The right to vote, especially in a democracy, is a big deal. It’s one of the biggest ways that citizens can express how they feel about their government and what people they feel should lead it. New democracies that hold elections tend to have high voter turnout and enthusiasm. In America, we have one of the oldest democracies, and yet since World War 2, we haven’t had a presidential election with 65% or more of registered voters. The lack of voters makes it difficult to determine if our government is legitimate and really what the people want. Many ideas have been presented to help with solving this issue, but the most controversial has to be required voting. Citizens would have to vote, and if they don’t, they’d have to face some sort of consequence. In my opinion, required voting goes against what we stand for as a democracy, and our right to choose. Americans shouldn’t be required to vote because we have the right not to, and because of the increase in uninformed voting, unfavorable attitudes & political dissatisfaction. …show more content…
To force someone to vote even though they don’t want to, not only goes against their rights, it also goes against our basic beliefs as a nation. Even if you force someone to vote, that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t make blank or null ballots to avoid the punishment that comes along with not voting. In Peru where there’s mandatory voting and an enforced penalty of $35, 13% of the votes are blank or null. (Document E) As said in Document G, telling someone to just vote, is not expressing civic virtue. You’re not more or less of a citizen if you
In America, many citizens choose not to vote every year. Although, The United States of America is a democracy, Americans should be required to vote. Whether the voting is for local places or for the government, citizens should be required to vote. This will give everyone a chance to speak their minds and learn more about politics. Compulsory voting is important because everyone should have a chance to vote for what they believe in.
A very controversial topic in the United States is whether or not Americans should be required to vote. Voting is a very essential piece to democracy, but many Americans today are not attending their voting location and supporting the candidate they feel is best. In recent elections, just 60% of registered voters casted their vote for a candidate. This is an issue that many people are not happy about, but whether or not there is reason to fix it is the other side to the case. Voter participation is an issue that has been going on for years, and no laws are in place currently to bring it up. Americans have been proud to live in a “free country”, and a law forcing citizens to vote may be against America’s principles. Compulsory voting should
Americans should not be required to vote, the amount of votes will go up. But since they are not aware of who they are voting for would cause chaos. If they have a problem and want to have their say in the elections they should be able to without be required to with an influence of something. They would still need more ways to higher the voting percentage. But they could do that with several ads convincing them so they have the mindset of voting. Now the odds of the least liked candidate to be voted in to win is fifty fifty.
What is more American than voting? This right has been fought for by many groups and people throughout the life of our country. From the people in our history books to the everyday person fighting for their rights, voting has been yearned for by many. However, even with voting being such a big deal, voter turnout is low for America and still there are some Americans who can’t vote. With so much being done throughout the years to get the vote to Americans, we’d expect high voter turnout and everyone being able to vote, but that isn’t true and it needs to change. We should make voting required as turnout will rise, more people would get involved in the government, and more people will be able to vote.
In some countries there are legal repercussions for not voting, such as Australia. In ancient Grease, all citizens were required to vote at election time under penalty of imprisonment. This may not be the best course of action for America, were people might see it as imposing on there freedom of choice. There are other less dramatic options that can be considered.
In recent years, due to non compulsory voting, our national affairs and international affairs have been affected. America should have compulsory voting because of increased voter turnout rates, the questionability of the legitimacy of our government and the education of politics for the people.
In “Race and Beyond: Why Young, Minority, and Low-Income Citizens Don’t Vote,” Sam Fulwood claims, “Regardless of whether a favored candidate won or popular ballot initiative passed, our nation suffered because of the number of people who didn’t vote at all” (par. 2). I agree with Sam Fulwood and I believe it is so unfortunate that Americans don’t use this right. Voting is one of the most valuable possessions that Americans are given and yet they do not use. Many of the countries around the world do not grant voting rights to their citizens. These countries either have a dictatorship or kingdom which prevents citizens from voting. People need to understand the sufferings of those people who struggled for this right. When the United States
One reason why Americans should not be required to vote is because citizens have liberty to choose to vote or don’t vote. Evidence supporting this reason is compulsory voting just like potemkin facade, citizens have no liberty, citizens should have the liberty to choose what they want. This
The voter turnout has decreased; most of them are disadvantaged people. “The more voters the more representative the government”.
In conclusion mandatory voting should not be allowed because it violates the First Amendment and is forcing uneducated people to vote. Let people wait until they’re comfortable with voting and know enough about the country and the problems. Then see which president will help out the
Presidential Characters start off about how a person decides to vote. He talks about how people listen to their friends, politicians, and the candidates during the debate. He also talks about how people look to see how they voted in the previous years. If they voted for democrat or republican or go with their gut and choose the one they think will lead the country in the best way. Then it goes on to talk about how people need to see the candidates in action to be able to vote. It says that we need to see them as a human being so we can correctly make the right vote we believe. We cannot just see them as a person who tries to apply to the majority of peoples senses so they can win. They need to be able to have an actual conversation with them not about politics so they can actually meet the person. It states in the paragraph that,
Have you ever felt like the government is trying to take away your voice? Well if you allow them to take away your right to vote with new restrictions on who can or can not vote then that is what they are basically doing.It would be taking away the already small voice you have in your governmental system. If they were to change the requirements then it would cause mass confusion of election day, it would be erasing what some people fought for to earn the right to vote, and the voting rate is low enough.
The right to vote is something that is often taken for granted. There are places in the world in which people can’t at all vote, such as China and North Korea. There are people who are willing to risk their lives in order to move to a place where they are able to vote. Everyone’s political views deserve to be counted in some fashion, but that isn’t always the case. As Americans, we fail to recognize how lucky we are, that we have fair voting rights among our people and that our leaders reflect what the majority of our population want. Having a democracy, we have endless opportunity to vote and to have our votes be a direct representation of the majority. Even if your beliefs
In a far less distant past than many of us care to envision, very few people experienced the luxury of having the right to vote. In fact, the pool was so small, only wealthy Caucasian males were given that right. When considering the vastness and diverseness of the population of our country, how could such a small fragment of it have ever possibly represented the views and preferences of the people as a whole effectively? Simple, it couldn’t. Therein lies the importance of voting rights. The right to vote regardless of race, gender, or condition was one of the hardest won civil rights ever achieved, and people should exercise that right so officials who best represent their voice (that went unheard for hundreds of years) are put into
The world today has evolved into electronic filing of taxes, medical records, applications for college or even apply for a job. What about voting online for the next President, Governor, or City Counsel. The voting system has been established over the years by going to the polls to vote. Times have changed with the internet and Wi-Fi capability, one should be able to vote via E-voting.