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CNN reports that when asked how to offset the influence of big money in politics, President Barack Obama suggested it's time to make voting a requirement. "Other countries have mandatory voting," said Obama "It would be transformative if everybody voted -- that would counteract money more than anything," he said, adding it was the first time he had shared the idea publicly.
"The people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily towards immigrant groups and minority groups. There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls."
At least 26 countries have compulsory voting, according to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Failure to vote is punishable by a fine in countries such as Australia and Belgium; if you fail to pay your fine in Belgium, you could go to prison. Less than 37% of eligible voters actually voted in the 2014 midterm elections, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. That means about 144 million Americans -- more than the population of Russia -- skipped out.
Critics of mandatory voting have questioned the practicality of passing and enforcing such a requirement; others say that freedom also means the freedom not to do something.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 22 2015, @12:59PM
So I recently moved and am using a private mailbox (PMB) for everything, my name is on absolutely no electronic records that also list my residential address. I discovered that my PMB is in a different district than my actual residence. Voter registration is public information, very public. So I have opted not to register to vote because I don't want to take the legal risk of being accused of voter fraud.
If this comes to pass, and I'm not philosophically opposed to it, then I would be pissed if it made me chose between technically committing vote fraud and maintaining my privacy.
Side story: I personally know a couple from california who registered to vote by mail at an inlaw's address in Ohio because they thought their vote for Romney wouldn't make any difference in California but might help tip Ohio. I had my suspicions since one of them is a raving fox-news junkie and I confirmed it by checking for their names on Ohio's voter registration rolls. I wouldn't rat them out, but they denied it and when I pointed out how easy it was to catch them they totally freaked out.