Enthusiasm Gap and Mandatory Voting
Via TPM, a Daily Kos poll shows a major enthusiasm gap looming for 2010.
I don’t think I’ve done my spiel for Australian-style mandatory voting on the blog yet, but it’s one of my more recent Utopian schemes for fixing American politics. In short the idea goes like this: our current low-turnout election practices, particularly in off-year elections like 2009 and 2010, creates a situation in which policy at all levels of government is hijacked by single-issue zealots and extremist diehards, to the detriment of all concerned. Make Election Day a federal holiday and require* everyone to vote, and you’ll see an annual electorate that consistently reflects the actual will of the people and not the vicissitudes of get-out-the-vote campaigns.
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* force of this requirement TBD.
Receipt of voting required for federal and state income tax returns? If you owe taxes are you more likely to be active in politics?
With added addendum:
[X] No confidence vote for any of the above candidates; I request new candidates from more varied political parties and a new voting day TBD.
Tokyo
November 28, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Oh, absolutely good point: if you have mandatory voting you really need a NOTA option.
gerrycanavan
November 28, 2009 at 6:06 pm