How about, and work with me on this: 1. Every citizen over 18 y.o. is automatically registered to vote. 2. DItch 1st past the post elections and instead have some form of ranked choice voting. I know, so radical, but that’s my solution.
I like the idea on the surface, but no, I don’t want to be forced to vote for a few reasons:
A lack of voter engagement is it’s own outcome of a vote.
Freedom of speech means being able to refuse to speak, and voting is one of the most powerful forms of speech most people have.
I’m not a fan of the government forcing me to do something I might not believe in.
There are many people who don’t want to vote for trump but refuse to vote for Democrat and if forced might hold their nose and vote trump.
Making election day a Federal holiday and guaranteeing everyone has the option to vote would be more effective and have a better outcome.
Edit: Several replies are basically saying the same thing: you can turn in an empty ballot. But the exact same thing can be accomplished much easier by staying at home. You can’t force people to go somewhere, or even mail in a ballot… they have a hard enough time getting people to do the census. Also, a candidate such as trump would refuse the results of any election they lost that didn’t have 100% turnout, especially if the margin of loss is less than the percentage that didn’t vote.
Again, I do like the spirit of the idea, but in order to make it work it would take more effort than it is worth since staying home accomplishes the same thing as a blank ballot.
Like when I hand in a ballot, my vote is exactly as I submit, to include abstentions.
But if I don’t turn in a ballot for any election I’m eligible to vote in, my vote just defaults to a solid down-ballot of the party I’m registered as, or following a custom party ranking to auto-fill ranked choice ballots.
A “None of the above” option would resolve most of those issues.
If “None of the above” wins, a snap election is called a short time later (three months?), and no candidate who ran in that election is allowed to run in the snap election.
Nah optional is good but at least make it a holiday so everyone has the option to vote. Many don’t because they’re working all day and the nearest voting center is two hours away because Republicans closed down as many voting centers as they possibly could and waiting in line to vote takes hours.
Honestly, they’re real shit people constantly trying to stop people from voting. Republicans hate it when people vote.
Being a citizen isn’t free. I expect the absolute best from my government ( lots of work to go on their part), and I accept the personal responsibility of being a proper citizen. (Pay taxes, sit as a juror, vote, etc).
How about, and work with me on this: 1. Every citizen over 18 y.o. is automatically registered to vote. 2. DItch 1st past the post elections and instead have some form of ranked choice voting. I know, so radical, but that’s my solution.
Removed by mod
I like the idea on the surface, but no, I don’t want to be forced to vote for a few reasons:
Making election day a Federal holiday and guaranteeing everyone has the option to vote would be more effective and have a better outcome.
Edit: Several replies are basically saying the same thing: you can turn in an empty ballot. But the exact same thing can be accomplished much easier by staying at home. You can’t force people to go somewhere, or even mail in a ballot… they have a hard enough time getting people to do the census. Also, a candidate such as trump would refuse the results of any election they lost that didn’t have 100% turnout, especially if the margin of loss is less than the percentage that didn’t vote.
Again, I do like the spirit of the idea, but in order to make it work it would take more effort than it is worth since staying home accomplishes the same thing as a blank ballot.
I wouldn’t mind a default vote option.
Like when I hand in a ballot, my vote is exactly as I submit, to include abstentions.
But if I don’t turn in a ballot for any election I’m eligible to vote in, my vote just defaults to a solid down-ballot of the party I’m registered as, or following a custom party ranking to auto-fill ranked choice ballots.
A “None of the above” option would resolve most of those issues.
If “None of the above” wins, a snap election is called a short time later (three months?), and no candidate who ran in that election is allowed to run in the snap election.
Can vote null or neither
You know you can turn in a ballot without filling it out, right? There’s your no-vote.
You should be allowed to vote “present” and that’s it.
Optional, but your tax returns get confiscated if you don’t vote.
This would be huge
Nah optional is good but at least make it a holiday so everyone has the option to vote. Many don’t because they’re working all day and the nearest voting center is two hours away because Republicans closed down as many voting centers as they possibly could and waiting in line to vote takes hours.
Honestly, they’re real shit people constantly trying to stop people from voting. Republicans hate it when people vote.
Fuck that. Mandatory.
Being a citizen isn’t free. I expect the absolute best from my government ( lots of work to go on their part), and I accept the personal responsibility of being a proper citizen. (Pay taxes, sit as a juror, vote, etc).
Removed by mod
No no, just make non-votes into a vote of no confidence. No ballot means “none of the above/fuck off”
If the voter participation rate is ever lower than 50% they have to redo the election.
And get rid of the stupid electoral college!