preview

Should Compulsory Voting Be A Civil Right?

Decent Essays

Participating by voting in elections is a civil right we are given as Democratic Americans. While some people are eager to go out and vote, there are others who despise the system and neglect their duties as citizens and avoid voting in elections all together. Other nations around the globe have instituted a new system of Compulsory Voting; in which citizens are required by law to vote in elections or attend a polling place on a designated day. There are many pros and cons when it comes to compulsory voting, as well as a wide variety of controversy associated with it. Compulsory voting has resulted in many benefits to foreign nations, however, this new system is not perfect and still comes with new problems that nations face and are working to overcome; the general public believes compulsory voting to be a good idea yet still inefficient due to the laziness and lack of regard from some of the practicing nation’s citizens.

First off, some pros and benefits of compulsory voting are that it is part of each citizen 's civic duty, the majority interest of the people can be followed and implemented, and policy formation cannot be run by special interests. The most obvious benefit of compulsory voting is that it would lead to higher voter turnout. Along with the direct effect of compulsory voting on turnout, there are also several indirect benefits. Compulsory voting would reduce the role of money in politics. For example, political parties would spend less on their

Get Access