Should Voting be Mandatory? Barack Obama spoke about mandatory voting in the March of 2015, he related, “If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country,” Voter participation is at an all-time low with only 36.4% of eligible voters casting ballots in the 2014 midterm elections. The problems that arise from low voter turnout are numerous, but the most influential impact from not voting is this – Politicians only care about individuals who vote, and if only certain groups are voting those are the groups politicians will attempt to make happy by legislating favorably towards them. The goal of a representative democracy is to have the opinions of all people echoed through their representatives. However, when
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Young people are disengaged from political news and are uninterested with politics. In continuity with this growing ignorance towards news and politics, young people are voting in record low numbers. Young people are the future of this country and deserve to have a voice in politics. However, due to their apathy towards government as a whole and their lack of voting, politicians largely ignore them. In addition, it should be noted that politicians ignore all groups that do not vote, such as minorities and people affiliated with certain religions. The reality of modern day politics is that politicians need votes to win elections and need to win their election to keep their job. It can be inferred that politicians are unconcerned about citizens who do not vote because the individuals who are not active in politics are not effecting the job security of public officials. In theory, this allows a faction of American society to dictate the ruling tendencies of American government. Currently, the faction who politicians are most focused on are typically older, American born citizens. Resulting in many of their policy proposals benefiting older individuals. This is because young people do not vote as …show more content…
However, can a mandatory voting law be implemented? Strict constructionists would answer no; the constitution delegates the terms and conditions of voting laws to the states. However, advocates for mandatory voting would quickly point to the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave all citizens regardless of skin color the right to vote, the Seventeenth Amendment which allowed individuals to elect senators, and the Nineteenth Amendment which gave women the right to vote. These clearly show that through Constitutional Amendments the federal government can alter the voting laws originally established in Constitution. However, as Charles de Montesquieu, a French political philosopher from the 18th century would argue that the spirit of the law is even more important than the letter of the law. In other words, the federal government’s ability to create laws does not always yield a necessary formation of those ideas. The spirit of the American voting law is that all citizens have the privilege to vote or to not vote on Election Day. That is the paradox of the American way individuals are able to misuse their own freedoms. Coercing individuals to exercise their voting rights is contradictory in itself. The spirit of the law is often more important than the letter of the law and in this case requiring individuals to vote contradicts the principals of the American
Young people are disengaged from political news and are uninterested with politics. In continuity with this growing ignorance towards news and politics, young people are voting in record low numbers. Young people are the future of this country and deserve to have a voice in politics. However, due to their apathy towards government as a whole and their lack of voting, politicians largely ignore them. In addition, it should be noted that politicians ignore all groups that do not vote, such as minorities and people affiliated with certain religions. The reality of modern day politics is that politicians need votes to win elections and need to win their election to keep their job. It can be inferred that politicians are unconcerned about citizens who do not vote because the individuals who are not active in politics are not effecting the job security of public officials. In theory, this allows a faction of American society to dictate the ruling tendencies of American government. Currently, the faction who politicians are most focused on are typically older, American born citizens. Resulting in many of their policy proposals benefiting older individuals. This is because young people do not vote as …show more content…
However, can a mandatory voting law be implemented? Strict constructionists would answer no; the constitution delegates the terms and conditions of voting laws to the states. However, advocates for mandatory voting would quickly point to the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave all citizens regardless of skin color the right to vote, the Seventeenth Amendment which allowed individuals to elect senators, and the Nineteenth Amendment which gave women the right to vote. These clearly show that through Constitutional Amendments the federal government can alter the voting laws originally established in Constitution. However, as Charles de Montesquieu, a French political philosopher from the 18th century would argue that the spirit of the law is even more important than the letter of the law. In other words, the federal government’s ability to create laws does not always yield a necessary formation of those ideas. The spirit of the American voting law is that all citizens have the privilege to vote or to not vote on Election Day. That is the paradox of the American way individuals are able to misuse their own freedoms. Coercing individuals to exercise their voting rights is contradictory in itself. The spirit of the law is often more important than the letter of the law and in this case requiring individuals to vote contradicts the principals of the American