Persuasive Essay On Mandatory Voting

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How many times have you found yourself complaining about the government? It isn’t hard to, as the government never generates decisions that everyone agrees with, but what have you done about it? Well, if the answer is nothing, you aren’t alone. Only about 37% of eligible American citizens voted in the important 2014 election (McDonald). Fixing the issue of low voter turnout won’t be a one-step process, but it has the potential to transform American politics forever. American citizens should be required to vote in all general elections to greatly increase voter turnout in order to increase the influence of democracy and improve American politics. Low voter turnout has become an epidemic among American voters. With each passing election, …show more content…

First of all, let’s explore what compulsory voting actually is. “Compulsory voting can be defined very simply as the legal obligation to attend the polls at election time and perform whatever duties are required there of electors” (Birch 2). Numerous countries impose sanctions on those who do not vote- these sanctions usually are fines, while some even require a small amount of jail time (“International IDEA”). Those worried about potentially unfair sanctions by the US Government must remember that when this country was founded in 1776 our founding fathers had legitimate, long-lasting rules for this country, so our government surely will not have trouble creating fair rules and regulations. Surprisingly, this American concept of mandatory voting has been a reality for Australians for nearly a century now. Australia’s society, political structure, and government are synonymous with America’s except for one fundamental difference. In 1924, Australian parliament enacted mandatory voting after only 90 minutes of debate, and it’s gone largely unchallenged ever since (Weiner). This begs the question: Why can’t mandatory voting work in the U.S? In his article, Eric Weiner notes that “Australia, along with Belgium, is the only ‘mature democracy’ that requires citizens to vote and actually enforces the law. Americans certainly relate to Australians. “We share similar historical narratives…a frontier spirit, and a laid-back nature...” (Weiner). On average, 48% of the entire American electorate- American citizens eligible to vote- actually cast their ballot on Election Day. That number has dipped to as low as 37% and has only reached a peak of 67%. (McDonald). Thus, even on a high turnout election day, just two-thirds of Americans vote the president and other important

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