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(BBC-US)   Voter turnout can be relatively low in the United State compared to other countries. This could help fix that issue   (bbc.com) divider line
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    More: Interesting, Elections, Election, Compulsory voting, Donald Trump, United States, Voting, Australia, Plurality voting system  
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2213 clicks; posted to Politics » on 04 Nov 2022 at 9:44 AM (20 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



87 Comments     (+0 »)
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kdawg7736 [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-04 9:15:31 AM  
Doubt it. It is hard to change the habits of a group of people.
 
Ethertap [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 9:27:17 AM  
Could you imagine the freak outs if voting were made mandatory. It would be an epic shiatstorm.

I think it would probably be good for the country, in the long term, but it would certainly change American politics.

It may also finally motivate politicians to make voting day a formal federal holiday.
 
oldernell [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-04 9:33:32 AM  
We're about the only country that puts roadblocks in the way of people voting. Especially minorities.
 
GardenWeasel [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 9:42:29 AM  

Ethertap: Could you imagine the freak outs if voting were made mandatory. It would be an epic shiatstorm.


We would have the GOP firebombing polling stations, and constitutional sheriffs writing hall passes.
 
FormlessOne
2022-11-04 9:46:52 AM  
The last thing Republicans want is more folks voting - reality has a Democratic bias.
 
shinji3i
2022-11-04 9:47:06 AM  

oldernell: We're about the only country that puts roadblocks in the way of people voting. Especially minorities.


And the excuse for low turnout even in states that don't have roadblocks and just sends ballots to every registered voter a month before the election isssss?
 
HerptheDerp
2022-11-04 9:48:01 AM  
I'm in camp "Yes, it should be part of your civic duty like a Jury Duty summons."

It sucks, few really want to do it, but damn it, do your farking part.
That aside. There's no way this would ever get adopted. Americans love one thing almost as much as money and bombing countries with hard to pronounce names, and that's not giving a shiat about anyone else. Damn, we love not giving a shiat, and getting people who don't give a shiat to adopt a law requiring them to give a shiat? I don't see it.

Prove me wrong kids.
 
fireclown
2022-11-04 9:48:55 AM  
I'm pretty sure most people are too poorly informed to vote.  I'm coming around to thinking that you should have to pass a very basic civics test before being allowed to vote.  Yeah, I know, "literacy test", unequal education and all that.
 
wxboy
2022-11-04 9:49:27 AM  
Whose idea was it to place a campaign poster with the candidate's face perfectly at genital height?

ichef.bbci.co.ukView Full Size
 
durbnpoisn
2022-11-04 9:49:45 AM  

kdawg7736: Doubt it. It is hard to change the habits of a group of people.


This reminds me of a famous quote by some guy that runs a pretty popular website.

It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter.
- Drew Curtis
 
Rent Party
2022-11-04 9:49:55 AM  
If "Living paycheck to paycheck under the gun of bankruptcy if you get sick.... and oh yeah that slide into fascism" doesn't do it, nothing will.
 
hegelsghost
2022-11-04 9:50:50 AM  
Compulsory voting is a political. non-starter in the US. Fact is, we don't like compulsory things.  But one change that would make a definite difference is making election day a national holiday. There is a Bill to make this so but strangely or not so strangely it has not been passed.
 
Walker [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 9:51:24 AM  
Would never happen, cause of our freedumb.

"I have the right not to vote!"
 
Mukster
2022-11-04 9:51:48 AM  
Australia: $20 fine for not voting

US: You'll take that 20 out of my cold dead fingers before I am forced to vote.

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
SamFlagg [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-04 9:53:33 AM  
Only a couple posts in and we've already covered the problem in the thought experiment...

"What if Americans didn't act like Americans for purpose of this thing that might make things better?"

Hell our entire voting philosophy is driven by the idea that you should have to crawl over broken glass to vote, hell there isn't even a strong push to make us simply not vote on a Tuesday.

/thinks the best change we could possibly make to the current system is ranked choice voting.
 
MarciusDecimus
2022-11-04 9:53:40 AM  
For me, one action is simple and a no brainer, but this America.

Change Columbus today to election day and move it to election day in November.

Done.
 
Herbert's Hippopotamus
2022-11-04 9:53:50 AM  
Compulsory voting isn't the worst idea. It would certainly be a refreshing policy change from voter suppression.

