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Lady Gaga Snerd


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Obama Wants Mandatory Voting
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CNN)The president whose major policy achievement is mandatory health insurance thinks maybe voting should be mandatory, too.

Asked how to offset the influence of big money in politics, President Barack Obama suggested it's time to make voting a requirement.

"Other countries have mandatory voting," Obama said Wednesday in Cleveland, where he spoke about the importance of middle class economics, and was asked about the issue during a town hall.

"It would be transformative if everybody voted -- that would counteract money more than anything," he said, adding it was the first time he had shared the idea publicly.

The clout of millionaires and billionaires in campaign funding has been enormous, and many claim the uber wealthy have undue leverage in politics.

"The people who tend not to vote are young, they're lower income, they're skewed more heavily towards immigrant groups and minority groups," Obama said. "There's a reason why some folks try to keep them away from the polls."

 

At least 26 countries have compulsory voting, according to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Failure to vote is punishable by a fine in countries such as Australia and Belgium; if you fail to pay your fine in Belgium, you could go to prison.

Aside from campaign finance issues, the United States also grapples with one of the lowest voter turnout rates among developed countries.

Less than 37% of eligible voters actually voted in the 2014 midterm elections, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. That means about 144 million Americans -- more than the population of Russia -- skipped out.

But mandatory voting could bring its own set of problems. Haydon Manning, associate professor at Flinders University in Australia, said that country's rules can backfire.

"Turning the vote out might not be a problem, but wooing disengaged citizens now requires banal sloganeering and crass misleading negative advertising," Manning wrote. "To me, this can diminish the democratic experience for those who take the time to think through the issues."

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http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/19/politics/obama-mandatory-voting/index.html
 
 


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Lady Gaga Snerd


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Just think, then even MORE dead people can vote for Democrats!

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Lindley


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There are some people who should not vote.

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lilyofcourse


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Yeah. All those who voted Obama in, twice!

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Nobody Just Nobody


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I thought we had freedom in this country?

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lilyofcourse


My spirit animal is a pink flamingo.

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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

I thought we had freedom in this country?

 That went out the window a long time ago. 

Remember all those slippery slopes ? Well here we are. 



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JPT


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I don't agree with mandatory voting, but I will say that the best and easiest way to get candidates who may actually be more focused on working that battling each other would be to have open primaries. NPA's (independent, non partisan voters) would pick a party ballot (one only) and vote it.

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FNW


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lilyofcourse wrote:
Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

I thought we had freedom in this country?

 That went out the window a long time ago. 

Remember all those slippery slopes ? Well here we are. 

 Yep.



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Lady Gaga Snerd


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Voting is a privilege. If you cannot get up off your arse and down to the polls barring some major disability, then, stay home. Sheesh.

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Ohfour


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JPT wrote:

I don't agree with mandatory voting, but I will say that the best and easiest way to get candidates who may actually be more focused on working that battling each other would be to have open primaries. NPA's (independent, non partisan voters) would pick a party ballot (one only) and vote it.

 Most DEFINITELY not.  What if you don't like your party's candidate?  You HAVE to vote for them?  That's NOT cool...



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flan327


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Nobody Just Nobody wrote:

I thought we had freedom in this country?

This will never fly.

flan 



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Lady Gaga Snerd


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Ohfour wrote:
JPT wrote:

I don't agree with mandatory voting, but I will say that the best and easiest way to get candidates who may actually be more focused on working that battling each other would be to have open primaries. NPA's (independent, non partisan voters) would pick a party ballot (one only) and vote it.

 Most DEFINITELY not.  What if you don't like your party's candidate?  You HAVE to vote for them?  That's NOT cool...

Sometimes my No Vote IS my vote.  I will no longer vote for ANY candidates I don't truly believe in, regardless of party.  I will no longer hold my nose and vote for the lesser of 2 evils.  A politician must earn my vote, not take it for granted.  ANd, if there are elections where the other party wins because I didn't vote, then so be it.  I would rather go down in flames voting for people I truly believe in.  And, if it happens long enough, then maybe they will start to put out some candidates I can get behind.  I am kind of with Glenn Beck, the Repo party sucks and I have had enough. 



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Lawyerlady


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If we are going to have madatory voting, I want a "NONE OF THE ABOVE" option that would kick them all out if it won.

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Ohfour


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Lady Gaga Snerd wrote:
Ohfour wrote:
JPT wrote:

I don't agree with mandatory voting, but I will say that the best and easiest way to get candidates who may actually be more focused on working that battling each other would be to have open primaries. NPA's (independent, non partisan voters) would pick a party ballot (one only) and vote it.

 Most DEFINITELY not.  What if you don't like your party's candidate?  You HAVE to vote for them?  That's NOT cool...

Sometimes my No Vote IS my vote.  I will no longer vote for ANY candidates I don't truly believe in, regardless of party.  I will no longer hold my nose and vote for the lesser of 2 evils.  A politician must earn my vote, not take it for granted.  ANd, if there are elections where the other party wins because I didn't vote, then so be it.  I would rather go down in flames voting for people I truly believe in.  And, if it happens long enough, then maybe they will start to put out some candidates I can get behind.  I am kind of with Glenn Beck, the Repo party sucks and I have had enough. 

But what if you really wanted to vote for the other party candidate? Would you have the freedom to do that.   



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JPT


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Ohfour wrote:
JPT wrote:

I don't agree with mandatory voting, but I will say that the best and easiest way to get candidates who may actually be more focused on working that battling each other would be to have open primaries. NPA's (independent, non partisan voters) would pick a party ballot (one only) and vote it.

 Most DEFINITELY not.  What if you don't like your party's candidate?  You HAVE to vote for them?  That's NOT cool...

 This is for the primary.  NPA's don't have a "party"  They are independents, and in most states can't vote in primary elections.  If they had the opportunity to have a vote in a primary election, you'd see more centrist candidates.



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Ohfour


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We have open primaries in TN. So we can vote for whoever. I like that...

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voiceofreason


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Where in this article does it say he WANTS mandatory voting? He was talking about how transformative it would be if we all voted. He's right. Personally, I find it incredibly disappointing that people don't use their hard fought for right to vote. It's infuriating to me that less than 30% of our population votes.



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Ohfour


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Yeah, make people vote, make people buy health insurance...land of the free...hmm



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flan327


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Has anyone ever read Molly Ivins? She was a Texas journalist, smart and funny and a true patriot.

She would agree with you VoR.

A quote from her last column:

"We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war...We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!'" (2007)

Americans HAVE gotten complacent. Think of how many other countries would love to have the right to vote.

flan

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Ohfour


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"Rights" should never EVER be mandatory.

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JPT


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Ohfour wrote:

Yeah, make people vote, make people buy health insurance...land of the free...hmm

 Until you hit the ER uninsured...because if you aren't insured, and they HAVE to treat you, when you can't pay, they write it off, charging the rest of us who do have insurance more (and hence, our insurance premium goes up)

 

I still remember when our handyman got sick a few times and was taken to the ER, he got treated, and paid zip, zilch (and actually laughed about it).  And I got to sit there and write a check to my health insurance co for $1,000 a month, and still have a $5000 deductible.  So guess who stays home and takes advil and chicken soup when she gets sick?



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Lady Gaga Snerd


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voiceofreason wrote:

Where in this article does it say he WANTS mandatory voting? He was talking about how transformative it would be if we all voted. He's right. Personally, I find it incredibly disappointing that people don't use their hard fought for right to vote. It's infuriating to me that less than 30% of our population votes.

Why should it infuriate you?  If they are too damn lazy to get to the Polls, then hell with em. 



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