See my comment below. As an independent liberal (as well as 100% Native American) I find all the assumptions (as well as insults) and would-be refusals to follow the constitution more than a bit ironic.

Rightwingnuts:

LOVE the idea of universal gun ownership
HATE the idea of universal health care or voting

.

Perhaps people realize that there would have to be a constitutional amendment to make voting compulsory? Any such executive order or even a law making voting compulsory would still be illegal. See Marbury v. Madison for a germ of the idea.

Actually, compulsory voting isn’t really that unusual. Australia is one of 11 countries that has it and enforces the practice (there are more countries that don’t enforce compulsory voting). The only requirement is that you show up at the polling place, mark your ballot, fold it and put it in the box. According to Wiki, the Australian state of Tasmania, in a 2010 state election, had a turnout of more than 335 THOUSAND voters (the state’s total population is just over 507,000) with only 6000 people being fined the awesome amount of $26.

Bear in mind this was a STATE election where the total population is about 7/8ths that of Wyoming, yet the voter turnout was more than 1/3 MORE than Wyoming’s turnout in the 2012 PRESIDENTIAL election (and Wyoming’s 2012 turnout was about 2% less than 2008).

I don’t really see any problem with it (obviously, if FoxNoise and its talking asses heads oppose the idea, there must be some merit). Make the fine minimal (say $5) or make an “opt-out” provision available (a number of compulsory voting countries—both those that enforce and those that don’t enforce the concept—have exemptions) and perhaps exempt certain elections, such as party primaries/caucuses and municipal races and there wouldn’t really be any reason to oppose the idea. As to the fine, bear in mind that there is a movement (especially on the right) to reintroduce the concept of “property ownership” as a prerequisite for voting and, for decades, certain states required certain people to PAY a fee in order to vote (poll tax, anyone?).

Hell, you want to get people out to vote? Put a box on the tax forms for people to check with a $5 or $10 deduction for having voted (finally a reason to merit getting one of those stupid little “I voted” stickers—you just apply your sticker to your tax form, along with the copy of your W2; someone would need to figure out how to prove it for online tax forms) and there’d be such a turnout, it’d set records. Of course, failure to check off that box and you pay $5 or $10 (which would result in that much less of a refund).

This could be a ploy to force some kind of compromise on the changes on voting in certain states by using extreme measures to draw the opposition out.

I remember around 1982 when the Democratic lead Congress wanted to raise the minimum wage which was at $3.35 at the time and the Reagan administration countered with either lowering and/or completely elimination of the minimum wage. Both sides didn’t get what they proposed but that was end result of what Reagan wanted to happen and leave it as it was as the federal minimum wage was never raised during his 8 years until states like they did in California raised it.

I don’t agree that anyone should be forced by law to vote in the same way no one should ever be forced to attend church once a week, however we do to make voting easier for those who choose to and not be forced to play any ridiculous voter ID hoops when that problem is near zero.

Andrea asked “Do we really want everybody voting? I don’t think so!”
I agree, we don’t need FOX watchers, the most uniformed people on the planet voting.

Just pass a law that says anyone who doesn’t vote will be first called for jury duty.

Total contempt for American democratic processes deserves more than passive responses on a political blog before a very serious “war on stupid” has to be declared in defense of America!

And these folks have the nerve to accuse Obama of not loving America?