(Seriously. I think it's fantastic, and never fail to be amazed at voter turnouts in non-compulsory voting systems.)
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:Originally posted by rollainm: "Voting is something that will take a few minutes, a couple of hours at most if turnout is extraordinarily good, out of one day every two years."
It took me nearly four hours in '04. Had I not had the day off, I wouldn't have had time.
Which is still an insignificant amount of time compared to the rest of the two years you have available for political outreach activities. Posts: 1321 | Registered: Sep 1999
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posted
Why is it a good thing to have people who can't muster enough energy to care on their own be forced to participate, honestly?
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:Originally posted by rollainm: "Voting is something that will take a few minutes, a couple of hours at most if turnout is extraordinarily good, out of one day every two years."
It took me nearly four hours in '04. Had I not had the day off, I wouldn't have had time.
Which is still an insignificant amount of time compared to the rest of the two years you have available for political outreach activities.
I'm not sure you can measure the value of a person's time so generically.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Rakeesh: Why is it a good thing to have people who can't muster enough energy to care on their own be forced to participate, honestly?
Because they are forced to participate.
Firstly because *everyone* votes - which means the result is, at least, a true majority decision (and in Australia, that means all elections are on weekend and all employers must give their employees time to vote).
Secondly, because when people are forced to vote that means all minorities (race/gender) are actually represented.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I can do a lot of useless things in a small amount of time. That doesn't give me any particular incentive to want to do them. Why spend even 10 minutes voting if your vote makes zero difference.
I could spend 10 minutes yelling my candidate's name into a pillow too, it wouldn't be a significant amount of time, but why bother?
I only vote if there's a chance my vote might make a difference. If there were a presidential election and my state was reporting almost exactly 50% distribution between candidates, I'd vote, because there would be a tiny chance of my vote making a difference.
It isn't that I'm against voting. I'm against doing meaningless acts and pretending that they're meaningful. I'm against self-deception. I'm against remaining powerless while telling yourself you're powerful.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Rakeesh: Why is it a good thing to have people who can't muster enough energy to care on their own be forced to participate, honestly?
Because they are forced to participate.
Firstly because *everyone* votes - which means the result is, at least, a true majority decision (and in Australia, that means all elections are on weekend and all employers must give their employees time to vote).
Secondly, because when people are forced to vote that means all minorities (race/gender) are actually represented.
I'd be okay with that.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I very much against compulsory voting.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
in Canada the government keeps track of every nonvoter, so that the moment you complain the government sends you a letter telling you to shutup as since you didnt vote your voice doesn't matter as you lost your right to complain.
My mom doesn't vote and her letter was written by Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien.
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I used to be deeply against compulsory voting, but I'm warming up to the idea. Caring or not caring about the fate of the Union does not make you any more or less a citizen of the democracy.
This isn't a comfortable position for me. I don't particularly like or respect a majority of Americans, and probably less so, a majority of the likely voting public, but I do believe that if we are going to be a democratic nation, we should commit fully and not only when the ballot will produce seemingly convenient results.
Posts: 5600 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: in Canada the government keeps track of every nonvoter, so that the moment you complain the government sends you a letter telling you to shutup as since you didnt vote your voice doesn't matter as you lost your right to complain.
My mom doesn't vote and her letter was written by Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien.
Surely you're joking.
If not, thank God I don't live in Canada.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
nope not joking, we have a rather nasty letter from Jean Chretien lying around about how my mom lost her right to complain when she didn't vote. And yes they know this because while they dont keep track who you vote for, they sure as hell keep track of those who don't. a pox on society they are, i think to recieve government benefits should be tied to whether or not you vote.
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quote:This isn't a comfortable position for me. I don't particularly like or respect a majority of Americans, and probably less so, a majority of the likely voting public, but I do believe that if we are going to be a democratic nation, we should commit fully and not only when the ballot will produce seemingly convenient results.
There's nothing in my definition of the word democracy that includes using force to compel voting. To me, democracy means the right and ability to directly participate in your own government.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: in Canada the government keeps track of every nonvoter, so that the moment you complain the government sends you a letter telling you to shutup as since you didnt vote your voice doesn't matter as you lost your right to complain.
My mom doesn't vote and her letter was written by Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien.
Surely you're joking.
If not, thank God I don't live in Canada.
I'm pretty sure it's an aberration. I've never heard of that before, and I'm pretty sure we would have mentioned it in my poli sci classes.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: in Canada the government keeps track of every nonvoter, so that the moment you complain the government sends you a letter telling you to shutup as since you didnt vote your voice doesn't matter as you lost your right to complain.
My mom doesn't vote and her letter was written by Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien.
Surely you're joking.
If not, thank God I don't live in Canada.
I'm pretty sure it's an aberration. I've never heard of that before, and I'm pretty sure we would have mentioned it in my poli sci classes.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Blayne Bradley: in Canada the government keeps track of every nonvoter, so that the moment you complain the government sends you a letter telling you to shutup as since you didnt vote your voice doesn't matter as you lost your right to complain.
My mom doesn't vote and her letter was written by Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien.
Surely you're joking.
If not, thank God I don't live in Canada.
I'm pretty sure it's an aberration. I've never heard of that before, and I'm pretty sure we would have mentioned it in my poli sci classes.
Posts: 2849 | Registered: Feb 2002
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