From a purely principled position on freedom and what a right is, voting should not be voluntary. Something is a right when you have the free ability to choose to do it and not choose to do it; for instance, freedom of speech is a right because you can say whatever you want to say and also say nothing at all. If you are obligated to do something by jail time and fines, and even neither of those things, then it is not a right but an obligation; you do not have the right to pay taxes because you cannot choose not to pay taxes. Therefore, from an argument of rights and principles, compulsory voting should not be legal in America. However, there are many benefits to the idea of compulsory voting and even a potential counteraction towards the argument
In recent years, due to non compulsory voting, our national affairs and international affairs have been affected. America should have compulsory voting because of increased voter turnout rates, the questionability of the legitimacy of our government and the education of politics for the people.
Compulsory voting as defined by Merriam Webster is "a system in which electors are obligated to vote in elections, or be subject to punitive measures such as fines or community service if violated." It is a system of voting that has been implemented successfully in over 30 countries, and has seen the increase in voting turnout on average of 20%. When compulsory voting was abandoned turnout after a period of mandatory voting, voting dropped on average 25%. This is an issue that can shape the future of democratic nations, for the actions that governments make are reliant upon those who enter into office, due to the ballot of the people. Therefore, in a democracy, voting ought to be compulsory.
In some countries there are legal repercussions for not voting, such as Australia. In ancient Grease, all citizens were required to vote at election time under penalty of imprisonment. This may not be the best course of action for America, were people might see it as imposing on there freedom of choice. There are other less dramatic options that can be considered.
I believe that American citizens should be required to vote in national elections. Jury duty is mandatory so why isn't voting? (“Telling Americans to vote, or else”1).
One reason why Americans should not be required to vote is because citizens have liberty to choose to vote or don’t vote. Evidence supporting this reason is compulsory voting just like potemkin facade, citizens have no liberty, citizens should have the liberty to choose what they want. This
Compulsory voting was successful in other countries but in American that would cause a lot of problems. If citizens don't care to vote now then why would they care when they are forced, causing them to vote randomly. Lastly, if politicians have to work to get citizens to vote, they will have to work even harder to keep those votes.
Americans should not be required to vote, the amount of votes will go up. But since they are not aware of who they are voting for would cause chaos. If they have a problem and want to have their say in the elections they should be able to without be required to with an influence of something. They would still need more ways to higher the voting percentage. But they could do that with several ads convincing them so they have the mindset of voting. Now the odds of the least liked candidate to be voted in to win is fifty fifty.
For the longest time jury duty and other similar institutions have been mandatory, however, voting is not required by the United States federal government. This raises another question. Is forcing people to vote constitutional at all? Could such a law exist in an individualistic and liberal country? The power to choose is what separates the United States from many other countries. The average citizen gets to decide how they live their lives. These values are found in the very principles created by the founding fathers. Voting is not something that should be forced. Also, there are times when voting isn’t as easy as one might think. There are many factors that could prevent a person from voting such as illness, their economic situation, or their level of education. All of these factors could lead to an absence of voting. What people and those who want to instate mandatory voting need to understand is that they have the power to decide who the next president will be. They shouldn't become upset when the person they favored the least becomes president. They could have done something about it but instead chose to do nothing.
One reason why Americans should be required to vote is other countries do compulsory voting and are successful. In Peru voting is mandatory, in an election that they had, Jimmy Carter, a former US president went to visit to see how the elections are held in Peru
A very controversial topic in the United States is whether or not Americans should be required to vote. Voting is a very essential piece to democracy, but many Americans today are not attending their voting location and supporting the candidate they feel is best. In recent elections, just 60% of registered voters casted their vote for a candidate. This is an issue that many people are not happy about, but whether or not there is reason to fix it is the other side to the case. Voter participation is an issue that has been going on for years, and no laws are in place currently to bring it up. Americans have been proud to live in a “free country”, and a law forcing citizens to vote may be against America’s principles. Compulsory voting should
We have to register for the draft, attend school, serve on juries, pay taxes, and serve in the military if we’re drafted. With all that to account for, voting is probably the last thing on our mind. Though voting doesn’t seem like a lot to ask for, in the grand scheme of things, it’s just another thing to worry about. Voting can be done on our own time, and being required to takes away another choice we should have. Laws would take away our choice to make a choice. Laws shouldn’t be made to force us to vote. We already contribute a fair amount of things to this country; and the thought of adding voting to this list of things we have to do doesn’t sound like an idea that would be accepted by most.
Voting plays an important role in the modern lives that can easily shape the whole world. While some people believe that voting should be voluntary, I believe that voting should be mandatory for more social benefits. This essay will discuss the reasons why voting should be compulsory.
The promise of having your voice heard and vote matter has been a cornerstone of America. Every time elections come around we are told that every vote counts. Voting is meant to let the people pick their representatives but what happens then representatives get to pick their voter? Thanks to a law that lets the state legislature draw district lines, the state can essential rig the election by staking the odds against a certain party. Most of us will readily agree that gerrymandering should be outlawed but where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how to stop it. Whereas some are convinced that the responsibility falls upon the judicial system, others maintain that the courts are ineffective in managing gerrymandering and so turn to other solutions.
Several countries have mandatory voting for its citizens. Is it something the United States should pursue? Mandatory voting would definitely increase the percentage of votes cast. It would make voting a duty and no longer a right. With most people who vote straight party this would be an advantage to the party who has appeased the most voters as they would come in and cast the quickest vote by straight line voting. It could be possible that knowing you had to vote, one may take more interest in learning more about candidates or constitutional amendments that are on the ballots. However, I am in favor of the opposing view. I think it is a right and privilege and should not be forced upon a person. If you force people to do something they don’t want to do then the you will reap the results. You will have uniformed voters become the majority and making decisions for the country. The politicians base will no longer be the main concern as they now will have to make a push for the politically uneducated voter which will be more about what they can give them than policy issues. This also makes what the
Currently in the world, there are a total of twenty-two countries where voting is mandatory. All though the most famous of them all is Australia, the majority of them are in South and Central America. Which includes our downstairs neighbor, Mexico. According to ThoughtCo, "Voting is a civic duty comparable to other duties citizens perform such as; taxation and compulsory education, or jury duty (ThoughtCo). Although the that statement could not be any clearer, encouraging but not forcing its citizens to participate is one of the distinctive characteristics of the United States. While it can get more people to vote, the state of Texas should not institutionalize compulsory voting because It is Unconstitutional and