Obama: Mandatory Voting Would Offset Big Money in Campaigns

[Vitamin]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/19/politics/obama-mandatory-voting/index.html

What does everyone think about this?

 

[nycguydowntown]

good idea.......

 

[Benvolio]

The people who do not vote are in general, the most apathetic, disinterested, least informed group. No doubt would include much of the welfare class, criminal class, deadbeats, and those who don't pay taxes. Obama knows that those groups are more likely to vote democrat for socialism, total regulation and confiscatory taxes on the increasingly few who,pay income taxes. It is the same reason he has worked to flood the country with immigrants. He wants to cancel the votes of Republicans with foreigners, deadbeats, beggars and criminals.
He studied Marxism in college, and like most liberals, he thinks this time communism will work as long as we do not call it that.
It will happen in democrat states and not Republican ones, and provide a good reason to keep the electoral college.

 

[johaninsc]

don't see why we shouldn't have it



...but I'm sure that the Republicans would be against it

 

[nycguydowntown]

the uninformed morons in both parties may even themselves out and will maybe become informed which is what scares the corporate fascists that are the gop--

 

[kallipolis]

The people who do not vote are in general, the most apathetic, disinterested, least informed group.

Work colleagues of mine who refuse to vote are better informed than many I know when discussing politics.

 

[mightbe]

NO NO NO. I don't want everyone to vote. That would be BAD BAD BAD.

 

[Benvolio]

Why do democrats want criminals to vote? Mentally ill? Permanent welfare families?

 

[sixthson]

What about our right NOT to vote? Stupid idea.

 

[Stardreamer]

Worked for the Soviet Union from what I hear. Of course there was only one party and if voted no to the party candidate, the local party reps would come around and ask you why.

 

[eastofeden]

It would be the end of the Republican Party's stranglehold on the country...so yes.

 

[nycguydowntown]

Why do democrats want criminals to vote? Mentally ill? Permanent welfare families?

well wall street criminals vote, 3/4 of the gop are mentally ill---many are in congress, many self-loathing gays and they vote---and there are enough white trash racist hillbilly republican welfare families that vote for the gop---so let all the hypocrites vote.

 

[TickTockMan]

I don’t like the idea of forcing the apathetic to vote. Seems dangerous to me. Also I agree with Sixthson.

 

[cityboy-stl]

I don't like this idea either. Voting is a right and I do believe it is your duty as citizen to vote. But making it mandatory in the United States is just a little bit too dictatorial for me. It just doesn't seem right. However it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that every eligible person in the U.S. has the opportunity to vote if they so desire.

 

[otters]

Definitely not uncommon, and —*please don't divulge it to Benvolio — there are even compulsory voting countries having a Republicon-like government.

 

[frankfrank]

Perhaps a tax incentive to encourage people to vote in every Congressional election??

It may cost the federal budget $3 billion every two years (because some people still wouldn't vote), but what about a tax credit of $20 (or a $20 higher Earned Income Tax Credit, or a SNAP bonus, or whatever) for everybody who votes? In many cases it would compensate people for time they have to take off work in the middle of the week - with some states like Pennsylvania still having no early voting of any kind - and the $20 would be available for everybody who shows up to vote. Yes, even the multi-billionaires.

This is DOABLE with a national database now.

If somebody adamantly refuses to vote, I think it's possible to merely present a ballot at the polls with no votes made on it. They would still get their $20 (because that determination would most likely be made at the same instant that the database determines that there is no duplicate voting, etc. going on). I don't think many people would go through the motions and cast no vote at all, though.

That way, there would STILL be no law making it mandatory for anybody to vote.

 

[chrisrobin]

Mandatory might seem a bit draconian, but I would establish a policy making it easier to vote...a national holiday? An appointed weekend day - probably Saturday.

Unlike Republicons:

Or we could bring back a modified version of the Jim Crow laws. It's already been done? Never mind.

Riddle of the Decade:

What's the difference between the SCOTUS and the KKK?

The SCOTUS doesn't wear hoods.

To all apathetic Democrats: Want Republicons in all three branches of government? Stay home on election day...just like you did in 2010 and 2014.

 

[chrisrobin]

I don't like this idea either. Voting is a right and I do believe it is your duty as citizen to vote. But making it mandatory in the United States is just a little bit too dictatorial for me. It just doesn't seem right. However it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that every eligible person in the U.S. has the opportunity to vote if they so desire.

But making it mandatory in the United States is just a little bit too dictatorial for me.

Is this any more dictatorial than the brothers Koch spending a gazillion dollars to sway elections?

 

[mightbe]

Is this any more dictatorial than the brothers Koch spending a gazillion dollars to sway elections?

You really want to gamble with the whimsy of even more uninformed voters? At least with the Koch brothers there's an identified problem and dozens of solutions. Mandatory voting is a can of worms I don't want to deal with. You've seen how American voters behave when willing voters vote intentionally (Bush--twice). Think of the masses of current uninformed non-voters voting out of sheer folly because they're required to vote.

Everyone should have the right and the means to vote if they want to (national holiday would be an excellent start), but that doesn't not mean everyone should vote and I certainly don't want it to be mandatory.

Riddle (not of my own unfortunately): What's the difference between stupidity and genius?

Answer: Genius has its limits.

 

[TickTockMan]

Mandatory might seem a bit draconian, but I would establish a policy making it easier to vote...a national holiday? An appointed weekend day - probably Saturday.

I think vote by mail would be great. It works well for Oregon.