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You all know me by now. I'm Australian and here voting is mandatory. However it's always riddled me why voting isn't mandatory in America and Canada. Can anyone give me any reasons as to why voting isn't mandatory in the US.
Also avoid turning this into a "your vote doesn't matter thread"
I always vote for major elections and I believe they do have an effect (mildly) on who wins. But I don't think it should be mandatory. If you're referring to the states, we have freedoms that give us the "opportunity" to vote but don't if we dont want to. I think more people should vote and listen to candidates speak instead of not voting or voting "other" but in the end, we have the privileged to vote - use it.
The.Natty.VeganYou all know me by now. I'm Australian and here voting is mandatory. However it's always riddled me why voting isn't mandatory in America and Canada. Can anyone give me any reasons as to why voting isn't mandatory in the US.
Also avoid turning this into a "your vote doesn't matter thread"
Because people work and it is not a federal holiday.
Additionally, despite you not wanting this thread to divulge into a "your vote doesn't matter thread" that is ultimately why people do not vote. The popular vote does not count for much if anything, only the electoral matters, and if you are in a state predominantly left or right and your personal belief falls against that, your vote does not matter.
Not many people do not want to take the time out of their day to go and vote for a candidate that has no chance at winning.
Because we're a free country and if you don't want to vote it's your right not too. I don't because it doesn't matter anymore they are all the same. I think every one in government should be thrown in jail theyre all felons.
I was in the marines as wel but I don't think just because you're in the military, you don't need to vote. People are in the military to protect those freedoms like voting so it goes hand in hand. In the end, it's a persons choice whether or not they vote. Honestly, no one looks appealing to me in the elections right now and if trump takes the primary, I'm voting for Hillary. *i never thought I'd say that*
Mandatory voting would be awful. There are way too many people that know nothing about politics or the candidates. I think half the people who do vote shouldn't be voting.
I remember in 2008 Howard Stern went around asking people if they liked Obama's choice of Sarah Palin for his VP. They were all like "yeah she's the best go Obama!"
Personally I'd like a quick 3 question quiz at every voting booth that tests your very general knowledge of the candidates' policies in order to vote. Definitely not for forcing all of these idiots to vote.
i vote just as a matter of principle even if i dont like the choices, but it shouldnt be mandatory because then we would get a ton of uniformed retards voting for bernie sandals because they want free weed.
The.Natty.VeganYou all know me by now. I'm Australian and here voting is mandatory. However it's always riddled me why voting isn't mandatory in America and Canada. Can anyone give me any reasons as to why voting isn't mandatory in the US.
Also avoid turning this into a "your vote doesn't matter thread"
Not sure if you're dumb, or just love terrible ideas, but really?
Hell, I don't even like people who tell people to vote.
Voting isn't anyone's duty. Most people, at least in America, barely have any clue what's going on within the government(reflected in the people winning out elections) them voting, though it's their right, is useless.
Instead of campaigning to get people to vote, we should campaign to get people to make INFORMED decisions when they vote.
If you go out there and vote based on party, or someone a friend is voting for, or that guy on the signs, how the hell is that helping anything?
I'm not saying we should restrict voting, as it's a privilege awarded to our citizens, but sweet jesus, STAHP telling people to vote!
Making it mandatory would only be worse. "Oh I HAVE TO vote today so I guess I'll just check this guy and that lady, and that weird creepy guy from that other party".
Then people wonder why our government is so shitty, and nothing really changes for the better, Sure there is plenty of shady stuff going on in politics, the lobbying and other things, but still. If you don't want your country to be a pile of shit, vote for somebody who isn't a douche.
Election after election, we as Americans fail miserably at that. We vote for the same assclowns, based on ridiculous and completely irrational promises, their good looks, whether "they seem like a strong person", they're from my home state, or some other bullshit reason, and then wonder why America continually regresses.
IF you want to vote, go for it. If you want to vote stupid, I hate you, but it's your right so go for it. That said, FUCK YOU to people telling people they HAVE TO vote, or should vote, as if it's some ingrained duty as citizens without ever mentioning the importance of making an informed decision.
Sweet, you have an "I voted" sticker on. Do you feel special? Do you want a cookie?
How about "I wasn't an asshole and decided to spend even tiny shred of my time researching the issues and the candidates and I made an informed decision at the polls that reflects that as well as my personal beliefs".
If you don't want to vote, don't fucking vote. If you want to vote, go for it, just try to do a little more than "This guys a rep or a dem, therefore I will vote for them".
If people didn't vote for assholes, maybe we'd stop electing assholes. The WORST thing about this country, is that a large majority of the people actually went to a polling place, and cast a vote to put these people into office.
If anything was ever deserving of someone jumping through the internet and slapping you in the face with halfway decomposed raccoon from the side of the road, this is it.
SFBi vote just as a matter of principle even if i dont like the choices, but it shouldnt be mandatory because then we would get a ton of uniformed retards voting for bernie sandals because they want free weed.
