Should Voting In USA be Compulsory?

Absolutely not. If it was, there would be numerous uninformed and taken-advantage-of votes. Voting is a right. Should everyone be forced to own a gun? No, it’s a right, not a mandate.

Personally I think everyone should vote, if they don’t see a difference between either candidate, or don’t really care, spoil the ballot paper, but everyone should have to make a choice. Havihng a large proportion fo teh population not vote merely renders the result of the ballot , in my view, undemocratic

I’d like the voting system to be modernised so it works over the internet so may people would find it easier to vote, having to spend hours queuing up to vote strikes me as ridiculous.

It really annoys me the fact that in democratic countries people don’t use the privelege of voting, while elsewhere in the world people would die to have the chance to vote for there leader.

yes, everyone should vote, but if they’re too lazy or too ignorant to be informed about the candidates, about the issues, and about the state of the country as a whole, then its probably best that they dont vote. also, the people that choose not to vote are agreeing by default to whichever candidate the rest of the country picks. yeah, its a right to vote, so go use it. the idea is that you can have a say in who governs you, so if you choose to ignore that and waive your right, then you just get to deal with the consequences. no complaining.

Sadly, there are people who are apathetic about the process. Some have thought about it, and feel disenfranchised or powerless; as though their vote won’t really make a difference. But far more are just clueless. They don’t know about the candidates or what they stand for.

Idealistically, everyone should care enough to be informed and vote their conscience, but realistically, many people never will. Those who chose not to vote should not be required to vote. You cannot mandate that someone cares, and doing so can only result in distorted results.

The best solution is to educate people, letting them know that their vote can make a difference and informing them on the issues. Programs like Rock the Vote have helped do this for young voters, and there are similar programs to reach minorities, single moms, elderly, and people from practically every walk of life. That, coupled with good old-fashioned peer pressure (“Have you voted yet?”) is the most effective solution.

And for what it’s worth, I just got back from voting. My entire family went to the polls together. They had five touch-screen voting booths, and we filled them all. There wasn’t even a line!

I have heard about people voting for Kerry just because “He is not Bush”. That is the dumbest reason I have ever heard. You vote for someone because you think they will be a good leader, not just to spite the other candadite. I am not old enough to vote, but when I am(next election) I am definitley going to vote, and be informed when I vote.

yeah, I know its statistically true, I was referring more to the quote by Sharper…. i’m not gonna promote one candidate over another, but the fact that someone decides they dont even have to go vote because of that…. that’s just stupid. these are the people that we’re probably better off not having vote.