It's Time for Universal Voting

[babylonsister]

It’s Time for Universal Voting
Requiring every citizen to vote would make our elections more inclusive and our democracy more legitimate.
by E.J. Dionne, Miles Rapoport
July 26, 2022
This article appears in the August 2022 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Subscribe here.


We are in the midst of a fierce battle over the fundamental question of who gets to have a say in the decisions that affect all of our lives. The appalling attempt at a coup against our democracy hangs over the discussion, but there is hand-to-hand combat taking place every day on the issue of voting rights. Supporters of full voting rights are fighting defensive battles to protect what we have now, and winning these battles is crucial. But we believe it is time to imagine the democracy we really want to have, to put a larger vision forward of a fully inclusive, fully participatory democracy. We propose one key element of that vision: universal voting.

In our book, 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting, we propose making voting a requirement for every citizen. The best way to guarantee voting as a right is to assert it, unequivocally, as a civic duty for every American. Enacting universal voting—federally or at the state or municipal levels—would establish a North Star for the democracy movement. It would put every specific battle over voting rights in the context of a fundamental question: Do we want to move toward 100 percent democracy or not?

While universal voting has not been part of the public discussion about voting in this country, it is hardly a new or radical idea. Some two dozen democratic countries around the globe have some form of required voting now—countries as diverse as Australia, Uruguay, Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg, and Mexico. The new Chilean constitution, pending a popular vote, includes universal voting. And in the case of Australia, it has been in practice, successfully, for almost 100 years, since 1924. Few ideas have as ample a proof of concept.

Closer to home, we think there is a nearly exact analogy in jury duty. Serving on a jury is a requirement of citizenship that we accept as a matter of course, even if many grumble about being called. Universal jury service ensures that the pool of people called on to decide a person’s guilt or innocence reflects our population as a whole. The same should be true for voting. The decisions that affect our lives, and the people we elect to make them, should represent “the sum of us,” as author and advocate Heather McGhee has argued.

more...

https://prospect.org/politics/its-time-for-universal-voting/

[ck4829]

1. K&R, I think states need to be punished if turnout is not high enough

[DakotaSnow]

2. Voter ID

Might require a voter ID card. 33 of the 37 EU members require it. Nearly every Latin American country utilizes a single national ID card for voter identification. Canada and Mexico do. The US seems to lag behind other progressive countries requiring voter ID.

[usonian]

3. And direct election by popular vote.

Electoral "college" is obsolete and anti-democratic.
(and while we're at it, CAMPAIGN REFORM. Frickin money out of politics)

[Elessar Zappa]

4. I'm not for mandatory voting.

[babylonsister]

7. Why? I

spoke to an Aussie a long time ago and was told if someone didn't like any of the candidates, they could write in Mickey Mouse or whomever they'd like.
I'm curious as to your reasoning?

[Elessar Zappa]

8. I just don't think people should be forced to exercise a right.

I am for everyone receiving a mail-in ballot and a national holiday for voting.

[corribean]

5. a solution even Republicans might accept

Your view will NEVER pass a Congress with enough Republicans to stop it. The best choice is to accept the Republican notion that we MUST prevent election fraud and make sure ONLY citizens can vote. My Apple computer uses my finger print. Force them to vote for a fair/secure system or explain why they oppose it. U voting is a good idea, just impractical, but we can make sure only registered voters select leaders.

[Voltaire2]

6. Agree.

[Lurker Deluxe]

9. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice

n/t

[Ligyron]

10. The United States started out as a child of The Enlightenment showing so much promise.

But then others took the idea and ran with it, eventually surpassing us in so many ways.

It was the ridiculous religious crap that has held us back for the most part.

It still does.

Like that guy in Texas that showed up at Beto's event with an AR spouting that "our Lord Jesus Christ" crap. The idiots don't even know the guys real name or if he actually existed at all.

[Aldemelod]

11. Exactly what must be done

and it will have the added benefit of driving QAnon MAGAt types to respond passive-aggressively by NOT participating and voting. They'll be "sticking it to the libs" until they pass over and turn into worm food. This is how braindead stoopid they are.

[brooklynite]

12. The people who don't vote todays are primarily the people who don't care...

That’s not a demographic that’s goi g to add a lot to the selection process.

[DakotaSnow]

13. In fact

They tend to be politically disconnected and low information on the candidates and policy's involved. I prefer they not vote as they are just throwing darts. They just muddy the water.

[Dysfunctional]

14. It might be unconstitutional to force people to vote.

The 15th Amendment gives us the right to vote, it does not make it mandatory.