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COMMENTS:
Voted : Australia/ other compulsory-vote countries
Because it annoys me no end to hear the b*tching and moaning of the people who don't like the representation they get in Washington, only to learn that these "irate individuals" *never bothered* to go to vote when the chance to assert their opinions availed itself. Maybe if you educate them, then make them go, the system might work, IMO. Hell, might not, but anything's worth a try.
Boy, have I developed a potty mouth of late...
The US voting system is better because in such a system as Australia citizens could be forced to vote/participate in a sham/fraudulent election.
Voted : Australia/ other compulsory-vote countries
I think it makes for a more representative body of government...if jury duty is mandatory, why not voting ? there should be fact and position papers certified by both parties to ensure voters know who they prefer to vote for...
Voted : US
You can't force people to use their rights.
They ought to, and they've no one but themselves to blame if they don't vote, but you can't force 'em.
Voted : US
It's a hard choice, but I agree with herzog on this one. It's the choice of the people to use their rights.
Also, if voting were made mandatory, wouldn't those who used to be non-voters merely vote straight-ticket, or vote for random candidates, or try to spell words out of the first letters of the candidates names? Making voting mandatory might make it seem to some more like a burden than a privelege.
Himself809 is right, many people place Donkey Votes (blank). It's an issue I just cannot decide on. I lean toward the Australian system (I use Aus. becasue it's the one I live under, but many countries may have the same compulsory voting legislation). Even if some people put in blank/flawed votes, their is still going to be a higher turnout %. Then again, if choosing the 'least bad' candidate is Democracy in action, well that plain sucks.
Voted : Australia/ other compulsory-vote countries
^ In the real world that is what democracy becomes. It's not perfect, but it's better than the other alternative systems.
I go for the Australian system. That way low voter turn out is not a problem (in Europe a lot of low-turn outs create a lot of problems- are expensive in trying tor esolve and so on). People should go to the polls. If they don't want to vote for anyone, they can make that absolutely clear by placing an empty ballot into the voting box.
Unsure. The problem in the US is not 'voluntary voting vs mandatory,' IMO, but access to voting. It has traditionallly been in the interest of certain political parties to suppress the vote, so the system is structured in such a way as to make it inconvenient, at best.
If ballots were mailed to every eligible voter, for example, rather than asking them to stand in long lines on a Tuesday ... I believe participation would go up.
Making it compulsory ... I have mixed feelings.
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