Obama Wants Mandatory Voting

Ahh, I gotcha. I was talking about the daylight thing.

Look, not that it matters (in terms of this discussion), but I DO vote. I like Obama and I voted for him twice, three times if you count the primary. I respect the right that I have to vote and I think it’s sacred and important, especially if you want to bitch about the government. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to force others to.

Being that the “right to vote” is somewhat ambiguous and has been changed throughout US history, I wouldn’t be surprised if it does get changed, maybe even at the state level initially. But I don’t like the idea of forcing people to have a voice if they don’t want it. It seems to go against the First Amendment of the Constitution and I really think there would be some backlash.

You’re being willfully ignorant by ignoring legitimate studies so your opinion means shit.

Raz0r, I don’t care about studies that show forced voting is good or bad. My opinion is based on the fact that I don’t believe it’s constitutional to force people to vote. Sorry if I came across offensively earlier.

Might not even make a difference, austrailia has had this thing for a hundred years and despite changes in government they still send out special forces to blow up boats full of asylum seekers… fuck we really need this in the UK :trollface:

In US Federal elections you are entirely allowed to vote for whomever you want, EVEN IF THEY AREN’T LISTED ON THE BALLOT OR EVEN RUNNING FOR OFFICE.

If neither major party represents your interests (entirely plausible), AND you cannot think of anyone at all who does, then vote for yourself.

Captain Crunch for President!

Sure! At the very bare minimum at least that is a better protest vote than not showing up at all.

Fuck that. I want Toucan Sam.

Tbh they probably look at it the exact same way.

I’m pretty offensive so I don’t mind it if people do it back to me. But anyway, there’s nothing in the Constitution that says the government cannot compel you to vote. Seriously, there’s nothing in there. So they can do it. They should do it. I’m talking about seconds to check a box and go home. It would undoubtedly change this country for the better.

It would be great if it backfired, and the candidates from the other parties promised to remove the mandatory voting law, and won the election because of it.

This article (yes, it’s Fox News, lol) seems to have a different take on whether it’s constitutional or not:

It seems there are also opposing views saying that it does pass constitutional muster. It’s a matter of interpretation I guess. This could be messy.

That’s one hell of a stretch. And no, I won’t take Fox News seriously. They have WEEKS worth of footage I can use as proof that they have their heads shoved up their asses.

I don’t think this is the worst thing. I need to start voting and getting at least a little more politically involved, I’m trying to at least read some news and keep up with some local issues. I feel like an asshole for being a 25 year old that’s never voted, not that I think my uninformed voting would have done anyone any good.

Vote for Popeye.

Switch the words around: vote for the one that best reflects your interests. Though that may not be a thing either but its more applicable.

I edited my post just before you responded to reflect that it’s a matter of interpretation it seems.

And I agree completely with you about Fox News.

this is a bad thing. Yes we have horridly low voter turnout but the solution isn’t to just mandate the turnout, gotta address the reasons for low turnout; disillusionment with the political process due to the corruption of money in politics, voter suppression that takes place in certain regions and of course the employers not really respecting the rights of workers to vote when it comes to low income workers.

We should try to organize it so all of you Yanks vote for somebody from SRK.

I nominate @BeGuiIed

You must not have read or watched Obama’s address where he mentions mandatory voting. He says a good way to combat pretty much everything you’ve posted is by having it and he’s right. Even if the bottom 99% pools its money together, it won’t do shit to the amount the 1% does. Best way to combat money is having people without it, who VASTLY outnumber the rich, vote. Even the rich know that and it’s been made famous in some company’s internal memo that got leaked.

As for your last point, they can’t have you break the law. If it’s a requirement for you to vote, your employer can’t do shit about it. If they try and fire you, bring it up to the labor department and see if they continue that shit.

Everyone OTHER than Razor…can anyone give me a GOOD INFORMED reason to why mandatory voting would be a bad thing, outside of freedom of speech and amendment rights