Mandatory Voting

By Lady2Soothe
Lady2Soothe Follow @OurVoicesEcho

A little over a year ago in March 2015 Obama, whose major policy achievement is mandatory health insurance, said “maybe voting should be mandatory. It would be ‘transformative’ and ‘completely’ change the political map in this country.”

Let’s face it, the USA is not a democracy ruled by the majority (citizen’s rule) where one person equals one vote; the USA is a Republic where the government promises to act in the interests of the people but aren’t accountable to them.

What is it about dropping that little piece of paper into a ballot box? No matter how well-informed a person is, their vote has no chance of affecting the outcome of an election. Casting a ballot won’t produce smarter policies or worthier Presidents; it’s all rigged; predetermined before the candidates are even publicly announced.

Mandatory Voting / Compulsory Voting is a violation of our Constitutional Right to Freedom of Choice. Requiring citizens to present themselves at the polls is restricting my Constitutional Right to Freedom of Movement; therefore I have a fundamental right to move away from the process. Since the government cannot force someone to speak, how can they force someone to vote? Remember “Voting is your voice” and “Vote to be heard”. The contradictory premise forcing me to speak with my vote in order for my voice to be heard or else I’ll be penalized. Therefore the only alternative to *Compulsory Voting/ Mandatory Voting * is to spoil the ballot by checking off every box in protest to avoid retribution.

Refusing to vote is voting; and exercising my right to vote means exercising my right not to vote. I refuse to pretend my rights are theirs to give to me.

UPDATE Oct. 11, 2016
Jerry Brown Signs Automatic Voter Registration In California
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Saturday signed a bill that will automatically register voters, which was sent to him by the Democratic-controlled state legislature in September.

Since there are between 6 and 7 million Californians who remain unregistered to vote, voting rights advocates see the measure as a way to save money, boost security and reduce barriers to participation in elections. The state experienced record low turnout for a regularly scheduled general election last November, in which just 42 percent of Californians who were registered voted.

Brown had until Oct. 11 to either sign or reject the California New Motor Voter Act.

“In a free society, the right to vote is fundamental,” said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who had sponsored the bill, in a statement. “I applaud Governor Brown for his leadership and bold action to increase voter participation in our state.”

The way automatic registration works is relatively simple: Eligible citizens are registered to vote when they show up at a Department of Motor Vehicles office to obtain a driver’s license or state ID. The DMV gives the eligible voter a chance to opt out if they prefer not to register. If the person does not opt out, the DMV electronically transfers their voter registration information to the Secretary of State’s office, rather than making election officials enter data by hand from paper registration forms. (The federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 already requires states to give eligible voters the opportunity to register to vote when they apply for a new or renewed driver’s license.)

Various voting rights groups, like the Brennan Center for Justice, had pushed the legislation. iVote, a group focusing on automatic registration, spent six figures on newspaper advertisements asking Californians to voice their support for the bill. Sixty-nine percent of all Californians and 67 percent of likely voters favor the proposal, according to a survey from the Public Policy Institute of California…. Continue Reading http://tinyurl.com/zthauu7