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Mandatory Voting

Make Voting Mandatory & Punish Those Who Refuse?


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Roadvirus

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An L.A. Times columnist talks about an idea to make voting in the U.S. mandatory from local elections to Prez to "strengthen our democracy" & fine those who don't vote.

My answer: No.

The ability to vote is a right, but people also have the right not to participate.
 

Josie

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An L.A. Times columnist talks about an idea to make voting in the U.S. mandatory from local elections to Prez to "strengthen our democracy" & fine those who don't vote.

My answer: No.

The ability to vote is a right, but people also have the right not to participate.

What a dumbass.
 

Peter

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The whole point of a free democracy is that we're free to vote for whoever we like or not vote at all.

I don't agree with the Republican platform but people should be allowed to vote for them if that's who they prefer. All forcing people to vote does it force people who have no interest in politics to vote and how does that help anyone?

We have a guy in the UK called Lord Buckethead and people can vote for him if they like as that's why we have elections.
 

reflechissez

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An L.A. Times columnist talks about an idea to make voting in the U.S. mandatory from local elections to Prez to "strengthen our democracy" & fine those who don't vote.

My answer: No.

The ability to vote is a right, but people also have the right not to participate.
I don't know him.
 

j brown's body

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An L.A. Times columnist talks about an idea to make voting in the U.S. mandatory from local elections to Prez to "strengthen our democracy" & fine those who don't vote.

My answer: No.

The ability to vote is a right, but people also have the right not to participate.

Its almost hilarious to think, with one party so disdainful of voting that they constantly change the rules making it into a shell game, that mandatory voting would become a thing.

I would be content with making voting a holiday, allow people to vote by mail, vote early, allow provisional ballots and not have to stand in lines. We should encourage voting by making it easier. Not criminalize it at every opportunity.

That would be a good start.
 

j brown's body

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The whole point of a free democracy is that we're free to vote for whoever we like or not vote at all.

I don't agree with the Republican platform but people should be allowed to vote for them if that's who they prefer. All forcing people to vote does it force people who have no interest in politics to vote and how does that help anyone?

We have a guy in the UK called Lord Buckethead and people can vote for him if they like as that's why we have elections.

With freedom and democracy comes responsibility.
 

SkyChief

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Democracy is totalitarian? Ok.
The State coercing citizens to do something they don't want to do is totalitarian. :rolleyes:

Ok, I read the article. it was actually some brain-dead Marxists at UC Berkely who proposed this idiotic scheme.

My apologies to the L.A. Times Marxist reporter. :)
 
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Centrist

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Only someone with a soviet thinking can come up with such scenario, probably an American journalist that never missed a meal in his life, that never lived in a trully opressive system would come with such an idea. Authoritarianism for the greater good. I heard that tape lots of times.

I would argue that an important freedom that we have at our disposal is the power NOT to vote in the West. Just take a look at some of your choices, Trump, Bernie, etc. You should be grateful to have this freedom to abstain from such low intellect and propagandistic choices.
 
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Loulit01

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Only someone with a soviet thinking can come up with such scenario, probably an American that never missed a meal in his life, that never lived in a trully opressive system would come with such an idea. Authoritarianism for the greater good. I heard that tape lots of times.

I would argue that an important freedom that we have at our disposal is the power NOT to vote in the West. Just take a look at some of your choices, Trump, Bernie, etc. You should be grateful to have this freedom to abstain from such low intellect and propaganda.
His article is free speech. Your post is cancel culture.
 

Loulit01

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That is your opinion and view based on perspective and the people you are reading on a daily basis.
Nope. If you'll look at post #3, you'll see good reasons to disagree with mandatory voting. That's free speech,

If you look at your post you see...

Only someone with a soviet thinking
an American that never missed a meal in his life
You should be grateful to have this freedom to abstain from such low intellect and propaganda.


That's cancel culture.
It does not make it true but if you want to go to bed thinking you are right, good for you.
Thanks!
 

Helix

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Mandatory voting will never happen or even come close to happening here unless the US becomes a dictatorship and the only candidate is the dictator. For this poll, I choose the "I like potatoes" option.
 

venice_ca

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Screw the L.A. Times Marxist thugs.

I'm so tired of all the totalitarian nonsense from the left.
Do you typically read the columns by Mark Barabak? Do you read the L.A. Times on a daily basis?

If so, how the heck do you come to the conclusion that Barabak is a marxist? Or that LAT follows a marxist line?
 

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Novel idea. Not a good one in my opinion. I voted NO. If folks don't want to voluntarily invest at least that much in the system I just as soon they didn't.
 

LouC

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Do you typically read the columns by Mark Barabak? Do you read the L.A. Times on a daily basis?

If so, how the heck do you come to the conclusion that Barabak is a marxist? Or that LAT follows a marxist line?
Because he says so!

Duh!
 

Centrist

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Only someone with a soviet thinking
an American that never missed a meal in his life
You should be grateful to have this freedom to abstain from such low intellect and propaganda.
Satire - the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

With such a topic in 2022, in our western democracy to even bring up this idea, my body language and my typing can not be on a serious note. I'll leave you on this thread before the actual police of the board comes and I get the riot stick.

You fight the good fight.
 
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GummyVitamins

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An L.A. Times columnist talks about an idea to make voting in the U.S. mandatory from local elections to Prez to "strengthen our democracy" & fine those who don't vote.

My answer: No.

The ability to vote is a right, but people also have the right not to participate.
The author is an authoritarian nincompoop.
 

Peter

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Mandatory voting will never happen or even come close to happening here unless the US becomes a dictatorship and the only candidate is the dictator. For this poll, I choose the "I like potatoes" option.

What kind of mad crazy person doesn't like potatoes?
Whoever they are should not be trusted and shunned by polite society.
 

j brown's body

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Mandatory voting will never happen or even come close to happening here unless the US becomes a dictatorship and the only candidate is the dictator. For this poll, I choose the "I like potatoes" option.

Australia has it. I don't believe they are a dictatorship.

They gave us the secret ballot.
 

j brown's body

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Mandatory voting will never happen or even come close to happening here unless the US becomes a dictatorship and the only candidate is the dictator. For this poll, I choose the "I like potatoes" option.

It would have to overcome the obstacle of a major political party that doesn't want people to vote.
 
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