I don't get this. IF you vote the lesser of two evils you're still saying "Hey, give me somebody shitty, and I'm going to vote for them!"
If people didn't do this, there would actually be some sort of hope for getting some decent candidates out.
Idk, I probably won't vote. I'm kind of over caring about America or the government here.
I should just sign up to autovote for a random candidate. I don't care. Who wins american idol matters more to me than the front runners of the rep and dem parties.
This is where I'm at. At 19, I have an opinion but what the fuck do I actually know about how the world works? Maybe I should be voting but at the moment I don't think I have a solid understanding of politics and would be voting pretty blindly.
AlsoKnownAsI don't get this. IF you vote the lesser of two evils you're still saying "Hey, give me somebody shitty, and I'm going to vote for them!"
If people didn't do this, there would actually be some sort of hope for getting some decent candidates out.
I
not really, someone is still going to get elected and some better choice isnt going to magicaly appear if i dont vote, i will choose the one that best represents my interests.
SFBnot really, someone is still going to get elected and some better choice isnt going to magicaly appear if i dont vote, i will choose the one that best represents my interests.
True, but there's no room to improve with that though. If people held out for better candidates, were open to vote for candidates 3rd party with no real backing, there would be a momentum shift and those people would actually have a chance.
Also no I'm not talking about bernie sanders, If I see anoither bernie meme on facebook my comps going out the window.
Hilary Clinton
- Murders 73 people
- Ran dog fighting ring in the whitehouse
-hates freedom
- the reason for everything bad in your life
Bernie Sanders
- Loves you more than Jesus
- Helped feed starving children in Africa for 15 years
FunkadelicMandatory voting would be awful. There are way too many people that know nothing about politics or the candidates. I think half the people who do vote shouldn't be voting.
This exactly. I think you would be astounded, op, how many people in America choose their presidential candidate based on completely arbitrary things such as race, gender, religion, looks, etc. The number of people who vote who actually understand the issues and their candidates view on said issues is very small. Millions of people vote without having any real idea why they vote for the candidate they vote for because they believe it's their civic duty to do so. Personally, I think there should be some kind of simple test that proves you know what you're doing you have to pass before you're able to vote. It's not a test I'd be able to pass, I know basically nothing about our presidential candidates.
FunkadelicMandatory voting would be awful. There are way too many people that know nothing about politics or the candidates. I think half the people who do vote shouldn't be voting.
I remember in 2008 Howard Stern went around asking people if they liked Obama's choice of Sarah Palin for his VP. They were all like "yeah she's the best go Obama!"
Personally I'd like a quick 3 question quiz at every voting booth that tests your very general knowledge of the candidates' policies in order to vote. Definitely not for forcing all of these idiots to vote.
i think that mandatory voting could be a good thing if everyone was actually interested and had their own opinions instead of complaining no matter what candidate won
And what's this BS about "I gotta vote for my party" no matter what or who the candidate is?! I mean, cmon. This goes back to me being an independent. I listen to both sides and not only thinking about my vote, but think About who would be best for this country. Blue, red, left, right...move on from the political crap.
Because why would we force people who don't care to vote? If they don't want to vote, then they don't have to. They'd probably just end up voting randomly and then Donald Trump would win because the people who didn't want to vote would do it to be funny.
Brocka_FlockaBut if you're going to complain about them regardlessly, shouldn't you do what you can so they don't get elected?
By not voting you are saying that you don't care. If you don't vote, you make it harder to change what you think needs to be changed.
What if I think the reps and dems both suck and want to complain about both. Who do I vote for then?
Third party yadda yadda. I usually vote third party but now just kind of feel like what's the point. I think, as mentioned above, not voting or voting third party is a vote. It's voting for change of the status quo.
Voting should absolutely be mandatory or at least should be an opt out not an opt in type of event. The key to successful mandatory voting is to make sure that it is easier for people to vote or at least submit something to officially opt out rather than have to opt in by registering and paying postage for mail in ballots or making their way to a voting center. I would envision the process looking somewhat like the census where they go to homes and get answers from people if you fail to respond to the ballot. Furthermore, the first question would be something like "would you like to abstain from voting in this election" and that would eliminate most of the "random voting" complaint people have, not that any case studies have shown that it is a legitimate concern but more a hypothetical situation. It would be easier to abstain than choose a random candidate and that protects freedoms but at least citizens would be forced to respond and participate at some basic level. Yes it might be expensive but compared to what the next president, congress, whoever will spend or cut during their terms, it is nothing and worth it in my mind.
also, if jury duty is mandatory then voting should be. If people are forced to decide who is innocent or guilty on individual crimes, then they should have to participate in electing officials who are outlawing those activities.
The punishment is like community service or a fine. It's nothing really huge.There was a push in the 2010 election to take away mandatory voting and Mark Latham urged people to lodge blank ballots in protest. However that failed and only about 6% of all voters lodged blank ballots.
