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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 Monday March 23 2015, @01:48PM
That's because the people who refer to "responsibilities" are often authoritarians who are seeking to infringe upon our rights.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 23 2015, @07:37PM
What a load of shit. Its your responsibility to not impinge upon my rights. Saying that people are responsible for their actions when their actions affect others is by definition not "authoritarian", its "personal responsibility".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 30 2015, @06:12AM
Idiot. Read the comment I responded to for an example of the type of authoritarian I was referring to. "Do these things that I say are your responsibilities, or I'll get the government to take away your rights!" In this case, it's not voting that he feels is bad, which is an inaction that directly harms no one.
Other examples: "You have a responsibility to not commit crimes, so the police were correct in using an excessive amount of force on this guy who ended up dying because of the police's actions." Etc. Get the idea now?