I've just had a massive argument in the S&M cafe (btw that's sausage and mash not sadism and masochism cafe).
Voting? Should voting be a compulsory or not? What do you think? Leave our comments here, and tell me. Persuade me. Move me by your arguments.
BTW. If I have one post that contains the words (or words that mean this in any way shape or form) "YOUR WRONG AND I'M RIGHT SO SHUT UP" then that is not democratic in any way.
4 comments:
NO to compulsory voting.
Some comments gathered from a recent BBC article contain thoughts similar to mine as to why compulsory voting is not something I'd vote for.
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?sortBy=2&threadID=1662&edition=1&ttl=20060716003704&#paginator
[compulsory voting] is another step in the transition from a democracy, a state where politicians are accountable to us, to an autocracy, a state where we are accountable to them.
In a free and democratic society an individual should have a choice over whether they vote or not.
If political parties are unable to convince people to come out and vote then this is a reflection of their own inadequacies.
We should not be forced to vote because it is a right not a duty.
The whole purpose of voting is to choose a candidate. If you're going to vote for "none of the above," you might as well not bother turning up. The idea of this being a free country is that we're free to vote, or not vote at all. There should be no force.
When you vote, you are voting for someone to represent you. If you don't think any of the candidates can do that, then you should have the freedom not to vote for any of them.
Now let me suggest when compulsory voting might be a good idea - taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_voting
[As an example, when black Americans were enfranchised against the wishes of many white voters and their politicians, measures were introduced to obstruct or discourage their access to the ballot. Their low attendance at the ballot box was explained away as laziness or indifference to the democratic system.]
[Where the Secret ballot is designed to prevent interference with the votes actually cast, compulsory voting aims to prevent interference with access to the vote. It is a measure to prevent disenfranchisement of the socially repressed.]
So a contradiction to my previous two posts? Maybe, but the issue isn't quite so black and white. Compulsory voting in a country like Great Britain which boasts a proud history of non-extremist politics? No, it makes no sense. But what about a nation where an ethnic minority might be prevented from voting? Compulsory voting may be a solution.
[first two posts by tm too]
And I'm sure there are countries where women are allowed to vote, but due to religious extremism (for example) are not able to. In such circumstances, compulsory voting could be a force for the good.
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