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I would like to take this opportunity...
Nov. 7th, 2012 07:38 amTo express my love of compulsory voting.
You citizen? YOU VOTE. Or we fine you a small amount of money. You can hand your form in blank or draw butts all over it if you like, but you hand the damn form in.
Positive consequences of this system:
- voting on Saturdays, when more people are free to do so
- everyone recognises the government and general public responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to voting systems. We're not perfect at implementing that (see also: ratio of wheelchair-accessible to other polling places; low registration rates of rural indigenous people) but, y'know, if you're going to fine people for not voting you assume its your job to make it possible for them to do so
- on a similar note, more efficient absentee voting systems
- comparatively less time and money spent convincing people to vote at all (we spend some time and money educating people on how to register, where and when to vote, but we don't have to whip up voter enthusiasm JUST TO GET PEOPLE TO THE POLLS). People trudge down there, ignore the spruikers, and write something on a form. Lo, democracy!
- 'voter fraud' isn't really a thing. Insofar as it might happen, it consists of people voting in multiple places: it's not possible to whip up fear of people voting who shouldn't vote, because EVERYONE DAMN WELL VOTES
TL;DR, compulsory voting, I like it. I would endorse it for more institutions (eg: student unions! I never vote in union elections, even though I should. If my ACCESS card were to be disabled if I didn't vote, I'd damn well vote. I might even form an opinion).
You citizen? YOU VOTE. Or we fine you a small amount of money. You can hand your form in blank or draw butts all over it if you like, but you hand the damn form in.
Positive consequences of this system:
- voting on Saturdays, when more people are free to do so
- everyone recognises the government and general public responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to voting systems. We're not perfect at implementing that (see also: ratio of wheelchair-accessible to other polling places; low registration rates of rural indigenous people) but, y'know, if you're going to fine people for not voting you assume its your job to make it possible for them to do so
- on a similar note, more efficient absentee voting systems
- comparatively less time and money spent convincing people to vote at all (we spend some time and money educating people on how to register, where and when to vote, but we don't have to whip up voter enthusiasm JUST TO GET PEOPLE TO THE POLLS). People trudge down there, ignore the spruikers, and write something on a form. Lo, democracy!
- 'voter fraud' isn't really a thing. Insofar as it might happen, it consists of people voting in multiple places: it's not possible to whip up fear of people voting who shouldn't vote, because EVERYONE DAMN WELL VOTES
TL;DR, compulsory voting, I like it. I would endorse it for more institutions (eg: student unions! I never vote in union elections, even though I should. If my ACCESS card were to be disabled if I didn't vote, I'd damn well vote. I might even form an opinion).