Do you think voting should be mandatory in the US?

37 comments

1. God no. Voting is a right, not an obligation

2. No. There are already plenty of uniformed or misinformed people voting. I don’t see where there would be any benefit from forcing people who don’t care to show up and make random selections in the voting booth.

3. Nope. Just like you have the right to bear arms but are not obligated to.

   People are free to do a thing, but they’re free not to.

4. Would be impossible to enforce, as anyone could just say “I had to work that day” or a similar excuse to get out of it

5. No, the government shouldn’t be forcing anyone to do anything with perhaps the exception of penalizing criminals.

6. No. Forced speech is not free speech.

7. No.

8. No

9. No, but we should pass laws that ensure that it’s as easy as possible to vote and that it’s as accessible as possible to people. We need to expand mail in voting and in person voting, and remove voter ID laws everywhere.

10. Fuck no. Forcing people to vote who don’t want to vote just means they’ll put no thought into their vote.

11. No

12. An old line that came to mind, I think from George Carlin.

    “Think of how stupid the average person is. Then realize that half of them are even stupider than that.”

    I want as few dumb people voting as possible and seeing as most people (myself included) are dumb, low voter turn out isn’t a serious issue to me.

13. No. To quote Rush: “If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice”

14. No, I think the choice to not vote is also a valid choice.

15. No. Absolutely not. No, no, no.

    First and foremost is the fact that the act of voting is an expression of political speech, as is the act of not voting. That is the form of speech that must be most carefully and strictly protected. Compelled political speech never has been and never will be acceptable.

    Beyond that, though, I don’t want some of these morons voting if they don’t want to.

16. Another post along the same thing https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAnAmerican/comments/13aat8k/are_americans_resistant_to_the_idea_of_mandatory/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1

17. No.

    As little as I think of the political opinions of people who can vote but don’t, I don’t think that compelling people to vote is an answer.

18. No but election day should be a national holiday.

19. No. Most Americans are generally against mandates.

20. No no no no no.

21. Not at all.

22. Hell no.

23. Absolutely not. I also wish we’d stop having these “please go vote” ads. If people have to be forced or even cajoled into voting, I don’t want them to vote. We want voters who put a little effort, a little thought into it.

24. No I don’t think it should be mandatory. Do I think we should vote yes, because I believe it’s important for the American democracy and gives people a chance to use their voice, however I don’t believe you should have to vote.

25. In addition to almost certainly being unconstitutional, I don’t see what problem that solves.

    Low voter turnout is a symptom, not the disease.

26. I think very little things should be mandatory in America.

27. No. It’s a right, not a burden.

28. Absolutely not

29. Abso-fucking-lutely not, no.

30. No. That would be very un American.

31. No.

32. No

33. No…it shouldn’t even be encouraged. It’s pushed on people that it’s their patriotic duty, but most people don’t put 5 minutes of time into understanding what they are voting for. It essentially blocks out a vote from someone that did for no reason.

    If you don’t know what you’re voting on, stay the fuck home on election day.

34. Mandatory voting is one of the most dystopian things I can think of.

35. Absolutely not. People forced to do something they don’t want to do can really fuck things up that way.

36. No.

37. Not voting is a form of expression in and of itself.