/geeze, Canada's numbers are worse than America's
//and there isn't even a serious attempt at vote suppression here.
///the Cons tried some shenanigans in the dying days of the Harper gov't, but thankfully, like the snitch on a Muslim hotline, it didn't go anywhere.
 
wademh
2022-11-04 9:54:12 AM  

hegelsghost: Compulsory voting is a political. non-starter in the US. Fact is, we don't like compulsory things.  But one change that would make a definite difference is making election day a national holiday. There is a Bill to make this so but strangely or not so strangely it has not been passed.


What about free cookies and ice cream?
 
guinsu
2022-11-04 9:54:15 AM  

Rent Party: If "Living paycheck to paycheck under the gun of bankruptcy if you get sick.... and oh yeah that slide into fascism" doesn't do it, nothing will.


It's been doing that under both parties. Hence the apathy.
 
guinsu
2022-11-04 9:55:33 AM  
How about making people feel represented by their government instead of being an afterthought behind rich people, oil companies and arms dealers?

Nah, let's go for the technocratic solutions instead.
 
FormlessOne
2022-11-04 9:55:55 AM  
Remember how many folks balked because they were told that they had to wear masks to go to the 7-11, or that they had to stand six feet away from each other, lest they suffer or die from a coronavirus infection or its complications?

Go ahead. Now tell them that they have to cast a ballot - for many states, that means get up, drive to a municipal location, wait in line, act like responsible adults, and choose their politicians.

A third of the country would dig its heels in because they're moronic, recalcitrant toddlers with near-terminal cases of YNTBOM Syndrome.
 
Blathering Idjut
2022-11-04 9:56:12 AM  
Let's try making voting easier before we make it compulsory.
 
mrwhippy
2022-11-04 9:56:14 AM  
1) 100% vote by mail
2) Make election day a national holiday
3) Make registration automatic on 18th birthday

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Jairzinho
2022-11-04 9:56:46 AM  
Ok not compulsory voting, so not to freak some people, but....

- Automatic registration.
- automatic re-registration when you move (at the same time you get your new driver license/state id)
- Election Day on a Sunday or make it a Federal Holiday fully paid by employers (business could get a tax deduction for that expense, if you will).
- and FFS: Ranked choice!!!

Simple?  yes. But this would make it too easy for  "those" people to vote. And 40 something % of the country can't have that.
 
buravirgil
2022-11-04 9:58:05 AM  
What do the polls say? I'm told pollsters are backed by science and the best models.
 
Troy Aikman's Giant Thumbs
2022-11-04 9:58:36 AM  
Americans hate mandatory things but they love the idea of tax cuts so give a refundable tax credit to voters.
 
DarkSoulNoHope
2022-11-04 10:00:41 AM  

Rent Party: If "Living paycheck to paycheck under the gun of bankruptcy if you get sick.... and oh yeah that slide into fascism" doesn't do it, nothing will.


Hard part is getting those jobs to allow you enough time off to make it to a polling station (especially in Republican states where there is no early voting without "good reason"), and they aren't required to do that, as well as being able to have sufficient transportation to go to the polls and back from your job. Many people in retail would be risking getting fired from the job(s) that keep a roof over their heads, if the federal government didn't block enforcement of its own civil rights laws and fail to make new laws to enhance the ability of people to vote in the approximately 40 years since the last voting rights law was enacted.
 
abb3w [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 10:01:59 AM  

HerptheDerp: I'm in camp "Yes, it should be part of your civic duty like a Jury Duty summons."


As a matter of political preference under the principle of "just authority derives from the express consensus of the governed", I'm inclined to agree -- although I think a Senate Committee subpoena feels closer. You may choose to say nothing when you arrive, but you must respect the process and you must show up under penalty of law.

As a matter of law, however, I expect that given the Dixon v Maryland ruling, for the US to implement Australian-style compulsory voting would seem likely to require a Federal Constitutional Amendment. Further given the present polarized character of our politics, the GOP's apparent opposition to universal franchise exercise, and the voting thresholds for adoption of an Amendment, while in some sense it "could help":
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
BitwiseShift
2022-11-04 10:05:41 AM  
Compulsory voting would get a larger vote.  At least the first time, when dozens go to the poll to unelect all the fools in Congress that would try to ram such a bill through.

Democracy is like an elephant.  Nice to look at but you don't want to get too close to step in the steamy outcome.
 
lordjupiter
2022-11-04 10:05:52 AM  
Did someone fall out of bed and write this?

