An alternative to mandatory voting

[Indy Texas]

What if when tabulating votes, all registered voters who did not vote were included in the total results as simply "Not Voting"?

The winner would still be first past the post, but it would take the wind out of the sails of politicians who like to describe their election as some sort of mandate when less than half of their constituents even showed up.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Low turnout could be a symptom of a wider failure in the political system.  I know that many have been stripped of their right to vote due to felony convictions, but that doesn't explain it.  I think the reason for the low turnout is that the two major parties are not all that different and the American people want something different.