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Should Voting be Mandatory

Shouold voting be mandatory?

  • Yes, Voting should be mandatory.

    Votes: 4 6.5%
  • No, voting shoudl not be mandatory.

    Votes: 57 91.9%
  • I have no opinion on the subject.

    Votes: 1 1.6%

  • Total voters
    62
  • Poll closed .

Joey

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In some countries it is mandatory to vote during elections in other countries this is not the case.

My believe is that it should be mandatory to vote. While voting, you will have the option that you do not want to vote, but at least you have taken the effort. After all there may simply not be a party you would consider worth your support. This way the turnout will obviously be much higher, and, more importantly, the actual votes collected also better represent what the general consensus is of the people in the country.

The choices are

- Yes, voting should be mandatory.
- No, voting should not be mandatory.
- I have no opinion on the subject.

An obvious question for the DebateForum moderators/administrator is of course whether it is possible or not to make voting for polls mandatory as well. Could this be done by sending all members an email to which they need to respond?

All my polls will be hidden from the public in order to avoid a biased response. If people want their opinion to be public they have the choice to announce this with a reply in the thread.

Joey
 
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In some countries it is mandatory to vote during elections in other countries this is not the case.

My believe is that it should be mandatory to vote. While voting, you will have the option that you do not want to vote, but at least you have taken the effort. After all there may simply not be a party you would consider worth your support. This way the turnout will obviously be much higher, and, more importantly, the actual votes collected also better represent what the general consensus is of the people in the country.

The choices are

- Yes, voting should be mandatory.
- No, voting should not be mandatory.
- I have no opinion on the subject.

An obvious question for the DebateForum moderators is of course whether it is possible or not to make voting for polls mandatory as well. Could this be done by sending all members an email to which they need to respond?

All my polls will be hidden from the public in order to avoid a biased response. If people want their opinion to be public they have the choice to announce this with a reply in the thread.

Joey

No it should not be. But the legislative and executive powers should be determined by voter participation as should the income and pension the elected persons receive.
 
I voted Yes. In Australia it is compulsory and I guess I am used to an idea I grew up with. As far as I am concerned it is the responsibility of every citizen of voting age to get off their backsides and vote. If you are a citizen, it is your civic responsibility. People who do not vote have no right to whinge about the results.
 
No it should not be. But the legislative and executive powers should be determined by voter participation as should the income and pension the elected persons receive.

Hi joG,

I can go along with your comment on legislative powers, but this does not contradict my statement that voting should be mandatory. But I do not believe that their income/pension should depend on this. This to avoid conflict of interest. The interest being the money of course. Any person who works in such a position does this with the sole purpose of representing the people of the country. And the work they do should not be biased by the money they make. Nor should we create a system that makes this possible. We should hold them accountable for their actions though and when failing to do their job this will result in termination of their position. Allowing for income to depend on votes potentially allows for popular election propaganda in order to make more money and this is in conflict of the position that these people hold.


Joey
 
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I think every citizen should be automatically registered to vote, and it should be able to be done online. That being said, it shouldn't be mandatory. Sometimes you despise both candidates equally and don't want to vote against your conscience. I'd rather have the people without strong convictions on the matter not participate than being forced to pick a candidate.
 
Hi joG,

I can go along with your comment on legislative powers, but this does not contradict my statement that voting should be mandatory. But I do not believe that their income/pension should depend on this. This to avoid conflict of interest. The interest being the money of course. Any person who works in such a position does this with the sole purpose of representing the people of the country. And the work they do should not be biased by the money they make. Nor should we create a system that makes this possible. We should hold them accountable for their actions though and when failing to do their job this will result in termination of their position. Allowing for income to depend on votes potentially allows for popular election propaganda in order to make more money and this is in conflict of the position that these people hold.


Joey

- the restriction on powers only works, if voting is not mandatory.
- your reasoning is sound that the cash should reduce conflict of interest. On the other hand, the individual's power would be extremely limited without the necessary votes. The point is that you want the politician to have a real motivation to bring in votes or persuade the voters of the value of his policies.
 
