Voting Should Be Mandatory

681 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reasons why voting should not be mandatory

On the contrary that some people believe that voting should be mandatory, I disagree granted the understanding that many people have fought for the right to vote. Although Australia and different countries have the mandatory to vote, we would be breaking the 13th amendment this is a free country after all. For one thing many people have many different reasons for not voting such as lack of understanding, being busy with work and such, lack in trust in the government, and not caring much about the candidates. To point out you can not force people to vote if they do not agree with the candidates. Therefore, that is why we should not force people to vote just so they can be “better informed.” Although, other countries do force people to

Show More
Related

  • Required To Vote Dbq

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    Recently, only 60% of registered voters have actually voted in presidential elections. This brings up the question: should Americans be required to vote? This question receives very mixed answers. Many Americans believe that they should have the choice and the freedom to vote or not; many Americans also believe that mandatory, or required, voting is simply a civic duty. Currently, American citizens are not required to vote. Citizens seem to like this system, but because voting is not mandatory, the amount of citizens that vote in elections is rather low. Americans should not be required to vote because it forces people to vote that are uninterested, makes citizens unhappy, and damages other people’s votes.

    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

    Since the turn of the twenty first century, in Canada voter turnout has made a significant and consecutive decline. In the last five federal elections on average only sixty-one per cent of eligible voters voted. If each eligible citizen voted in an election the government would be on par with the primary interests of the people. The easiest way to achieve this objective is by implementing a compulsory voting system. Mandatory voting systems are appealing because all citizens are affected by decisions made by the government, so it makes sense to have all those affected apart of the election process. As a result, the voting results would be more representative of the country and that would lead to an increase of stability and legitimacy. It would also be beneficial to Canadians because would cause political parties to address and focus on the needs of every socio-economic level. However, one of biggest problems that accompanies mandatory voting laws is that the choice to exercise the right to vote is taken away. Another primary concern about compulsory voting is that a large number of uninterested and uninformed voters are brought to the polls. Conversely, uninformed voters will become familiar with and learn the polling procedures and electoral system over time and uninterested voters are not forced to mark a name on the ballot. Compulsory voting laws would only make registration and attendance at the polls mandatory, not voting itself. Therefore the freedom to exercise the right to vote or not is still intact. A greater emphasis on alternate voting practices may be established such as electronic or online voting. Positive changes would not only be evident in the policies of political parties but also in the voting procedure. Th...

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Voting In The United States

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Compulsory Voting In Australia Essay

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    "There is a reason for the country to embrace mandatory voting, and it may be the most compelling: democracy cannot be strong if citizenship is weak," _William A. Galtson_. Mandatory voting, or compulsory voting, is a law wherein citizens are required to vote, or suffer the consequence. Australia has had compulsory voting since putting it into effect in 1924. "The turnout of Australian elections has never fallen below 90 percent since the introduction of compulsory voting in 1924," _Australian Electoral Commission_. Achieving over 90 percent of the citizens voting for nearly a century shows that mandatory voting is working in regard to getting people to vote. Governments should have mandatory voting because the people will educate themselves

    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

  • Voting Should Be Compulsory In Uk Essay

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    Firstly, the idea of compulsory voting that involves every citizen having a civic duty, rather then a right to vote, which has been introduced in over 20 countries worldwide, a good example being Australia. In Australia, the system has been a success, producing an impressive turnout of 94% in the 2013 election, which therefore means that the Australian government will have a much higher level of legitimacy compared to the UK. However, critics of compulsory voting argue that such a system is undemocratic by itself as it does not provide a citizen with a choice on whether to vote or not, resulting in a serious debate around the issue. However, I must agree with the critics of the system, as the people voting because they have to, are likely to be less passionate and well informed about the person they have to

    Read More

  • Mandatory Voting In Canada

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    Should Canadians turn to compulsory voting for answers? Many democracies throughout the globe, including Australia, Belgium, Greece, and Luxembourg, employ mandatory voting and report an average turnout rate of 90 percent ("Canadian Parliamentary Review - Article"). In light of this, establishing electoral participation as a civic duty seems pretty reasonable. Particularly considering the guaranteed increase in voter participation, it seems like the perfect solution. When examined father in-depth, however, one will discover the issue poses some

    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

  • Should Americans Be Required To Vote Essay

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, one reason why Americans should be required to vote is that it will educate the citizens. Evidence supporting this reason is in “Unequal Participation: Democracy’s Unresolved Dilemma, American Political Science Review” Aaron Lijphart stated that “By compelling people to vote, we are likely to arouse in them an intelligent interest and to give them a political knowledge that do not at present possess.” This evidence helps explain why Americans should be required to vote because when citizens are required to vote it gives them a political understanding that they didn't have before voting. Most citizens will research

    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

  • Why We Should Be Required To Vote

    517 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the contrary, citizens should be required to vote. For example, text 1 line 20 states "A democracy can't be strong, if its citizenship is weak"; therefore when being forced to vote against our own will, it is to strengthen our nation. In addition, if the turnout rates are high, then political parties reaches out to the citizens. As a result, the voices of the less educated and the poorer Americans will be heard and not ignored. Not to mention, William A. Galston states that voting evens out the inequalities stemming from income, education, and age in text 1. Most importantly, mandatory voting only benefits us a nation and individually. Clearly, compulsory voting should be enforced.

    Read More

  • Why The Voting Should Not Be Mandatory By Law

    491 Words  | 1 Pages

    Voting Should Not Be Mandatory by Law In an effort to increase voter’s turnout, some countries have laws requiring citizens to vote or face a penalty. In fact, there are at least 26 countries that currently employ some form of compulsory voting, but many people see voting as an optional. There are many reasons that lead to not vote, including that some citizens may not like the candidates, democratic citizens, and some citizens have no interest or knowledge about the political process, and other reason that the government should choose a good person for people to help them even though there was no vote.

    Read More

  • Civic Virtue: Should The Government Be Mandatory?

    471 Words  | 1 Pages

    Therefore, if the government gets power directly from the people, it would make no sense for the government to force the people to give it authority through mandatory voting. In order for someone to possess a virtue, it has to be through his own choice. Force takes the virtue out of virtue. Making voting mandatory goes against some of the basic rights and freedoms American citizens have possessed from the creation of this nation. The 1st Amendment of the Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech” (Fox, Pope 364).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Right To Vote

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    Voting, while it is considered a right in The United States, it is also considered a duty that we the people have. The whole purpose of voting is to elect someone into office who will promote our individual’s values and beliefs. One would like to believe that the state representatives and officials we elect into office are the ones our opinions align with the most. If one does not take advantage of this right, then one could not be considered to care how American politics unfold. Now, the actual process of registering to vote is not one in which is actively advertised to the public, as most people just assume that all you have to do to register to vote is just fill out a form, which while not entirely false is not the complete process either.

    Read More

More about Voting Should Be Mandatory

Open Document