Mandatory Voting

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The Case for Mandatory Voting in the United States
November 17, 2004



The Case for Mandatory Voting in the United States
Exordium
In 1776, the American colonies were becoming aware of the injustice being done to them by a government so far away that it could not appreciate the struggles that its subjects faced. The founding fathers of the United States of America envisioned a new government in which the people would no longer be subject to the rule of a king or dictator, but rather a government in which all people enjoy equal voice. The basic concept of a democracy is that it should be a government by the people. This should include all people, because decisions made by a democratic government are more valid when higher percentages of the population participates.
Narratio
Due to the fact that many of its citizens were ignoring their civic duty to vote, Belgium was the first country to introduce mandatory voting laws in 1892. Australia followed suit in 1924, after voter turnout for the 1922 election dropped to a record low of fifty-eight percent (Dean, 2003). In the 2000 presidential election here in America, an economic and democratic leader in the international community, voter turnout was a meager fifty-four percent of eligible voters (CSAE, 2001).
Propositio
Currently, some thirty-three countries have some form of mandatory voting laws, and due to the fact that the United States only outranks lesser developed countries in voter turnout, laws should be enacted here.
Confutatio
Some might argue that mandatory voting laws are a violation of a citizen’s rights, or that forcing uneducated voters to the polls will decrease the validity of elections. That however has not been the case in the countries who have already taken this step in reforming their democracy.
Even here in the United States, there have been a few cases of local and state governments enforcing their residents’ responsibility to vote. Mos...