Voting Is A Right. Should It Become A Law?

[Dinger]

Poll question: Voting Is A Right. Should It Become A Law?

[joshcryer]

1. Have drivers license / state ID, must vote. Make it mail-in.

Don't vote? Get a small fine. Fines pay for the mailers. Civics 101.

[JVS]

2. It's not a duty, it's a right.

[Dinger]

4. Yes, You're Right

I should have worded this better, but I don't like to edit polls. Ah hell, I'll edit it anyway.

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. Those who do not vote are likely to know the least about the issues

How do you think that those people will vote?

[Fresh_Start]

6. I'm not sure they'd be any less equipt than large swatches of the GOP

who also don't really know any FACTS about the issues

[Freddie Stubbs]

8. So, would forcing those people to vote be a good idea?

[Fresh_Start]

5. Austrailia made it mandatory

small fine if you don't vote.
But I think they still have some idiotic politicians.

[Milo_Bloom]

7. Jury Duty should be OPTIONAL and voting MANDATORY!

[T Wolf]

14. As long as there is an option for "none of the above" or, as in my county,

"I choose not to vote." At least 539 people did exactly that in Montgomery Cty., PA.

[Milo_Bloom]

17. Sounds good to me.

[CTyankee]

9. I disagree. A government that can force you to vote is one step away from forcing

you to vote for whomever they say.

[Dinger]

10. That Could Be, But Isn't There A Way To Get More People to Vote?

We do so much to GOTV, and I really can't think of another way to get MORE out to vote. Wish I had some ideas.:-(

[T Wolf]

11. Yeah. Give them something to vote FOR. After dissing the rethug fear message, that is all

the Democrats relied on - "better vote for us even if we did squat because you know the GOP would be worse."

And they wonder why that did not work...

[Dinger]

12. I Agree (nt)

[bigwillq]

13. No (nt)

[woolldog]

15. If you have to force someone to vote,

to get them to vote, I don't want them voting. They probably have no interest in the issues and are uninformed. Why would you want to force anyone to do something like vote? Don't get the mentality there.

[Dinger]

16. How Can We Get More People to Vote?

Without forcing them? Wish I knew. I do see your point.

[JVS]

18. The traditional method is to offer them better policies.

[ieoeja]

19. Other: it is not a Right.

You can *not* be denied the right to vote for the following reasons:

- race, color, or previous condition of servitude
- gender
- failure to pay tax
- age for those eighteen and older

You *can* be denied the right to vote for any other reason. Many do so based on prior conviction of a felony, even after the full period of the original sentence has expired. Most such laws were passed after the Civil Rights movement as a method of disenfranchising the poor, which would have included most African-Americans at that time, whose poverty is more likely to force them into criminal activity to survive. We saw this play out in 2000 when 80K people were disenfranchised in Florida by Jeb Bush.

The racist nature of the felony disenfranchisement is why many Black activists are pushing for a Right to Vote amendment to the Constitution.


Sources for existing voting rights...

AMENDMENT XV : The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude--

AMENDMENT XIX : The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

AMENDMENT XXIV : The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax.

AMENDMENT XXVI : The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of the above articles.


Note: Congress having that power means they could pass a simple law, not an Amendment, stating that Amendment XXVI applies to all citizens eighteen or older, regardless of past criminal activity.