Mandatory Voting in the United States?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

No.  I want the uninformed shlubs who don't care to stay at home.  Thx.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I fully support mandatory voting everywhere.

What penalty do you propose for those who don't vote if it's mandatory?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I fully support mandatory voting everywhere.

What penalty do you propose for those who don't vote if it's mandatory?

You could get a moderate fine after the 2nd missed vote, gradually increasing as you miss more elections.

Of course, mandatory voting would also imply making voting much easier, through stuff like early voting, mail voting, universal registration, etc.

It might be PC to say, Tony, but the poors (black and white) are the vast majority that don't vote.  So fine them?

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

I fully support mandatory voting everywhere.

What penalty do you propose for those who don't vote if it's mandatory?

You could get a moderate fine after the 2nd missed vote, gradually increasing as you miss more elections.

Of course, mandatory voting would also imply making voting much easier, through stuff like early voting, mail voting, universal registration, etc.

It might be PC to say, Tony, but the poors (black and white) are the vast majority that don't vote.  So fine them?

That's a very valid concern.

And I meant it might NOT be politically correct to say.......sorry.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

No.  I want the uninformed shlubs who don't care to stay at home.  Thx.

Huh? Tea Partiers always vote.

Amen, brother.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Can you imagine the bureaucracy needed to implement and enforce mandatory voting?  Ugh.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

You would be surprised at how many people who vote already - and vote regularly - barely care. There are a lot of people who legitimately cannot remember who they voted for at the last major election.

I'm not sure about the second sentence but I agree with the first.  Precisely why exacerbating the problem is a really bad idea.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Besides, there's certainly no reason to believe that the electorate in a low-turnout election is better informed than in a high-turnout one.

I don't know about this, but we can disagree, that's fine.  When I go the polls (without fail) in elections where we're not electing a Governor or President, there's barely a line to wait, if any at all, and the few people I do see, in my view, came out for a reason.  They want Joe Shmoe as their State Representative, or Judge Judy as a Common Pleas Court judge.  Something.  Something brings them out, Al.    It's hard to determine how educated they are in the issues or candidate's positions, but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that some information has sunk into their skull which makes them want to come out and vote, when nobody else cares.

Who knows.