We live in a country where 30-40% of the people are suffering from significant brain damage that causes them to respond violently to any attempt to modify their behavior, EVEN WHEN IT BENEFITS THEM.

It's like herding rabid starving wolverines.

Zero chance this country adopts compulsory voting.  Zero.  It would result in people voting LESS out of spite.  Especially...

Hmmm...
 
pdieten
2022-11-04 10:06:59 AM  

HerptheDerp: I'm in camp "Yes, it should be part of your civic duty like a Jury Duty summons."

It sucks, few really want to do it, but damn it, do your farking part.
That aside. There's no way this would ever get adopted. Americans love one thing almost as much as money and bombing countries with hard to pronounce names, and that's not giving a shiat about anyone else. Damn, we love not giving a shiat, and getting people who don't give a shiat to adopt a law requiring them to give a shiat? I don't see it.

Prove me wrong kids.


I live in Wisconsin and there does tend to be a lot of "voting is your civic duty" feeling among its over-40s - we have high percentages of voter participation. The problem is that a lot of people also don't pay much attention to politics.

The sum of which, as widely known, is that our politics are a shiat show.
 
kdawg7736 [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2022-11-04 10:08:14 AM  

durbnpoisn: kdawg7736: Doubt it. It is hard to change the habits of a group of people.

This reminds me of a famous quote by some guy that runs a pretty popular website.

It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter.
- Drew Curtis


Good one. I forgot to mention earlier that if you don't vote, don't complain. It's just that simple.
 
macadamnut
2022-11-04 10:08:43 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size


/ vague threats could work too
 
foo monkey
2022-11-04 10:10:20 AM  
Let's also make everyone officially confirm  their religions on government documents. Atheists can write down "N/A."  God knows what you mean.
 
Incog_Neeto
2022-11-04 10:11:54 AM  
Mandatory voting would be super lol in the US, it would probably drive down republican numbers, they wouldn't vote just because they had to.
 
GardenWeasel [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 10:13:57 AM  

hegelsghost: Compulsory voting is a political. non-starter in the US. Fact is, we don't like compulsory things.  But one change that would make a definite difference is making election day a national holiday. There is a Bill to make this so but strangely or not so strangely it has not been passed.


You can't force businesses to close. It would instantly be the new Black Friday and participation would actually go down.
 
macadamnut
2022-11-04 10:15:17 AM  

fireclown: I'm pretty sure most people are too poorly informed to vote.  I'm coming around to thinking that you should have to pass a very basic civics test before being allowed to vote.  Yeah, I know, "literacy test", unequal education and all that.


i.pinimg.comView Full Size
 
hershy799
2022-11-04 10:15:44 AM  

hegelsghost: Compulsory voting is a political. non-starter in the US. Fact is, we don't like compulsory things.  But one change that would make a definite difference is making election day a national holiday. There is a Bill to make this so but strangely or not so strangely it has not been passed.


I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- making election day a national holiday isn't going to help. Those with office jobs will spend the day going shopping and out to restaurants, putting more demand for the very employees who already have voting access issues.

The better solution is universal vote-by-mail. Colorado (where I live) has a great system. I got to study my ballot closely and take my time (there were some tricky ballot measures) -- all while in my pajamas. When I finished my ballot, I dropped it off at the box by city hall.
 
PirateKing [OhFark]
2022-11-04 10:17:57 AM  
I'm sure I've read an argument before that compulsory voting is the government compelling speech, and thus a 1A violation.

The question I have is could there be a mandatory 'I showed up' check? You have to file taxes even if you don't owe, so why can't you be required to cast a ballot even if you are allowed to leave it blank? Or covered in crayon?

And no, I'm not asking because I think that making voting compulsory will only discourage those who think voting is already a privilege instead of a right.

"What do you mean I HAVE to vote? Nobody tells ME what to do! I'll leave it blank  or vote for Mickey Mouse! That will show them!"
 
HerptheDerp
2022-11-04 10:18:04 AM  

mrwhippy: 1) 100% vote by mail
2) Make election day a national holiday
3) Make registration automatic on 18th birthday

[Fark user image 504x499]


These are absolutely measures that should be adopted. I've voted by mail my entire life, it's so alien to me that people have to go somewhere to vote. I can spend a week with my pamphlet, googling shiat, reading about positions, and generally doing it at my leisure, and then just dropping it in the mail box.

