Should Voting Be Compulsory?

[roguernaut]

Originally Posted by mustache

Forcing all people to vote means forcing the indifferent and ignorant to vote. I'm not sure having people like that deciding a country's future is in anyone's best interest.

My $.02.

I'm kind of thinking I'm agreeing with you, but I'm not sure yet.

Sometimes I'm afraid people go in the voting booths and randomly bubble in a candidate.

[Klover]

Originally Posted by mustache

Forcing all people to vote means forcing the indifferent and ignorant to vote. I'm not sure having people like that deciding a country's future is in anyone's best interest.

My $.02.

agree.


and agree with you as well rogue.


hence the outrageously high post count.

[Fizzy]

Originally Posted by mustache

Forcing all people to vote means forcing the indifferent and ignorant to vote. I'm not sure having people like that deciding a country's future is in anyone's best interest.

My $.02.

just had to reply to this one quickly, hehe. i think there are other countries who have a "no candidate acceptable" option on their ballots; a great idea, since it makes people vote if they know which candidate they want but are otherwise too lazy to get out to a voting booth.

and yes, rogue, i love ravelinks too but i've exhausted myself fighting against klover's persistence. i'm gonna hit you the next time i see you fool. haha.

[Klover]

Originally Posted by *rogue*

I'm kind of thinking I'm agreeing with you, but I'm not sure yet.

Sometimes I'm afraid people go in the voting booths and randomly bubble in a candidate.

i have a huuuuuuge article from critical thinking on voting mentality and how it has changed over time....yet how so much of the actual issues, campaigning, candidates personality, etc have NOTHING to do with why a lot of people vote.

i can bring it back home....and bring it to the bonfire....

[roguernaut]

But fizzy made amazing points too...

Maybe if we made a point to educate people before letting them vote, we could make it compulsory.

What she said about democracy was fascinating.

[Klover]

From an essay proposing mandatory voting:


Importantly, under the system proposed in this essay, a final “none of
the above” option would be included on the ballot after the traditional
choices for office. Although technically abstention, selecting the “none of
the above” choice would satisfy a citizen’s legal duty to vote. It may also
serve to defeat a First Amendment compelled speech attack against
compulsory voting

__________________________________________________ _________

the solution to low voter turn out?

make voting day a holiday. now work or school for the 18+.

or, have several consecutive voting days.

more voting locations.


__________________________________________________ _______________________

Although sixty-four percent and fifty-seven percent of nonvoters
responded that allowing for same-day registration and two- or three-day
consecutive voting, respectively, would make voting more attractive for
them, it is questionable whether or not even these reforms would make the
needed difference.

Instead, it is possible that those respondents merely
answered in a way pleasing to both the questioner and their own sense of
civic duty, not in a way that portrayed their true voting intentions.
The lack of improvement in turnout in 2000 might be due to the fact
that in the most recent general election 58% of all nonvoters responded that
they chose not to vote, while only 40% were prevented from voting by a
procedural barrier (that is, failure to register).

Paradoxically, 72% of respondents to an ABC poll answered that they were “certain” to vote and an additional 11% were “probably going to vote.”


The difference between the percentage of respondents certain to or
likely to vote and actual voting behavior in 2000 suggests that nonvoting
was not a decision based on apathy or disenchantment. Instead, it seems
that for many Americans on election day something else simply “got in the
way.” This explanation, although admittedly nonscientific, might go
further than most to discover why so many Americans intend to vote and
why so few actually do.





alright, time for sleep.

[LightSwitch]

Originally Posted by *rogue*

i love ravelinks

It's nice to see a chill, intelligent conversation.

[Fizzy]

lol *sigh* klover, i don't think i've stressed this enough. it is only MY opinion as to what could be done to improve democracy, you can throw whatever policies or precedents you want at me, it doesn't change the opinion i have one bit. i am well aware of the way our country is run.

and thanks rogue

Originally Posted by LightSwitch

It's nice to see a chill, intelligent conversation.

i miss you!!!

[Klover]

Originally Posted by fizzy94

lol *sigh* klover, i don't think i've stressed this enough. it is only MY opinion as to what could be done to improve democracy, you can throw whatever policies or precedents you want at me, it doesn't change the opinion i have one bit. i am well aware of the way our country is run.

and thanks rogue

why do you all think im being so fierce?

im just stating my opinion as well.


people SERIOUSLY need to stop judging my posts differently because they are coming from me.

read them as you would another post.

[roguernaut]

Klover lol I was thinking, you should have a party to celebrate when you hit 10k posts. It'll be like your birthday but for ravelinks.

[Klover]

Originally Posted by *rogue*

Klover lol I was thinking, you should have a party to celebrate when you hit 10k posts. It'll be like your birthday but for ravelinks.

you don't think i've thought about this?




(i didn't know if you knew this rogue, but i am officially throwing a joint production january 09.)

Tri-Atom and Little Leaf Productions present! "Yellow Submarine!"

and possibly undergrounds before then..depends on some stuff.

[roguernaut]

haha

it starts.