime fraud cancels my vote, I take it personally...

 

[Chobham]

Because people value that which they have to work for (/pay for)
a lot more than what is given to them or is free.

Maybe, we've gotten into a spiral where the easier you make it to vote,
the less people value it and participate in the activity which
leads for more calls to easing restrictions which
opens the door to fraudulent voting.

Now, maybe you think the fraud is insignificant numbers-wise
but anytime fraud cancels my vote, I take it personally...

Voting is a civic responsibility as you stated earlier, not a right. It should be exercised by those that want to put the effort into the process.

 

[ll74]

If a citizen goes to vote, they should be allowed to vote, whether it be by provision or actual ballot.

They are not required to meet your standard of "effort".

 

[Champakian]

And yet, you suggest making an effort by going to vote.

Interesting...

 

[ll74]

And yet, you suggest making an effort by going to vote.

Interesting...

The right to own a gun also comes with some effort....strange enough.....so does freedom of speech.

But they're still rights.