Obama Suggest Mandatory Voting

[meandsharon11]

No because other countries aren't the United States.

Also how about instead of forcing people against their will to vote for your party or the other one you actually do something to improve your party so people want to vote for it instead of threatening people with fines and jail time to do so.

this right here. unbiased idealism. reality is the world being shaped around us is based on shaping it for those who make the decisions instead of for those who put the decision makers in their seats. and i say this with the understand that im calling politicians dicision makers when its suppose to be us.

[duane1969]

No, you can't force people to vote, that's a dumb idea... I agree whole-heartedly

HOWEVER, if you really want more votes, then freaking move elections to the WEEKEND where people have more time. Not a bad idea at all, but then people will just use the excuse that the weekend is their time to do other things and they don't want to interrupt tht to vote.

Give early voters MORE time. I disagree. If you don't care enough to vote on election day then you won't care enough to vote 2 weeks early. Data shows that the advent of early voting resulted in a negligible number of people getting involved in the voting process. In fact, a few studies show that early voting results in lower turnout. Nobody wants to have to make a special trip to an out-of-the-way location to vote.

Create MORE voting stations so it's more convenient for those that have to travel. Depends on where you live. In my state there is a voting staion in every district which amounts to about 15 stations per county. There is literally a voting station every 5-10 miles.

Everything in red is dribble. Take your meds and try REALLY HARD to not turn every single thread into a bashing rant. It has reached the point of being outright pathetic.

OH...But anyone want to guess which party would be very much against having these changes?

Which party desperately tries to suppress voters especially minority and poor voters?

The DISGUSTING, utterly DESPICABLE, and INSUFFERABLE GOP.

Responses in bold

Election day needs to be a major national holiday.

So you would be OK with no access to the grocery store, restaurants, gas stations, WalMart, optician, doctors office, auto repair, parts stores and virtually every other business that is normally open so that 15% of the population can vote? There is no evidence to support the idea that having the day off increases voter participation.

[ajcorleone]

Rush is a waste of air I have seen it with my own eyes. See you are the one with blinders so look in the mirror son.

And you know this how? Oh let me guess you heard it on Rush.

[sanfran22]

And you know this how? Oh let me guess you heard it on Rush.

Or maybe he knows that unemployment hit a certain sect of the population pretty hard. One that primarily votes dem.....

[Star_Cards]

Knee jerk reaction - THIS IS A HORRIBLE IDEA!!!!


Then one starts to put some thought into what has happened with politics over the past 50 years - one can't help but wonder.

Politics has largely turned into a game of money vs money - left vs right.
This has clearly caused a disconnect with middle American and 60% of voters that we want to be voting.
Most of these have told us by their utter lack of participation that they are disenfranchised by what has happened - those in the middle 40% refuse to vote as they are pissed by the actions of both parties.

So - what happens.
The left get further liberal - the right gets further conservative.
The majority of people that vote are the 10% on the far ends of the spectrum the identify with fundamental political idealism which leads to bad government.

Just take a look at how we run our nominations and who gets the party nod for presidential elections.

I don't know if compulsory voting solves all of the issues but I do know that much more of middle America would be forced to be involved which would seem to get rid of a lot of the log jam that happens in 21st Century American politics.

Maybe this isn't the way to go - but it isn't something that should be dismissed simply based on political ramblings.

Great post.

[Star_Cards]

uneducated voters are not better than no voters, perhaps they are worse.

one big issue we face now is uneducated voters being taken advantage of.
a free bus ride, free pizza, and the guy we want you to vote for will give you a cell phone and more money.

I do agree that we don't need voters that are being essentially bribed to vote with pizza or what have you. However, it's shocking how few people actually show up to vote. I'm even guilty of not voting as much as I should. I get out for the main elections but not for the midterms. I don't know that mandatory voting is the answer but more people should be voting.

[Star_Cards]

Well a good bit of voters for the Democratic party were unemployed last term, so it already was a holiday

what percentage of Dem voters were unemployed? Do you have a link to the stats?

[ajcorleone]

I have told this story before but will tell it again. And this is only one instance. When I lived in NY and David DInkins ran for Mayor he was using school buses and other charter buses to ship folks to the polls to vote. I also witnessed PERSONALLY Dinkins invade soup kitchens and shelters with his entourage looking for registered voters to help him. And he used a fake concern for these people. SO this is only one instance and it was only a Mayoral race but it happens. Please don't be blind and biased. And yes it happens both sides but Veggie is blinded by his racism.

what percentage of Dem voters were unemployed? Do you have a link to the stats?

[JustAlex]

Is anyone really surprised that once again it is conservative/GOP supporters who do NOT want more people to vote?

Oh and I like how Shrew was talking about uneducated voters and whatnot....

Someone remind me which party is anti-science again?

Which party thinks abstinence only education is a good idea when all the stats say otherwise?

And which party panders to the most religious zealots who shun anything that disagrees with their 2000 year old book of fairy tales?

Can someone tell me which party I'm describing?

[Star_Cards]

I have told this story before but will tell it again. And this is only one instance. When I lived in NY and David DInkins ran for Mayor he was using school buses and other charter buses to ship folks to the polls to vote. I also witnessed PERSONALLY Dinkins invade soup kitchens and shelters with his entourage looking for registered voters to help him. And he used a fake concern for these people. SO this is only one instance and it was only a Mayoral race but it happens. Please don't be blind and biased. And yes it happens both sides but Veggie is blinded by his racism.

I was honestly looking for a link. I thought maybe you had some numbers from somewhere. I'm not sure what you mean by "a good bit", but I'd bet that the vast majority of voters have jobs... even voters voting democratic. It would be interesting to see exact numbers of unemployed Dem voters vs unemployed Rep voters.

I'm not blind at all to the fact that politicians or groups working with politicians try stuff like this to get extra votes. I agree with you that it's shady and not an ideal way to increase votes. Votes shouldn't be for sale. It just sucks that they are whether it's for a slice of pizza or favors in legislation because of a million dollar lobbyist contribution.

If I had someone approach me with a decent bribe to vote for them I'd take them up on the offer and vote for their opponent.