Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Voting In The United States

1903 Words4 Pages

John Adams once said "You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." For many generations, our ancestors have fought for the right to vote. It started with the Civil Rights Act in 1964 which made it mandatory that white schools integrate black children into their institutions. The outcome of the 1964 election was a landslide, favoring the democrats, which broached the issue of civil rights legislation. In 1964 “only 7% of eligible black citizens in Mississippi were registered; in Alabama the figure was 20% (Kernell, et. al 2014, 162). The low voter turnout rate was because people of color were required to take a literacy test. This all changed when President Johnson …show more content…

The most critiqued argument is that mandating voting is just un-American. The con side argues that forcing people to vote violates our freedom of speech. But they don’t feel that the requirement to pay taxes and serve as a jure are unjust. This seems contradictory. The second argument is that requiring all citizens to vote would result in many uninformed and carelessly voters. They continue this argument by stating many people would cast “donkey votes” which are votes for a random candidate because they are required to vote by law. There are many arguments for and against compulsory voting but it comes down to what makes something …show more content…

2014. “Voting within Australia – Frequently Asked Questions.”Australian Electoral Commission, August 22. http://www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/Voting_Australia.htm (March 2015).

Carroll, Doherty. 2014. "7 things to know about polarization in America." Pew Research Center, June 12. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/12/7-things-to-know-about-polarization-in-america/ (March, 2015).
Katie, Beck. 2013. "Australia election: Why is voting compulsory?" BBC News, August 26. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23810381 (March, 2015).
Kernell, Samuel, Jacobson, Gary C., Kousser, Thad, & Vavreck, Lynn. 2014. The Logic of American Politics 6th ed. Los Angeles: CQ Press
Jessica, Rettig. 2010. “Galston: Mandatory Voting Would Loosen Partisan Gridlock.” US News, July 8 http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/07/08/galston-mandatory-voting-would-loosen-partisan-gridlock (March 8).
US Census Bureau. 2015. “US and World Population Clock.” US Census Bureau, March 13. http://www.census.gov/popclock/ (March, 2015).
"Voter Apathy". Flow Psychology, March 2014 . http://flowpsychology.com/voter-apathy-definition/ (March,

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Article 'Telling Americans To Vote Or Else'

    218 Words  | 1 Pages

    There is an argument in the article “Telling Americans to Vote, or Else”, that is written by William A. Galston. The article states that voting should be necessary for everyone. The author contrasts American voting with Australian voting. In the text, it says,

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Culture Wars: The Myth Of A Polarized America

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    Increasingly over the past two decades and in part thanks to the publication of James Davison Hunter’s book, Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America, the idea of a culture war in American politics has been gaining attention. While the tension between conservatives and liberals is palpable, it’s intensity has proven hard to measure. However, it doesn’t seem that many Americans are polarized on the topic of polarization as most would agree that the culture war is real (Fiorina, 2005). This thinking is what prompted Morris Fiorina to write the book Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America. In it, Fiorina outlines an argument against the idea of a culture war by looking at party affiliation by states, how public opinion on hot button issues changed over time and various explanations for why Americans are so hung up on the topic of polarization. While Fiorina makes a good argument, the evidence supporting the culture war is too powerful to explain away.

    Read More

  • Voter Id Laws Pros And Cons

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    For different states there have been different court decisions on these laws. States that have laws with voter-ID laws in place include Texas and Wisconsin. North Carolina, Kansas and North Dakota have overturned voter-ID, along with a few other restrictive laws on voting. I find myself on the fence about the situation. Both sides of the issue do state several points that impact the argument such lack of voter-ID increasing fraud or decreasing the range of

    Read More

  • Compulsory Voting Dbq Essay

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    All in all, compulsory voting can seriously help out the United States of America. Although, forcing people to vote will make a lot more ignorant people vote for no reason, it will help get rid of those people by making them more intelligent in the world of politics, it will help rid fraudulent votes, and will help people realize that there are many more required things that are less important than voting. Compulsory voting will

    Read More

  • The Case for Mandatory Voting in Canada

    2588 Words  | 6 Pages

    Ornstein, Norman.2010. “Yes, Compulsory Voting Laws Would Unify American Politics.” Insights on Law & Society 1: 17-8.