I think every citizen should be automatically registered to vote, and it should be able to be done online. That being said, it shouldn't be mandatory. Sometimes you despise both candidates equally and don't want to vote against your conscience. I'd rather have the people without strong convictions on the matter not participate than being forced to pick a candidate.

Hi Rabid,

I believe that in many countries the people are automatically registered to vote, but this is not the case in the United States if I remember correctly. Agreed with you there though. Voting should be made easy and if this can be done on-line that would be even better. How this can be implemented in a safe way that makes sure that votes can not be manipulated is a completely different story though.

I agree also with your second comment, but then again that is why I suggested to allow people to not cast a vote when they do not agree with any of the available candidates. This would also indicate to the politicians a certain degree of discontent among the population. Whether they do something with that is again an other story, but at least the information is available.


Joey
 
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- the restriction on powers only works, if voting is not mandatory.
- your reasoning is sound that the cash should reduce conflict of interest. On the other hand, the individual's power would be extremely limited without the necessary votes. The point is that you want the politician to have a real motivation to bring in votes or persuade the voters of the value of his policies.

Hi joG,

Do you mind to elaborate on the comment 'the restriction on powers only works, if voting is not mandatory.'? Sorry but I am not sure if I follow you here.

The motivation should be that his policies are in the best interest of the people. The vote is merely a reference to see if the people actually agree with his proposed policy or not. In order to achieve that as fairly as possibly you would typically want to have a vote from all the people you represent. And I had proposed after all to allow for a blank vote as well. And that his powers are limited without the necessary votes is a direct result of the votes, or the lack thereof in this case.

I think I tend to agree with you, I just do not see why this should stop voting from being mandatory.


Joey
 
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Just do not think it should be mandatory.

I do agree that registration to vote should be made easier...and the ability to vote should be made easier. We have the mean to simplify both processes for people who have handicaps that hamper their ability to use the systems now in place.
 
I voted Yes. In Australia it is compulsory and I guess I am used to an idea I grew up with. As far as I am concerned it is the responsibility of every citizen of voting age to get off their backsides and vote. If you are a citizen, it is your civic responsibility. People who do not vote have no right to whinge about the results.

Nope, shouldn't be mandatory.....1st Amendment and all. Some people shouldn't vote, like liberals for instance. :mrgreen:
 
I voted Yes. In Australia it is compulsory and I guess I am used to an idea I grew up with. As far as I am concerned it is the responsibility of every citizen of voting age to get off their backsides and vote. If you are a citizen, it is your civic responsibility. People who do not vote have no right to whinge about the results.

When did complaining become a conditional right? What do they do to the people in Australia who do not vote?
 
My conception of any kind of democracy, even one as flawed and ineffectual as representative democracy, is having the right to vote, not the obligation. I have not voted a few times when I haven't felt that any of the candidates were worth the effort. Why shouldn't I have the right to express that disdain by staying away from the polling station?
 
Absolutely not, voting should not be mandatory.

Constitutionally speaking, the right to vote in this nation is not phrased as an legal obligation to vote (as in punishment for not doing so.) Moreover, the Bill of Rights protects the individual from the government forcing them to vote. It is simply not a question that freedom of speech inherently protects the individual if they decide not to speak, and a choice not to vote is an illustration of that right. It is an unsaid political message when someone does not vote regardless of the reason, and any forced vote violates that right.

Something else to consider is Compulsory Voting does not really guarantee meaningful participation in the process, and even with the most strict of voting laws there is no real way to ensure every single vote is an effective vote. Casting a blank ballot, or a write in, or forcing an improper vote (invalid vote,) or some other means of protesting the candidates listed, etc. all derails the idea that the outcome of the vote benefited from forced voting. Worse than even that, compulsory voting does not guarantee political knowledge (being willfully informed) by every voter. You are still going to get the random vote, those that have no idea what they are doing but because of obligation pick someone anyway. Perhaps at random, or by party, or name, or some other useless method again derailing the idea that the outcome of the vote is meaningful.

