“It would be transformative if everybody voted — that would counteract money more than anything,” President Obama said Wednesday in Cleveland.Jeff Roberson/AP
Australia has near 100 percent turnout in its elections. How do the Aussies do it? They, like 25 other countries, require people to vote.
President Obama wondered aloud Wednesday whether it was time for the United States to consider a similar move.
“In Australia and some other countries, there’s mandatory voting,” Obama said at an economic event in Cleveland. “It would be transformative if everybody voted — that would counteract money more than anything.”
Of course, this is something that is unlikely to ever happen in this country. In addition to the pushback from conservatives it would face, it also cuts against the grain of the American idea of being free not to do things, including vote.
What’s more, in these other countries, the enforcement mechanisms run the gamut — from fines to even jail time.
In Belgium, if you don’t vote, you might not be able to get a public-sector job. In Bolivia, you won’t get paid. And in Italy, you might even not be able to get a day care placement for your child.
Via ktoo.org
image credit APEonline
