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Question of the Month...(June 2015) with poll question.

Do you think voting should be mandatory?

  • Total voters
    13
  • Poll closed .
ripjack13

ripjack13

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Howdy,
This is a monthly series of questions topic for everyone to join in on the discussion. Some of the later questions may have a poll, and some will not. Don't be shy now, go ahead and post an answer and vote in the polls...


Do you think voting should be mandatory?



**Rules**
There is no minimum post requirement.
:)
 
No, it should not be mandatory. You will have people just randomly selecting options like a kid selecting all "A's" on a test. Voting is a right too many take for granted but it is a decision each of us is able to make on our own.

I've read about some countries, like Australia, where voting is mandatory. Fines for not voting, possible jail time? Really? Don't we have enough people in jail all ready? But I could see voting becoming mandatory then being taxed with a "fee" to actually vote...then you could be jailed for failing to pay taxes. :confused:
 
I firmly believe everyone should vote but I disagree that it should be mandatory. I have not voted a few times in my life, mainly because none of the candidates were worthy and I did not want to vote for a bad one "just because". Sometimes an educated non-vote is needed.

Forcing people to vote will not force them to be educated, it will only force them to go and vote for whomever they see first on the ballot of whomever the name the recognize, anything to get them in and out fast to fullill their mandatory obligation. Not to say many do not do that now but force them to go and it will be much worse and most will be directly influenced by the media as they really don't want to be there anyway.

Most people I have talked to that do not vote abstain because they do not feel that their vote counts in an increasingly corrupt system. Our "Public Servants" should spend time looking into fixing and correcting the problems with government rather then spending most of their time working for reelection and bettering their own portfolios. The concept of a career politician is one of our big problems IMHO as it forces them to be come more focusesd on maintaining their position rather then performing the service they were elected to do.
 
I VOTE !!

I believe everyone in America should vote...

I feel that it is a hard won right that most of the world doesn't have...a right that brave people have fought and died to preserve !!

I work the polls every election day...I've gone door to door to remind people to vote...I've even given little old ladies in my neighborhood a ride over to the polls to vote.



But I do NOT think voting should be mandatory...NOT in our Republic !!



( BTW...our polling machines actually have a spot to cast an abstaining vote...believe it or not !! )
 
Mandatory voting would be the fastest way to turn the US into a dictatorship.

We already have too many voters who know nothing but the lies the media decides to tell. If voting were required, you would only force more of those people to the polls.

I think our founding fathers had it right. Originally, only property holders could vote.
 
I think this poll is superfluous and will likely be an overwhelming "no". Voting doesn't quite reach the level of selective service or jury duty as to being a civic requirement.

Ideally, the poll would ask "Do you think one should have to pass a civics (or other) test in order to be awarded the right to vote?" Of course, if this was proposed, there would be outrage from the people who would defend the dumass "right" to vote, probably the same people who would defend the right of the lazyass "right" to vote (those who can't get a voter ID card for whatever lame reason)...
 
Not mandatory, but voting is an honor. Voting should only be done if the person is educated in what is going on in the world, with the candidates/issues. I think the minimum age for voting should be raised to 21, give the voter a chance to work and live in the world on their own before handing them that kind of power. That way it's most likely their opinion and feeling rather than an influence from some other person.
 
Another no vote here. I generally get to the polls but also usually feel that I'm voting for the lesser of two evils. Also, much like the Founding Father's I feel that I am being taxed without representation. DC is only about the parties and special interest groups.

I would like to see the following changes though:
1) A "none of the above" option. If that wins another election is held and none of the original candidates can run.
2) Since only party members can vote in a primary, the American taxpayers should not be paying for the primaries or vote counting etc. The parties should fund it if I can't vote in those elections.
 
The way I see it is this. Voting is I personal choice but something that shouldn't be made mandatory. Let's look a countries that have either had mandatory voting instilled or is still ongoing.

Russia former USSR cut off of food some put to death
Bosnia Hertzagovinia under Slovakian Milosevic death by firing squad
Germany under Hitler became political prisoners or firing squad
China
 
I hesitated to touch that one because I don't vote and it's not a popular stance. The "none of the above" option mentioned by carbinemike does make some sense and it's the only one that I'd pick. I've been convinced for a while now that voting is only a puppet show, a sham put in place to pacify and entertain us. It's not a tool to empower the people, but to enslave them better by distracting them from what's really happening. Genius, really: make them believe that they have a voice. Decent candidates would never make it to the top where visible and less visible interests (all nefarious) own the presidency, the media, the legislature, etc. Nothing ever changes - it only takes on different forms and names throughout the ages.

So to me NOT voting is telling the system that I'm not buying it and refusing to endorse another professional liar. The lesser of two evils won't do. And the reason why dictators force people to vote is not because they demand that a civic duty be performed, it's to show that disobedience or disbelief in the system won't be tolerated. When they don't like the results of an election they just cancel it or launch a coup.

ETA: I don't believe that there should be a bar to pass to exercise a right either. I'm a lot less educated on politics than Obama yet I truly feel that he's wrong and I'm right, so that my vote is no less worthy than his, for example. I just had the same discussion with a coworker about another right, the one to bear arms, and I refuse to accept mandatory exams and training (even if I'd have no trouble). So I don't think we should test voters on their knowledge (again, many very misguided people would pass) - I think that our society should change. We should raise people with a strong understanding of what the Constitution means and a will to defend it. We should raise them to be decent people with integrity and a sense of purpose. None of this is done today (it goes again the Grand Agenda that's been in motion for decades) and that, in my view, is what needs to be fixed.
 
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On national level elections I don't think my vote means a great deal. But on local elections on issues like taxes, school levies, local politicians it means a lot more...
 
I feel that one should have to be a citizen to vote or hold any public office. To be a citizen would require one to serve the country in the military or the like( I would not qualify),the office of POTUS would only be open to those who served actively in the military......people who risked their lives and stood/stand in harm's way are better judges of when and where to use force.
My father was a citizen; a Veteran of the first wave at Normandy,Korea and Viet Nam 2 CIBs.
 
Power corrupts so the more you get the less chances you have of being your own man. At the lowest levels of government, I agree that you get to see people doing the right thing and telling it like it is now and then. But as people climb the ladder they eventually get with the program one way or another. Here Bill Burr explains it a lot better than I can:


;)

And I also agree with TJ on military service. I unfortunately got to serve in another country (dual-citizen), but this short experience taught me a lot and makes me see what's missing in all these "me-people" I encounter today. It's not an age thing; it's a cultural one. Being a man is frowned upon in an increasingly feminized and castrated society that is slowly being implemented to ensure absolute control. Think about it: our only, last-ditch insurance against tyranny is the 2nd Amendment and what else than guns and men has been under more attack for the past 40-50 years?
 
Twelve Pump said:
It's not an age thing; it's a cultural one. Being a man is frowned upon in an increasingly feminized and castrated society that is slowly being implemented to ensure absolute control. Think about it: our only, last-ditch insurance against tyranny is the 2nd Amendment and what else than guns and men has been under more attack for the past 40-50 years?
Click to expand...

Truth be spoken here....
 
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