do their civic duty of voting?
(ex. australia fines their citizens)
Now I dont think a monetary fine is the answer, but what if you were required to do community service as your penalty?
2006-08-24 06:45:21 · 17 answers · asked by friskygimp 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Civic Participation
No, I don't like the idea of buying votes in any way, shape or form. If they don't know the issues, they should stay home.
2006-08-24 06:47:15 · answer #1 · answered by MEL T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No , I do not think so.
Yes, Australia does have compulsory voting. But I don`t think that it would be well accepted in the United States. However, I believe that there are intermediate steps that can be taken that Australia did not take.
I am a strong proponent of a voters` list majority system whereby a candidate has to get at least 50% + 1 of the voters` list, not just the most votes or simply 50% + 1 of the votes. How would it work? 50% + 1 of the votes (not the voters` list) in which there is a 20% turnout means that only 10% of the voters went to vote and the winner declared with just 10% + 1 of the voters` list. A candidate who gets 50% + 1 of the voters` list (by the math) must obviuosly get at least 50% + 1 of the votes too, but to do so, must reach out not only to his/her base of support, butu also appeal to both the opponents supporters and traditional abstainers. There are too many elections in the US whereby candidates win by simply appealing to a narrow base and hope that one`s base is more than the other one`s base, resulting in polarised politics. Districts who fail to have candidates win by 50% + 1 of the voters` list by a second run-off will remain unrepresented and voters should be subjected to the effects of non-representation so as to not abstain the next time.
2006-08-24 07:07:01 · answer #2 · answered by david_s_ca 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
"Fine" those that don't vote? Gee, what America do you come from? In the America that I live in, we have the right NOT to vote if we feel that none of the candidates are worthy of our votes. You say Australia fines their citizens? Well what do you expect from a country that was originally set up as a prison for British criminals? Maybe you should move to Australia if you think it's so great.
2006-08-24 06:55:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think its a good idea.
Getting more people to vote is a good thing **in general**.
But I also think there is a responsibility to voting. That is, we really don't people voting who have no idea what they're voting for. When you vote, you should have some idea of who you're voting for, what they stand for and some idea if they may do a good job or not. On propositions (etc.), you should do your own due dilligence to determine your stance on the issue. In many cases, these local issues have the most direct impact on your life (e.g. in the form of taxes, how your local school board runs, the mayor, etc.)
There are some areas on the ballot I simply don't vote since I have no idea (say judges) whether or not I support them.
2006-08-24 06:50:17 · answer #4 · answered by dapixelator 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a democracy, you cannot penalize a citizen for not exercising his/her right. By penalizing you are in a way taking away a choice which is given constitutionally to you as citizen. A better idea would be to motivate the masses to go and vote. Politicians running government should become more creative and offer ideas.
2006-08-24 06:51:57 · answer #5 · answered by someone 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. You cannot force someone to use their civic right. It is a RIGHT not an OBLIGATION. And why would you want people who don't even know who is running to go out and vote? That wouldn't help anyone and in fact, could be to the detriment of society.
2006-08-24 08:48:51 · answer #6 · answered by Goose&Tonic 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, there are already too many voters who don't know enough to cast an informed vote anyway...i'm talking about people voting the way they were raised without thinking about it themselves. Put another way, if you can't say "I understand why an intelligent person would think that way" about BOTH SIDES of an issue, you're not informed enough to vote on it.
2006-08-24 06:52:40 · answer #7 · answered by rmjesse7442 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, what Australia does is much, much more TOTALITARIAN than democratic. Eventually the party in power in Australia could fine voters for not voting for their party!
2006-08-25 06:21:33 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anyone who needs an 'incentive' to vote is better off not voting anyway. I prefer voters that at least pretend to care.
2006-08-24 14:25:19 · answer #9 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you watch only one conspiracy documentary ever, make it this one. This just might be the best introductory video out there. Understand that every claim made in this is fact, not opinion, no matter how wild it sounds. It's all easily verifiable through mainstream news archives and public documents.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7048572757566726569&q=Alex+Jones
2006-08-24 14:31:50 · answer #10 · answered by Sugi 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