Mandatory Voting -- Vote here..... (1 Viewer)

[NutterButter]

I don't see how a fine could work and survive. The Democrats would supposedly like to encourage more people to vote, but would they want a fine that would probably be disproportionately charged to minorities and the poor?

Don't you get fined for not having health insurance?

 

[RCon]

In the various voter ID threads, I've been told that a huge number of people are incapable of making a trip to the DMV to get a license because that burden would throw their Dickensian existence into a tailspin. Now I'm being told that many of those same people would start reading Foreign Affairs in their spare time if only we nudged them a little.

These don't seem like accurate descriptions of what most proponents have said about either of these policies.

The first part is actually accurate. I've been told many times that going to the DMV is easy for me only because I'm privileged somehow but that it's essentially impossible for other folks.

The second part is obviously an exaggeration. I do think it's ludicrous to assume that the typical non-voter is going to develop any sort of meaningful understanding of US civics just because you mandate voting, hence the snark.

I'm going to assume that this group of people is largely the same group who can't be trusted to buy the proper amount of soda or decide which foods are appropriate for them to eat. I'm not sure I trust these people to vote responsibly.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

An argument against mandatory voting with some potentially surprising empirical claims, such as (a) mandatory voting would not lead people to become better informed on policy issues, and (b) mandatory voting would not help Democrats win elections.

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

An argument against mandatory voting with some potentially surprising empirical claims, such as (a) mandatory voting would not lead people to become better informed on policy issues, and (b) mandatory voting would not help Democrats win elections.

Yeah, I'm sorta skeptical of some of what he says. Maybe I'll try to read his book and see if it convinces me. Or the other book cited earlier written by two PoliSci professors that take contrary positions.