    Read More

  • Voter Turnout Assignment

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a way that is already put in use to increase voter turnout in Australia is to make voting mandatory. People in Australia are forced to vote or they will be fined, or even jailed if they do not vote repeatedly. It is very effective in term of improving voter turnout; however, there is still some argument against it. One of them being people would only vote because they have to, so they are ignorantly voting for the candidates just to be done with it. I completely agree with this idea. The voter turnout can be really high, but it would be meaningless if the people just vote to escape from the punishments. Yale Law School Professor Stephen Carter also suggested that, instead of punishing people do not vote, we should reward people who vote. It is the same with the mandatory voting. I think it will only be effective in increasing the voter turnout, but the results will not. People should vote voluntarily for the best and fair outcome. To have more people voting, I believe we should take a look at why people do not vote. We must assure people that if everybody thinks their vote does not count, then no one would vote. We should be able to change their attitude about their own votes. If people cannot vote because they are busy with work or schools, we should have a national day off on the election day. By doing so, much more people will be able to participate in voting. There should also be

    Read More

  • External Factors In Congress

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Sinclair’s analysis, voters, political activists, and politicians all play significant roles in creating and enforcing the ideological gap between the two major parties in Congress. This trend of polarization is rooted in the electorate

    Read More

  • Mandatory Voting In Canada

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    What principles and ideals lie at the heart of a free democratic society? Canadians take pride in their country’s values of tolerance, inclusion, and respect, and over Canada’s guaranteed freedom of expression, including the right to vote (Thevenard & Orend, 2015). In democratic Canada, “all eligible citizens have the right to participate, either directly or indirectly, in making the decisions that affect them” ("Democracy Defined"). Voting, in essence, ensures all citizens receive an equal opportunity to express their views by selecting and supporting a political party of their choice. Such an approach provides freedom of expression for all eligible citizens, allowing for the political party with the most votes to take over the ruling.

    Read More

  • Implementing Compulsory Voting in Canada

    1732 Words  | 4 Pages

    Loewen, P. J., Milner, H., & Hicks, B. M. (1997). Does Compulsory Voting Lead To More Informed and Engaged Citizens? An Experimental Test. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 41(3), 655-672. Retrieved from http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/tmp/44514596344978336.pdf

    Read More

  • Voting Participation in the United States

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Voting and Registration." United States Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau, 08 May 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • New National Holiday: Implementing Election Day as a Holiday

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ken Kollman, The American Political System, (New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2012), 25, 322-323, 330, 449.

    Read More

  • Essay On Mandatory Voting

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    To enforce voting to be mandatory , this will prompt more Americans to pay attention to the choices for their representatives. Mandating would stimulate the demand side, motivating voters to understand and acknowledge who they are voting for. Therefore , voting is to be a responsibility than a option.

    Read More

  • Importance of Voter ID Laws in the United States

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    ColumbiaMission. 5 May 2009. 26 Sep. 2012. http://www.columbiamissourin.com/stories/2009/05/05/voter-id-ncessary-fair-elections. Schultheis, Emily.

    Read More

  • Electoral College Reform

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    Beck, Paul Allen and Hershey, Marjorie Randon. Party Politics in America. 9th Ed. Longman, New York, NY. 2001.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Compulsory Voting

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the constitution “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” The constitution clearly states that all citizens have the freedom of choice. Therefore, allowing them to choose according to their desires and beliefs. People have been debating whether the United States should have the compulsory voting system or not .There are variety of reasons on each side of the argument. However, I believe that compulsory voting should not be allowed because voters will not have freedom of choice, punishments can be very harsh for several people, and the irresponsible voters will make uneducated decisions while voting.

    Read More

More about Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Voting In The United States

Open Document