mandatory voting?

[snugtop]

I was just chatting with my cubemate, an Australian, who says that voting is mandatory in Ausralia. You can opt to not fill out your ballot or doodle on it or rip it up or whatever, but you have to submit something or you get fined about $60.

 

Discuss.

[snoboy]

you can also opt out if you have a reason, like you are out of the country for an extended period.

 

it applies to all elections to, local, to national.

[Gary_Yngve]

I don't like the idea of the govt imposing that rule on us, and being able to implement it effectively would most surely have some Big-Brother-esque implications.

 

I do think that voting can be made easier to encourage more people to vote.

National holiday on Election Day.

How about an absentee ballot that already has prepaid postage? (I wish the IRS would do this too.)

 

Does anyone know why people choose not to vote?

And who their votes would be biased toward (left/right/incumbent...)?

 

For a while my parents were not registered to vote so they could dodge the jury-duty rolls, but now most places pull those from driving licenses.

[catbirdseat]

I don't like the idea of the govt imposing that rule on us, and being able to implement it effectively would most surely have some Big-Brother-esque implications.

It's not as though we don't already laws that are "Big-Brother-esque". How about those laws that regulate which sex acts you can perform in your own home and which control what you can smoke in your bowl?

[cj001f]

The Aussie's I've talked to didn't seem particularly thrilled about it. Most still felt disenfranchised by their political system; choices we're for the lesser of the evils. Not an improvement.

[graupel]

Here is a thought. No tax cut without proof of voting.

 

The republicans probably wouldn't approve it though, they don't want folks to vote unless they read what they should be voting for in the church newsletter.

[Mal_Con]

They also have preferential voting, you number your ballot according toyou preference. If no party gets 505 they count the 2nd preferences and so on. Of course, the parties long ago learned how to game the system and print up ballots with suggested numbering so that your 2nd prefence goes to some finge party and not their major opponent. Many people cast an informal ballot just numbering them from top down, gives a big advantage to being on top.

[snugtop]

I'm not suggesting that their entire voting system should be borrowed...but I kind of like the idea of mandatory voting--why is voting any different than paying taxes or serving on juries? Why is it considered acceptable that so many Americans don't vote? As CBS points out, republicans have no problem with the govt regulating even the most private aspects of our lives...

[murraysovereign]

Mandatory voting would work better if you could also somehow make it mandatory to pay attention and get properly informed on the issues.

 

We may be implementing a transferrable vote system up here (1st choice, 2nd choice, etc...) in a few years - there's going to be a referendum on it at the next provincial election. If it passes, the following election would be run under the new system - sometime in 2009 or 2010.

[JoshK]

The republicans would never agree to anything in law that would increase voter turnout. They know damn well that the more lower income and middle income people (that don't normally tend to vote) vote, they will lose more and more elections.

[Gary_Yngve]

It's not as though we don't already laws that are "Big-Brother-esque". How about those laws that regulate which sex acts you can perform in your own home and which control what you can smoke in your bowl?

 

Sure, we have dumb privacy-invading laws. That doesn't mean we have to have more of them.

[Double_E]

i DO like the idea of a law requiring us to vote... tho i also think it would never get passed in America. now the idea of the absentee ballot w/prepaid postage.. that would also increase voter turnout and COULD feasibly be enacted.

 

 

i also like the idea of a law banning the habit so many people seem to have of turning nouns into adjectives by adding "-esque"... for me it rivals the improper use of apostrophe's (er, apostrophes) as being the-single-most-annoying thing people do with the written word.

[Snafflehunter]

i DO like the idea of a law requiring us to vote... tho i also think it would never get passed in America. now the idea of the absentee ballot w/prepaid postage.. that would also increase voter turnout and COULD feasibly be enacted.

 

 

i also like the idea of a law banning the habit so many people seem to have of turning nouns into adjectives by adding "-esque"... for me it rivals the improper use of apostrophe's (er, apostrophes) as being the-single-most-annoying thing people do with the written word.

 

People who haven't a clue what they're voting about shouldn't be voting in my opinion. Therefore, forcing someone to vote who doesn't know shit from shinola about current events and the candidates they're voting for is a stupid idea. IMHO of course.

 

Besides, wouldn't this make us .... fascist?

[cracked]

The republicans would never agree to anything in law that would increase voter turnout. They know damn well that the more lower income and middle income people (that don't normally tend to vote) vote, they will lose more and more elections.

That's why, with the record turnout this year, the Democrats won!! I mean...

 

Hey DoubleE, whatchoo talkin bout? The people's right to spell shall not be abridged. Sucka's.

[EWolfe]

VOTE OR DIE!!!!

 

[cracked]

No, no, E, you've got it wrong again. Bush is the fascist, get it right!

[Jake]

Vote or die was definitely the shit. Fortunately, I had the foresight to chose voting over dying. I feel sorry for those suckers that didn't, though.

 

Of course higher turnout would be good for America. However, I don't see how forcing people to vote can be beneficial. Think of some stupid guy at work - would you want him to have to vote!? In America, the people who don't know or don't care generally don't vote. Nothing wrong with that. Think of it as having 5th graders vote - they don't know shit and usually, neither would the people being forced to vote. Of course it would be better if people did in fact know and did care, but this isn't a perfect world.

[tread_tramp]

fukin'eh

[man_vrs_mountain]

i agree with jake people who know absolutley nothing about decisions that need to be made or nothing about anything for that matter shouldnt be forced to make decisions. they for one obviously know of their stupidity hence why they dont vote

[cj001f]

i DO like the idea of a law requiring us to vote... tho i also think it would never get passed in America. now the idea of the absentee ballot w/prepaid postage.. that would also increase voter turnout and COULD feasibly be enacted.

Oregon, but with postage paid.

 

All of these solutions would require the states ceding the federal government the power to run presidential elections; I believe that power currently resides with the states. That is unlikely to occur under a Republican administration (unless they really are fascist )