Did you know only around fifty to sixty percent of registered voters actually go to the polls? This is a problem that the United States has been facing for decades and because of these low turnouts, some people say that voting should be made compulsory. Compulsory, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is, “required by a law or rule”. I think that voting should not be made compulsory because voting is a right, not a duty; there are alternatives that tackle the real causes of voter disengagement; and persuasion is more effective than coercion. When looking at this debate it is good to first look at this question: is voting a right or a duty? I truly dislike being the person who includes many definitions, but in this case
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Because voting is a right we should not be forced to vote. It is our option. Those who aren’t well informed or are uncomfortable voting should not be required by law to do so. Ben Sounders said, “The duty to vote must be a duty to vote well. And to do that it is not simply enough to show up on Election Day and flip a coin. Voting is rightly preceded by thoughtful reflection on matters of public concern” (theconversation.com). In a society where people can simply go through the motions of what they consider to be a duty, it is not a good idea to make voting a job. Only those who take voting seriously and put legitimate thought into producing an opinion should take it upon themselves to make decisions that determine this country’s …show more content…
In the United States it is more difficult to vote than in most democracies. One cause is that voting is a two-step process due to registration. As quoted from Eric Black’s article, “The registration process is plaqued by two problems: paperwork and parties… In most states, citizens who wish to vote must obtain and fill out a paper application. Between the 2006 and 2008 elections, for instance, states had to process sixty million registration applications, most of them on paper. Errors inevitably occur.” He also commented the issue that few jurisdictions have an adequate system for taking dead people off the rolls.” These registrations are mostly done on paper and thus are more difficult to process. Which leads also to us paying third parties who can be biased to determine who can and cannot vote. Another cause of voter disengagement is holding elections on Tuesday. Back when voting in American first began, Tuesday voting made sense. The majority of people were farmers and it took a while for them to reach town. Holding elections on Tuesday allowed those to rest on Sunday, reach town on Monday, and then vote on Tuesday. In today’s world, however, our busy schedules are overwhelming and can keep voters from going to the polls. If we were to instead move elections to the weekend or allow voters more than one day; we might see higher
Because voting is a right we should not be forced to vote. It is our option. Those who aren’t well informed or are uncomfortable voting should not be required by law to do so. Ben Sounders said, “The duty to vote must be a duty to vote well. And to do that it is not simply enough to show up on Election Day and flip a coin. Voting is rightly preceded by thoughtful reflection on matters of public concern” (theconversation.com). In a society where people can simply go through the motions of what they consider to be a duty, it is not a good idea to make voting a job. Only those who take voting seriously and put legitimate thought into producing an opinion should take it upon themselves to make decisions that determine this country’s …show more content…
In the United States it is more difficult to vote than in most democracies. One cause is that voting is a two-step process due to registration. As quoted from Eric Black’s article, “The registration process is plaqued by two problems: paperwork and parties… In most states, citizens who wish to vote must obtain and fill out a paper application. Between the 2006 and 2008 elections, for instance, states had to process sixty million registration applications, most of them on paper. Errors inevitably occur.” He also commented the issue that few jurisdictions have an adequate system for taking dead people off the rolls.” These registrations are mostly done on paper and thus are more difficult to process. Which leads also to us paying third parties who can be biased to determine who can and cannot vote. Another cause of voter disengagement is holding elections on Tuesday. Back when voting in American first began, Tuesday voting made sense. The majority of people were farmers and it took a while for them to reach town. Holding elections on Tuesday allowed those to rest on Sunday, reach town on Monday, and then vote on Tuesday. In today’s world, however, our busy schedules are overwhelming and can keep voters from going to the polls. If we were to instead move elections to the weekend or allow voters more than one day; we might see higher