Proposal to make voting mandatory riles Ridgway
RIDGWAY — Residents of this Old West- meets-New Age town can be fined if their fences are too high, they have too many chickens, their dogs aren't on leashes or their weeds are out of control.
Tom Hennessy would like to add not voting to that list.
Hennessy, a popular Ridgway brewer and pub owner, is proposing that the mostly dirt-street town at the edge of the San Juan Mountains become a national model by enacting a mandatory-voting statute. Residents who don't bother to vote, for no good reason, would be fined.
"We could do this. It would be a paradigm shift," Hennessy said. "We could be the great civics lesson in representative democracy."
The Town Council agreed to put the matter on the ballot for a recent town election as a nonbinding opinion question.
Proposal to make voting mandatory riles Ridgway - The Denver Post
Obviously, if the government can force you to exercice you right to health care -- and fine you if you do not -- it can just as easily force you to exercise your right to vote.
I'm sorry -- you think it isn't?But you guys said health care wasn't a right.
Proposal to make voting mandatory riles Ridgway - The Denver Post
Obviously, if the government can force you to exercice you right to health care -- and fine you if you do not -- it can just as easily force you to exercise your right to vote.
****ing Obama.
You don't have to actually mark you ballot when you vote.As long as "none of the above" is mandated for every ballot I'm on board.
The Town Council agreed to put the matter on the ballot for a recent town election as a nonbinding opinion question.
You don't have to actually mark you ballot when you vote.
If health care isnt a right, then what is it?
Proposal to make voting mandatory riles Ridgway - The Denver Post
Obviously, if the government can force you to exercice you right to health care -- and fine you if you do not -- it can just as easily force you to exercise your right to vote.
Proposal to make voting mandatory riles Ridgway - The Denver Post
Obviously, if the government can force you to exercice you right to health care -- and fine you if you do not -- it can just as easily force you to exercise your right to vote.
We are going to force you to pick one of two bad parties so we can reaffirm the idea that the two party system is working!
ick
But you guys said health care wasn't a right.
No, HEALTH CARE is left. Dying because you cannot afford to pay is right. (sic)
Interesting setup.I remember in Brazil voting was (is) mandatory. When you vote, you get a receipt of sorts that verifies you voted. This receipt is like a piece of gold. You can't open a bank account, register a business, apply to post-secondary, and many other things without that receipt.
I'm sure some or most of those elected in such less effective democracies are perfectly happy with the reduced effectiveness. And probably work to increase it. But lets not go too tin-foil hat here.I'm not sure how I feel about it. Voter apathy is growing in modern democracies, rendering them less effective. For instance, in Canada's last Federal election, 40% of the country didn't vote. That means that the politicians in Parliament are only representing 60% of the total country.
Which is one reason it's a bad idea.On the other hand... forcing people to vote means they might not make an informed choice. They'll vote just because they have to, instead of feeling that it's their civic duty.
Except if your previous point holds true.I think I could be in favor of it. By forcing people to vote, it could make more people become politically aware.
Down Under, voting is compulsory and enforced by a $50 (shock, horror!) fine. However, it's still possible to put in an 'informal' vote (i.e. it's not counted) by spoiling your ballot.
I am personally in favour of it for two reasons: firstly, participation in the political process fosters a greater sense of community and secondly, voting outcomes are made more legitimate by every member of a community participating in the decision.
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