Posted on 03/22/2015 10:31:16 AM PDT by Kaslin
“Other countries have mandatory voting. Why not us?” — President Barack Obama
On Wednesday, March 18, Barack Obama was speaking at a town-hall event in Cleveland, Ohio, when he openly endorsed mandatory voting laws.
“It would be transformative if everybody voted,” President Obama said. “That would counteract [campaign] money more than anything. If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country.”
President Obama continued, “Other countries have mandatory voting,” referencing nations such as Australia, which passed compulsory voting laws in 1924. Down Under, citizens will be fined and can even be jailed in certain situations if they do not cast ballots.
While Mr. Obama refrained from committing to pursuing legislation regarding the topic on a federal level, he did say that he believed “that [mandatory voting laws] may end up being a better strategy in the short term” to curb the massive impact money has on the election process.
My view? Sadly, more and more everything is either prohibited or mandated in this country.
To force people to vote goes directly against America’s founding principle of freedom. Our American Way is to “persuade” people, not coerce them, into doing the “right” thing. Read my pamphlet, “Persuasion vs. Force.”
Frankly, I think this is Obama’s and the Democrats’ way of getting more votes, since Democrats tend to vote less.
Most importantly, the level of voting in this country is a good indicator of the seriousness of our problems. A low turnout is a sign that things are going well. A high turnout suggests that our country, state or county/city is facing a serious crisis.
The fact that less than 65% of the registered voters vote is a good sign that things are going well in this country.
How might “mandatory voting” work under the democrat party?
Start with giving every human - not every US citizen, but human - in the US an automatic vote for the democrat party. Then let them change it to their choice by actual voting on election day. Those not voting still appear on the computer rolls as democrat votes.
Sweet.
Exactly!
I’ve wondered if a fair plebiscite would really favor the Dems.
Dems are always wanting America to follow, but American has not gotten to be the greatest country on earth by following in the the footsteps of other countries but rather by leading the way to the light.
People from all these "other countries" have been fleeing to American for decades to escape the governments of those "other countries".
Obama and all his dumb$hit buddies want to force us all back into the darkness (and doing a damn fine job of it with the assistance of gutless Republicans).
Other countries have term limits, prosecute treason and hang traitors.
What a concept...yes?
Give them someone to vote FOR!
Can't do that! Then the GOP would be forced to field candidates worth supporting! This "lesser of two evils" crap argument would fall by the wayside - it's their favorite tactic!
Wait, I thought America wasn’t a dictatorship. Ok, it wasn’t prior to 2008. It would indeed be transformative if every illegal was given automatic citizenship and a voters’ registration card. Make all RATS vote 3 times.
He can call his campaign for this Operation Wood Chipper.
“Mandatory voting coupled with sloppy registration is a recipe for permanent one-party control.”
True, also I don’t believe they would imprison or fine those who didn’t show up to vote but would lump them in with phoney registrations and vote for them.
It's also un-American and contrary to the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. Citizens should be free to say "I don't like any of the candidates" rather than being forced to vote for one they don't like.
If this does get enacted, maybe the penalty would be loss of access to welfare or EBT cards...in other words, directed towards those most likely to vote Democrat, to give them an incentive to vote.
I was thinking the other day about Bush-gore 2000, and that the worst side effect was the push for electronic voting machines. I don’t trust their security and lack of hard audit trail. Hanging chads are nothing in comparison. What is so bad about the “fill in between the arrows” ballots that are read optically?
It creates the illusion of consensus.
I don’t trust any voting system that doesn’t have a hard copy of the ballot the voter cast that is retained. We do have that for now in my county but I believe they are about to replace it.
The reflex solution proposed by a tyrant is always to force people to do the “right thing”.
My experience in NYC is that only a black candidate brings out the black voters en masse.
Yes, the NY Times Magazine has a hit piece on Carson today. Subtle. They remind everyone of his flaws and his gaffes. Also swipes at other Republicans. They get the digs in there while wearing the halo.
I wonder if Mark Skousen is related to W. Cleon Skousen who authored The Making Of America book. Does anyone know?
First comes the mandate to vote.
Then comes the directive on how to vote and who to vote for...
I don’t think so.
Possibly; do you mean in all elections or just presidential?
Neither do I
Gee - even more discriminatory and unfair than the voter ID laws - on the flip side, unlike the voter ID laws, this opens the doors to fraud so wide that I predict it would result in Dims winning with 94% of the vote just about everywhere....
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