The New Britain (Conn.) Herald, March 19:
On March 18, President Obama suggested that, rather than build up more and more barriers to voting, the country make the act of casting a ballot mandatory.
“If everybody voted, then it would completely change the political map in this country,” Obama said, calling it potentially transformative.
And, of course, that’s exactly why some would oppose the idea.
The Associated Press reported that “less than 37 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the 2014 midterms, according to the United States Election Project. And a Pew Research Center study found that those avoiding the polls in 2014 tended to be younger, poorer, less educated and more racially diverse.”
The result was good news for Republicans, who took control of the House and Senate. By contrast, when many of these younger, more racially diverse voters turned out in the last two presidential elections, Obama was most often their choice.
“There’s a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls,” Obama said.
And others might object to another potential result of universal voting ”“ it would “counteract money more than anything,” Obama said.
Rich donors have become an integral part of state and national elections and they use their dollars to influence the outcome of races throughout the country. Supposedly, they support candidates who are like-minded; that is to say, they are not “buying” the candidate, just supporting someone with ideas similar to their own. But, once elected, it would be hard for an officer holder to ignore the supporter who spent millions securing that House or Senate seat ”“ especially if he or she faces re-election and the need for additional dollars.
Obama told a Cleveland audience that he thought it would be “fun” for the U.S. to consider amending the Constitution to change the role that money plays in the electoral system.
But, he added, “realistically, given the requirements of that process, that would be a long-term proposition.”
While we’d guess that it would also be nearly impossible to pass a law making voting mandatory, we were surprised to learn that it’s been done in other nations. According to AP, at least two dozen countries have some form of compulsory voting, including Belgium, Brazil, Australia and Argentina. In many systems, absconders must provide a valid excuse or face a fine, although a few countries have laws on the books that allow for potential imprisonment.
It’s unlikely that we’ll ever see that in this country, but just talking about the possibility could remind Americans that, while voting is a privilege, it is also a duty of citizenship.
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