The idea of these 4 hour or 8 hour lines, with no water, outside, sounds like some primitive nation that only just decided to start having elections and lacks infrastructure.
 
special20 [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 10:19:15 AM  
"In the US, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, voting is voluntary. And that's reflected in the turnout, where Australia is one of the highest."

Yeah, but New Zealand was higher on the list for 2020. Article is dildos.
 
guinsu
2022-11-04 10:21:09 AM  

hershy799: hegelsghost: Compulsory voting is a political. non-starter in the US. Fact is, we don't like compulsory things.  But one change that would make a definite difference is making election day a national holiday. There is a Bill to make this so but strangely or not so strangely it has not been passed.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- making election day a national holiday isn't going to help. Those with office jobs will spend the day going shopping and out to restaurants, putting more demand for the very employees who already have voting access issues.

The better solution is universal vote-by-mail. Colorado (where I live) has a great system. I got to study my ballot closely and take my time (there were some tricky ballot measures) -- all while in my pajamas. When I finished my ballot, I dropped it off at the box by city hall.


Why not both?
 
Someone Else's Alt [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 10:23:57 AM  
Of 50 countries examined by Pew Research, the most recent nationwide election data shows the US ranks 31st in voter turnout. And that figure - 62.8% - was from a presidential election. Midterm election turnout tends to be significantly lower.

Greatest democracy in the world, voter participation ranking 31.
 
andrewagill [TotalFark]
2022-11-04 10:24:20 AM  

Mukster: Australia: $20 fine for not voting

US: You'll take that 20 out of my cold dead fingers before I am forced to vote.

[Fark user image image 850x477]


Also: Australia.

I seem to recall actual enforcement of that fine in Australia is more or less on the honor system. They may mail you a ticket, & occasionally they make an example out of people who don't pay the fine but the impression I got was that most people either pay the fine or ignore it & nothing happens.
 
Ketchuponsteak
2022-11-04 10:26:49 AM  

Jairzinho: Ok not compulsory voting, so not to freak some people, but....

- Automatic registration.
- automatic re-registration when you move (at the same time you get your new driver license/state id)
- Election Day on a Sunday or make it a Federal Holiday fully paid by employers (business could get a tax deduction for that expense, if you will).
- and FFS: Ranked choice!!!

Simple?  yes. But this would make it too easy for  "those" people to vote. And 40 something % of the country can't have that.


OMG! PAPERS PLEASE!

/yes, that's what people will argue about the government knowing you exist, and your current address.
 
austerity101
2022-11-04 10:31:00 AM  

hegelsghost: Compulsory voting is a political. non-starter in the US. Fact is, we don't like compulsory things.  But one change that would make a definite difference is making election day a national holiday. There is a Bill to make this so but strangely or not so strangely it has not been passed.


What difference would that really make? Working-class people won't get the day off. Every time there's a federal holiday, they have to work to serve the people who do have the day off.

/see also:  the grotesquerie that is Labor Day
 
BlazeTrailer
2022-11-04 10:33:00 AM  

oldernell: We're about the only country that puts roadblocks in the way of people voting. Especially minorities.


You saying it's the minority of Americans that face voting roadblocks?
 
Zagloba
2022-11-04 10:33:22 AM  
Not saying that mandatory voting is a bad idea exactly, but it's small potatoes.

Multi-seat districts or GTFO. Ranked-choice ballots for offices that have to be single-seat (like governor and senator), but all legislative elections should be filling many seats at once and do so proportionally.
 
austerity101
2022-11-04 10:33:30 AM  

HerptheDerp: mrwhippy: 1) 100% vote by mail
2) Make election day a national holiday
3) Make registration automatic on 18th birthday

[Fark user image 504x499]

These are absolutely measures that should be adopted. I've voted by mail my entire life, it's so alien to me that people have to go somewhere to vote. I can spend a week with my pamphlet, googling shiat, reading about positions, and generally doing it at my leisure, and then just dropping it in the mail box.

The idea of these 4 hour or 8 hour lines, with no water, outside, sounds like some primitive nation that only just decided to start having elections and lacks infrastructure.


This is why I don't understand why every blue+led state hasn't gone full mail-in yet.
 
LurkLongAndProsper
2022-11-04 10:36:39 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size


Some Americans vote regularly. Just not the ones that we would like. Same as it ever was.
 
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