No matter how you cut this, the idea of forced voting is not brilliant.
 
No, we already have enough stupid people voting as it is.
 
Nope, shouldn't be mandatory.....1st Amendment and all. Some people shouldn't vote, like liberals for instance. :mrgreen:

I don't know what your 1st Amendment is :) But I do agree, it would be better if lefties didn't vote! In Australia, the Liberals are the conservatives, or rather used to be conservatives until that bastard Turnbull stabbed PM Tony Abbott in the back (Abbott is a good, decent, honest bloke who made the mistake of being too loyal and trusting and paid the price for it...he was too decent to be a politician), Turnbull is a lefty and should be in the Labor Party. I read today that ALA (Australian Liberty Alliance) a new conservative party that does not even launch until next month, has had over 800,000 calls of interest from Liberal Party voters who are angry about the knifing of Abbot by Turnbull and Bishop....trouble is, ALA is only fielding candidates for the Senate and not the House of Reps. I am definitely voting ALA for the senate but I am at a loss as to who to vote for in the House of Reps, but it won't be the Liberal Party again, not until they go back to being conservative. Voting Labor/Greens is just unthinkable and Independents aren't! I have never cast a donkey vote in my life, so it is a real dilemma for me. There is a murmuring of another new conservative party that may come about because of the change of leadership and the shift to the left, but I am not yet convinced that will happen. If it does, it will solve my voting problem.
 
I don't know what your 1st Amendment is :) But I do agree, it would be better if lefties didn't vote! In Australia, the Liberals are the conservatives, or rather used to be conservatives until that bastard Turnbull stabbed PM Tony Abbott in the back (Abbott is a good, decent, honest bloke who made the mistake of being too loyal and trusting and paid the price for it...he was too decent to be a politician), Turnbull is a lefty and should be in the Labor Party. I read today that ALA (Australian Liberty Alliance) a new conservative party that does not even launch until next month, has had over 800,000 calls of interest from Liberal Party voters who are angry about the knifing of Abbot by Turnbull and Bishop....trouble is, ALA is only fielding candidates for the Senate and not the House of Reps. I am definitely voting ALA for the senate but I am at a loss as to who to vote for in the House of Reps, but it won't be the Liberal Party again, not until they go back to being conservative. Voting Labor/Greens is just unthinkable and Independents aren't! I have never cast a donkey vote in my life, so it is a real dilemma for me. There is a murmuring of another new conservative party that may come about because of the change of leadership and the shift to the left, but I am not yet convinced that will happen. If it does, it will solve my voting problem.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Here it is.
 
In some countries it is mandatory to vote during elections in other countries this is not the case.

My believe is that it should be mandatory to vote. While voting, you will have the option that you do not want to vote, but at least you have taken the effort. After all there may simply not be a party you would consider worth your support. This way the turnout will obviously be much higher, and, more importantly, the actual votes collected also better represent what the general consensus is of the people in the country.

The choices are

- Yes, voting should be mandatory.
- No, voting should not be mandatory.
- I have no opinion on the subject.

An obvious question for the DebateForum moderators/administrator is of course whether it is possible or not to make voting for polls mandatory as well. Could this be done by sending all members an email to which they need to respond?

All my polls will be hidden from the public in order to avoid a biased response. If people want their opinion to be public they have the choice to announce this with a reply in the thread.

Joey

I'll choose option #4 - the poll is too ignorant to warrant any response.
 
Forgive my ignorance, but what part of that would prevent compulsory voting? Sorry, seems a stupid question I know.
It's a free speech issue, the government cannot determine what you will say or not say.
 
In some countries it is mandatory to vote during elections in other countries this is not the case.

My believe is that it should be mandatory to vote. While voting, you will have the option that you do not want to vote, but at least you have taken the effort. After all there may simply not be a party you would consider worth your support. This way the turnout will obviously be much higher, and, more importantly, the actual votes collected also better represent what the general consensus is of the people in the country.

