Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
03-18-15, 09:35 PM
#1
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Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
I agree with Obama. We should have mandatory voting, and I'll add that there should be a "none of the above" option. In other words, participation would be mandatory, but endorsing someone would not be. The result would be a government that is more representative of the people. Legislators would have to contemplate the needs and concerns of all their constituents, and they would be held accountable by all their constituents.
Australia has had mandatory voting for decades, and their voting rates are sky-high. Meanwhile, US voting rates are dismal.
Obama suggests that mandatory voting might be a good idea at CBSNews.com
Australia has had mandatory voting for decades, and their voting rates are sky-high. Meanwhile, US voting rates are dismal.
Obama suggests that mandatory voting might be a good idea at CBSNews.com
President Obama on Wednesday suggested that if U.S. voters want to counter the outsized influence of money in politics, it might be a good idea to adopt mandatory voting.
"Other countries have mandatory voting," Mr. Obama said at a town hall-style event in Cleveland, Ohio, citing places like Australia. "It would be transformative if everybody voted -- that would counteract money more than anything."
The president continued, "The people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily toward immigrant groups and minorities... There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls."
Get-out-the-vote efforts are a costly part of political campaigns, and yet voter turnout in the U.S. remains low -- in last year's midterm elections, the national turnout rate was just 36.3 percent.
"Other countries have mandatory voting," Mr. Obama said at a town hall-style event in Cleveland, Ohio, citing places like Australia. "It would be transformative if everybody voted -- that would counteract money more than anything."
The president continued, "The people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily toward immigrant groups and minorities... There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls."
Get-out-the-vote efforts are a costly part of political campaigns, and yet voter turnout in the U.S. remains low -- in last year's midterm elections, the national turnout rate was just 36.3 percent.
03-18-15, 09:51 PM
#2
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Vote suppression is a vital part of modern political campaigns. If your die-hard base is larger than your opponent's die-hard base, you want to go negative to make everyone else disgusted with the process and stay home on election day.
03-18-15, 11:38 PM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
This seems like a terrible idea in a country where over 80% believe that all food containing DNA should be labeled.
03-19-15, 07:47 AM
#7
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
This is an insanely stupid idea.
What are you going to do to non-voters, fines/jail in extreme cases?
Some have beliefs that keep them from voting, some see non-voting as a statement, and some (many probably) just do not care. Why make them vote?
What are you going to do to non-voters, fines/jail in extreme cases?
Some have beliefs that keep them from voting, some see non-voting as a statement, and some (many probably) just do not care. Why make them vote?
03-19-15, 08:42 AM
#8
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by Supermallet
What happens if the "none of the above" vote is the majority?
03-19-15, 08:46 AM
#9
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by BearFan
This is an insanely stupid idea.
What are you going to do to non-voters, fines/jail in extreme cases?
Some have beliefs that keep them from voting, some see non-voting as a statement, and some (many probably) just do not care. Why make them vote?
What are you going to do to non-voters, fines/jail in extreme cases?
Some have beliefs that keep them from voting, some see non-voting as a statement, and some (many probably) just do not care. Why make them vote?
03-19-15, 08:46 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by BearFan
This is an insanely stupid idea.
What are you going to do to non-voters, fines/jail in extreme cases?
Some have beliefs that keep them from voting, some see non-voting as a statement, and some (many probably) just do not care. Why make them vote?
What are you going to do to non-voters, fines/jail in extreme cases?
Some have beliefs that keep them from voting, some see non-voting as a statement, and some (many probably) just do not care. Why make them vote?
What happens if I do not vote?
After each election, the AEC will send a letter to all apparent non-voters requesting that they either provide a valid and sufficient reason for failing to vote or pay a $20 penalty.
If, within the time period specified on the notice, you fail to reply, cannot provide a valid and sufficient reason or decline to pay the $20 penalty, then the matter may be referred to a court. If the matter is dealt with in court and you are found guilty, you may be fined up to $170 plus court costs and a criminal conviction may be recorded against you.
After each election, the AEC will send a letter to all apparent non-voters requesting that they either provide a valid and sufficient reason for failing to vote or pay a $20 penalty.
