Should the US have mandatory voting?

[Virginiá]

I wouldn't mind a system where people are forced to turn in a ballot, whether in person or by mail. They don't have to fill it out, but they have to turn it in or get a fine. The idea here would be that most people would just go ahead and fill it out anyway. We might be able to get actual turnout (excluding empty ballots) up to around 75% - 80% that way, which is pretty satisfactory. I don't see a fundamental violation of our rights in that (though it is probably not constitutional), as no one is forced to actually cast a vote.

At the very least, we need to have same day/automatic voter registration, county-wide polling places, closing times at no earlier than 8, two weeks at least of early voting, permanent no-excuse absentee voting and a prohibition of photo ID laws unless proven necessary (there are better ways to prevent in-person fraud than photo IDs, which reduce young/minority turnout). There is no good reason we can't do those things, and the reason we haven't in so many areas is because of pure partisanship and the desire to win above everything else.

[Virginiá]

All I can say is the mandatory voting that we have in Australia forcibly enfranchises the apathetic, a lot of whom will make their decisions as they stroll to the polling both or even as they're actually in the booth. Think about it. Do you really want the disinterested to vote?

I'm still somewhat undecided on the practice even if I don't mind the idea, but it's a moot point anyway, it'll never happen in the US. Given how partisan even the most basic election law changes are, there is no way there would ever be enough support for mandatory voting. If Democrats did try to do that, there would probably be a massive backlash. However, I still stand by this:

At the very least, we need to have same day/automatic voter registration, county-wide polling places, closing times at no earlier than 8, two weeks at least of early voting, permanent no-excuse absentee voting and a prohibition of photo ID laws unless proven necessary (there are better ways to prevent in-person fraud than photo IDs, which reduce young/minority turnout). There is no good reason we can't do those things, and the reason we haven't in so many areas is because of pure partisanship and the desire to win above everything else.

These are common sense changes that are pro-voter access but not reckless nor offensive to one's rights, and given how gracious Republicans have been to blanket the country with voting restrictions since Obama was elected, I'm hoping Democrats will ram through any/all of those changes the second it is possible, with or without GOP support.

[Virginiá]

Also, I have another idea. Remove the concept of precincts entirely, and allow people to vote at any polling place in their district. A lot of people on election day might not be in their precinct for various reason, they might be at work, and not able to get back to their own polling place, or they might be off on a trip, in which case allow people to cast an absent vote for their district from outside the district.

This is actually an idea on the upswing. California is implementing "vote centers" that are county-wide, same as Colorado. North Carolina allows out-of-precinct voting too (although the GOP legislature tried to get rid of it after seeing that it helped minorities). I'm not sure what Arizona's deal is, but after that 2016 debacle I do think I read something about them trying this on a county-by-county basis.

I think this idea will continue to spread to more states, but it'll probably take a while given how partisan election law has become.