The problem is people who are ignorant when it comes to politics voting. Its why elected officials tend to have a high disapproval rating and high incumbent re-election rate. Forcing people who do not even want to take the time to vote is a horrible idea. A general consensus doesn't mean dick if most of the people voting don't pay attention to what their elected officials are doing.
 
Forgive my ignorance, but what part of that would prevent compulsory voting? Sorry, seems a stupid question I know.

Isn't the fact something is a right implies that it is optional not mandatory? It is mentioned multiple times in various amendments to our constitution that voting is a right.
 
No. Sometimes your vote might be None of the above. At least one group I know about and possibly 2 or 3, have religious convictions against voting.

I'm more concerned everyone who WANTS to vote is able to do so without having to scale politically motivated hurdles or other barriers.

1. Eliminate early voting hours re-scheduling that seem to target specific groups for difficulties.

2. Lift the ban on voting rights if someone has been convicted of a crime, unless their US citizenship is also revoked.

3. Figure out how to conveniently fix the new voter ID laws. Interestingly, there were far fewer cases of voter fraud reported prior to these new laws supposedly intended to stop a "widespread problem" the incidents of which you could count on one hand, than the number of people legitimately entitled to vote that were hindered after these laws were enacted. And to make it worse, it back-fired on them with people camping out in parking lots and standing in line till after 11pm to vote after groups feeling targeted turned out in droves. Any fix should include far more severe penalties for anyone caught engaging in voter fraud including those who engage fraudulent voter registration activities, who I understand are under no penalty in most states if they knowingly register illegal registrations, leaving it all to the supervisors of elections to weed out.
 
In some countries it is mandatory to vote during elections in other countries this is not the case.

My believe is that it should be mandatory to vote. While voting, you will have the option that you do not want to vote, but at least you have taken the effort. After all there may simply not be a party you would consider worth your support. This way the turnout will obviously be much higher, and, more importantly, the actual votes collected also better represent what the general consensus is of the people in the country.

The choices are

- Yes, voting should be mandatory.
- No, voting should not be mandatory.
- I have no opinion on the subject.

An obvious question for the DebateForum moderators/administrator is of course whether it is possible or not to make voting for polls mandatory as well. Could this be done by sending all members an email to which they need to respond?

All my polls will be hidden from the public in order to avoid a biased response. If people want their opinion to be public they have the choice to announce this with a reply in the thread.

Joey

Not at all.
What would you do to those that didn't vote and why is any punishment worth, not voting?

I don't vote on purpose.
I have a multitude of reasons why I don't and compelling me to waste my time and money to check a box selected no opinion is idiotic.
I do have an opinion, it's just that it's completely not represented.
 
I think every citizen should be automatically registered to vote, and it should be able to be done online. That being said, it shouldn't be mandatory. Sometimes you despise both candidates equally and don't want to vote against your conscience. I'd rather have the people without strong convictions on the matter not participate than being forced to pick a candidate.

Automatic registration, to me, comes off as a sleazy way to legitimize those in charge.
Not as bad as an election with only 1 candidate, but close.
 
In some countries it is mandatory to vote during elections in other countries this is not the case.

My believe is that it should be mandatory to vote. While voting, you will have the option that you do not want to vote, but at least you have taken the effort. After all there may simply not be a party you would consider worth your support. This way the turnout will obviously be much higher, and, more importantly, the actual votes collected also better represent what the general consensus is of the people in the country.

The choices are

- Yes, voting should be mandatory.
- No, voting should not be mandatory.
- I have no opinion on the subject.

An obvious question for the DebateForum moderators/administrator is of course whether it is possible or not to make voting for polls mandatory as well. Could this be done by sending all members an email to which they need to respond?

All my polls will be hidden from the public in order to avoid a biased response. If people want their opinion to be public they have the choice to announce this with a reply in the thread.

Joey

You havent really made the effort if someone forces you. And we already have too many stupid people voting. We need LESS stupid people voting, not more.
 
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