If, within the time period specified on the notice, you fail to reply, cannot provide a valid and sufficient reason or decline to pay the $20 penalty, then the matter may be referred to a court. If the matter is dealt with in court and you are found guilty, you may be fined up to $170 plus court costs and a criminal conviction may be recorded against you.
03-19-15, 08:49 AM
#11
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by CRM114
This sounds like a good idea to me. The objections above are silly.
03-19-15, 08:50 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by DaveyJoe
Because they know it would lead to more liberals voting. (shakes fist)
03-19-15, 09:06 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by Supermallet
What happens if the "none of the above" vote is the majority?
03-19-15, 09:17 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by OldDude
My vote is that the office be left vacant for the next term. If "none of the above" runs as an incumbent and wins, the office is abolished as necessary. See how pols like their mandatory voting then.
03-19-15, 09:20 AM
#17
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by CRM114
Well in Australia:
This sounds like a good idea to me. The objections above are silly.
This sounds like a good idea to me. The objections above are silly.
03-19-15, 09:21 AM
#18
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Ha is this for real?? Mandatory voting for the retards in government? hmmm, only 33% (or something like that) of the population in America votes....make voting mandatory and if you don't vote you will have to pay a fine.....OF COURSE!!! government wants to make money!!! Shocking!!
03-19-15, 09:27 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by Rival11
Ha is this for real?? Mandatory voting for the retards in government? hmmm, only 33% (or something like that) of the population in America votes....make voting mandatory and if you don't vote you will have to pay a fine.....OF COURSE!!! government wants to make money!!! Shocking!!
Seems to me that if the government makes money on people not voting, you're just giving the government incentive to make those issues worse, not better.
"Sorry, polls close at 5:00pm and it's 5:00:02. You're too late. Do you want to just pay your fine right now, in cash, or do you want us to mail you a bill?"
03-19-15, 09:32 AM
#20
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
But obviously "None of the above" will be the majority of the vote so what is this suppose to prove/do???
03-19-15, 09:32 AM
#21
Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Mandatory voting would never pass as voting is a privilege, not a requirement.
Alas, democrats would love it, republicans would hate it.
Alas, democrats would love it, republicans would hate it.
03-19-15, 09:33 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Obama supports using the power of the state to legally compel citizens into some action that would apparently directly benefit his partisan politics? It can't be so!
03-19-15, 09:42 AM
#23
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by RoyalTea
There are already issues where some places have onerous restrictions on early voting or poll locations are not open long enough on election day.
Seems to me that if the government makes money on people not voting, you're just giving the government incentive to make those issues worse, not better.
"Sorry, polls close at 5:00pm and it's 5:00:02. You're too late. Do you want to just pay your fine right now, in cash, or do you want us to mail you a bill?"
Seems to me that if the government makes money on people not voting, you're just giving the government incentive to make those issues worse, not better.
"Sorry, polls close at 5:00pm and it's 5:00:02. You're too late. Do you want to just pay your fine right now, in cash, or do you want us to mail you a bill?"
It will be really sad if anyone thinks that is a good idea.
03-19-15, 09:45 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by Rival11
But obviously "None of the above" will be the majority of the vote so what is this suppose to prove/do???
But I suspect that if you're forcing a truly apathetic person out of their house, to go somewhere they don't want to go, to do something they don't want to do, they might feel that voting "none of the above" might be seen as a wasted vote. They'd have a "well, I'm here, I might as well vote for somebody. Eeeny, meeny, miney, moe ..." attitude.
I'm sorry, but I just don't want the guy who pays attention to the candidate issues and makes an informed vote to get cancelled out by the guy who decides who to vote for based on catching an imaginary tiger by the toe. I wouldn't even want my vote to count double because that imaginary tiger happened to catch the guy I'd vote for by the toe.
* I'd like a "none of the above - I don't feel like I've done my homework and I don't know enough about any candidate/issue to make an informed decision" and a "none of the above - I have done my homework, I know a lot about all candidates/issues and I think that all the options are terrible"
03-19-15, 09:49 AM
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Re: Obama: Mandatory voting would be "transformative"
Originally Posted by BearFan
They could take the fines and make it mandatory for everyone to own a car or a valid metro pass to be able to get to a voting location (with a massive subsidy of course)
It will be really sad if anyone thinks that is a good idea.
It will be really sad if anyone thinks that is a good idea.