But in defense of mandatory voting. It's all most like it has forced the majority of people to care about issues I've found. There are very few political attack ads during election season. And the political attack ads that you do see aren't like the conservative ads like "justin trudeau isn't ready", it's more like this party supports this stance and that is bad for Australia. And I think it's also benefited as there are a lot of swing areas. And I've also found that the average person at least has a somewhat informed opinion. They could tell you a few policies in which why they're voting for the party they are. The people I've met who are like that outweigh the people who just don't give a fuck about voting.
The.Natty.VeganThe punishment is like community service or a fine. It's nothing really huge.There was a push in the 2010 election to take away mandatory voting and Mark Latham urged people to lodge blank ballots in protest. However that failed and only about 6% of all voters lodged blank ballots.
But in defense of mandatory voting. It's all most like it has forced the majority of people to care about issues I've found. There are very few political attack ads during election season. And the political attack ads that you do see aren't like the conservative ads like "justin trudeau isn't ready", it's more like this party supports this stance and that is bad for Australia. And I think it's also benefited as there are a lot of swing areas. And I've also found that the average person at least has a somewhat informed opinion. They could tell you a few policies in which why they're voting for the party they are. The people I've met who are like that outweigh the people who just don't give a fuck about voting.
Brazil has mandatory voting and the entire country takes it as a huge joke. One of the candidates constantly dresses up as Jesus and campaigns, it's a big joke. So no it does not help.
nocturnalBrazil has mandatory voting and the entire country takes it as a huge joke. One of the candidates constantly dresses up as Jesus and campaigns, it's a big joke. So no it does not help.
So you just decided to completely ignore my opinion on why I think mandatory voting has benefited Australia, and you decided to use Brazil as an example of why mandatory voting doesn't work. But at this point in time I'm convinced you're just trolling. Surely no one is stupid enough to believe mandatory voting doesn't help when there's evidence it has helped. But decides to say with absolute certainty that "it does not help"
The.Natty.VeganSo you just decided to completely ignore my opinion on why I think mandatory voting has benefited Australia, and you decided to use Brazil as an example of why mandatory voting doesn't work. But at this point in time I'm convinced you're just trolling. Surely no one is stupid enough to believe mandatory voting doesn't help when there's evidence it has helped. But decides to say with absolute certainty that "it does not help"
If everyone here had to vote trump would win. Yaaa for the better I can say with absolute certainty it would not help or change anything in the United States. Try googling gerrymandering votes doesn't matter.
SamtheEaglealso, if jury duty is mandatory then voting should be. If people are forced to decide who is innocent or guilty on individual crimes, then they should have to participate in electing officials who are outlawing those activities.
Actually if you don't register to vote you basically dont have to serve on jury duty. (there is a still an extraodinarily small chance you could get picked but it helps a shot load if you opted out to vote.)
SamtheEaglealso, if jury duty is mandatory then voting should be. If people are forced to decide who is innocent or guilty on individual crimes, then they should have to participate in electing officials who are outlawing those activities.
When you participate in jury duty you're forced to sit and listen to the entire testimony before making your decision. People don't just walk into a court room and blindly decide if someone is innocent or guilty. So by your logic of mandatory jury duty, if we instituted mandatory voting we would have to force every American to sit and watch every debate before voting. That way every American wouldn't be walking into a voting booth blindly deciding who to vote for.
SamtheEagleVoting should absolutely be mandatory or at least should be an opt out not an opt in type of event. The key to successful mandatory voting is to make sure that it is easier for people to vote or at least submit something to officially opt out rather than have to opt in by registering and paying postage for mail in ballots or making their way to a voting center. I would envision the process looking somewhat like the census where they go to homes and get answers from people if you fail to respond to the ballot. Furthermore, the first question would be something like "would you like to abstain from voting in this election" and that would eliminate most of the "random voting" complaint people have, not that any case studies have shown that it is a legitimate concern but more a hypothetical situation. It would be easier to abstain than choose a random candidate and that protects freedoms but at least citizens would be forced to respond and participate at some basic level. Yes it might be expensive but compared to what the next president, congress, whoever will spend or cut during their terms, it is nothing and worth it in my mind.
This is just dumb. If you want to vote, you go and vote, if you want to abstain, you stay home and don't vote.
nocturnalIf everyone here had to vote trump would win. Yaaa for the better I can say with absolute certainty it would not help or change anything in the United States. Try googling gerrymandering votes doesn't matter.
Probably it would force people to be less stupid and pay some attention to affairs that concern them.
I'd be for something like fining people 100 bucks if they don't go in to vote even if they want to select a no vote. Should be seen as something like jury duty.
The.Natty.VeganWhat about woman nationwide? Really think Trump would win if everyone was forced to vote if 61% off all woman find him unfavourable???
Or how about nationwide both sexes??
And this wasn't restricted to likely voters.
But argueing with you is pointless. You're just a troll and it's plainly obvious.
If people don't care enough to vote I doubt they would take the time just fill out a bunch of surveys on politics. I'm not even sure what you're trying to argue. Making voting mandatory would mean a bunch of informed people would walk into the booth and just pull a lever.
It would not be the best interest of the people to make these laws.