Mandatory voting. Good or bad?

Discussion in 'Australia, NZ, Pacific' started by Violet_Crumble, Feb 17, 2019.

  1. Violet_Crumble

    Violet_Crumble Well-Known Member

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    Apologies if this has been discussed before. I was too lazy to go back looking. If it hasn't, I was thinking of what a divisive mess the US system is and what could improve things. And right after abolishing that strange Electoral College, introducing mandatory voting appeared on my list. We dont have voter suppression here, nor do we end up with extremists who dont represent a majority in power nor embarresments like Trump. Single issue zealots are motivated to go vote in a voluntary system where barriers to voting are put up, while normal people would be more inclined not to bother voting.

    What do others think?
     
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  2. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    They don't like the idea Vi.
    States' rights and the Electoral College are sacrosanct and as for being FORCED to do anything, apart from stuff like road rules and paying tax, well , it's an infringement of my freedom!
     
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  3. Violet_Crumble

    Violet_Crumble Well-Known Member

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    True, it'd take a huge cultural shift for them to embrace it :)
     
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  4. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    It might just need some silver tongued female to explain it persuasively.....
     
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  5. robot

    robot Active Member

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    In Australia we have compulsory voting. I think it is a $50 fine for failing to vote. It means parties spend time explaining why people should vote for them and not for the other person, rather than getting people to vote. It also means that it is very easy to vote. You can vote via post or early if you want.
     
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  6. unkotare

    unkotare Well-Known Member

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    Mandatory voting greatly favors incumbents.
     
  7. billy the kid

    billy the kid Well-Known Member

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    We’ve been railroaded into believing that our votes count, that we live in a democracy, that elections make a difference, that it matters whether we vote for one side or the other, and that our elected officials are looking out for our best interests. Truth be told, we live in an oligarchy, politicians represent only the profit motives of the corporate state, whose leaders know all too well that there is no discernible difference between one side and the other, because there is only one result that matters in politics..to stay in power.
     
  8. m2catter

    m2catter Well-Known Member

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    See,
    in general I think compulsory voting is a good thing, as all voice their opinion.
    However, let us assume you would only have four parties to chose from, first Putin, second Erdogan, third Trump and fourth Xi Ping.
    I wouldn't be able to vote for any of those bastards, so in that instance I rather have the choice of not to vote.
    Reg.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2019
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  9. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    OP

    I've always wondered how mandatory voting can possibly work. I mean what sanctions are there for those who don't?
     
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  10. modernpaladin

    modernpaladin Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The problem is in enforcement. How do you prove someone didn't vote? Voter ID laws are 'racist', which makes it impossible to track and therefore impossible to punish those who dont vote.

    If theres no repercussions for violating a law, theres no purpose in making it law.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2019
  11. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Exactly my point.
     
  12. Sallyally

    Sallyally Well-Known Member Donor

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    The thing is, that you have your name crossed off the voters roll.
    That is supposed to prove that you have voted and obviously this isn't always the case.
    Eg- a contrary male who is my husband. He despises all politicians, thinks they are all crooks and should be lined up against a wall and shot, if they are found to have lied.
    He has his name crossed off the roll and triumphantly marches out, not having voted.
     
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  13. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    He sounds just like me - I think he and I could become besties? :mrgreen:

    Good on him! Two or three years ago, and despite all the dire warnings to defaulters, I didn't complete a national census form. Sure enough a week or two later my buzzer went, and I saw on the video-entry two officials (whom I later discovered were ex-police officers hired for the job by the Office for National Statistics). I invited them in, offered them a cuppa which they gratefully accepted, and to cut a long story short - when I explained why I hadn't completed the form (essentially, that because immigration at that time was so intense that in a year or two the present demographic in my neck of the woods might well be entirely different, so why bother recording the existing one?), they said I had a point, finished their cuppas, and we parted the best of friends. :cool:
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2019
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  14. billy the kid

    billy the kid Well-Known Member

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    No doubt, the two officials were dressed in robes and sandals and carried a koran in their pocket!!
     
  15. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    :roflol: You could unwittingly be predicting the future?
     
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  16. billy the kid

    billy the kid Well-Known Member

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    Well, there are sharia patrols everywhere....
     
  17. slipperyfish

    slipperyfish Well-Known Member

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    Cats I assume this comment was made for effect? Because whether you vote or not, YOU are going to get one of them, like it or not.
     
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  18. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well not here yet, but the way things are going it's only a matter of time.
     
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  19. m2catter

    m2catter Well-Known Member

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    Yes and no,
    if you have to chose between diarrhea, ****, vomit or cancer, what would you chose?
    Just imagine living in a tad more totalitarian state, where you can chose either the pest or cancer.
    Not funny, but happens!
    I think compulsory voting is a good thing, but only in a democracy with different players...
    Reg.
     
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  20. m2catter

    m2catter Well-Known Member

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    Yeah,
    bring it on, and more Muslim bashing.
    I thought only "the kid" is on a mission....
    Sad to see this development on this forum,
    reg. Cats
     
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  21. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    We're not Muslim bashing, we're militant Islam bashing.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2019
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  22. m2catter

    m2catter Well-Known Member

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    In Australia?
     
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  23. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    What, you think the Islamic global Jihad won't include Australia then? Dream on buddy!
     
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  24. m2catter

    m2catter Well-Known Member

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    See,
    I think you just made my point.
    The vast majority of Muslim living in Australia (and other western countries) are peaceful, yet I see a growing number of people getting on and on and on about this Muslim subject, while only a tiny tiny number of Muslim are extreme. Some people on this forum don't even now any Muslim, but hate them regardless. What is going on? I am close to 60 and my values differ from that, and I am happy and proud they do.
    Reg.
     
  25. cerberus

    cerberus Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You really ought to find out the difference between Muslims and Islamists. That might answer your question. After all 'Rome wasn't built in a day', and Global Islam is in no hurry.
     
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