Pros And Cons Of Mandatory Voting
Should The US Enact Mandatory Voting?
Many countries around the world have compulsory voting laws including Argentina, Australia, and Belgium, but will this work for the United States? Estimates have shown that in the 2016 election only 58% of eligible citizens voted. Various arguments exist debating the necessity of mandatory voting. Arguments opposing mandatory voting insist that the process would lead to empty votes from both uneducated and disinterested citizens. Furthermore mandatory voting is contrary to our founding principles and is unconstitutional. Through this reasoning mandatory voting is not a stable option for the United States.
Compulsory voting would do more damage than good. It would force uneducated people to vote for something they know nothing about which would undermine the legitimacy of a fair election. This would allow various politicians of ill repute to influence voters in their favor due to the gullibility and ignorance of those who either do not care or do …show more content…
A mandatory vote may force us to vote and thereby exercise the right to vote, but a right is not a duty. Whereas a duty has the requirement of execution, a right does not. Furthermore force is contrary to the right to choose and the principle of freedom with which this country was founded.
It has been suggested that a mandatory vote would ensure that an uneducated populace would thereby exercise prudence and educate themselves on the issues at hand. While the issue of disinterested citizens may still exist, the benefits outweigh the negatives, with higher margins of citizens turning out to vote. Yes, empty votes would still happen and citizens may still choose to not to vote, but fines and repercussions would encourage those few stragglers to get more
Many countries around the world have compulsory voting laws including Argentina, Australia, and Belgium, but will this work for the United States? Estimates have shown that in the 2016 election only 58% of eligible citizens voted. Various arguments exist debating the necessity of mandatory voting. Arguments opposing mandatory voting insist that the process would lead to empty votes from both uneducated and disinterested citizens. Furthermore mandatory voting is contrary to our founding principles and is unconstitutional. Through this reasoning mandatory voting is not a stable option for the United States.
Compulsory voting would do more damage than good. It would force uneducated people to vote for something they know nothing about which would undermine the legitimacy of a fair election. This would allow various politicians of ill repute to influence voters in their favor due to the gullibility and ignorance of those who either do not care or do …show more content…
A mandatory vote may force us to vote and thereby exercise the right to vote, but a right is not a duty. Whereas a duty has the requirement of execution, a right does not. Furthermore force is contrary to the right to choose and the principle of freedom with which this country was founded.
It has been suggested that a mandatory vote would ensure that an uneducated populace would thereby exercise prudence and educate themselves on the issues at hand. While the issue of disinterested citizens may still exist, the benefits outweigh the negatives, with higher margins of citizens turning out to vote. Yes, empty votes would still happen and citizens may still choose to not to vote, but fines and repercussions would encourage those few stragglers to get more