Voting...or lack there of.

I read in the morning paper today about a women here in Wisconsin who won a seat on her town's city council with a total of two write in votes, hers and her husbands.  She will represent about 1500 people in her position, and be paid $300 per month.  There were also a number of other cases with people winning local elections with just a few write in votes.  This got me to thinking about people's responsibilities in this country.  What if all Americans were required to vote in all elections?

There are already many responsibilities that we are "made" to do.  We have to pay taxes, we have to educate our children, we have jury duty, the male population has to register for the draft.  Think of the changes to national campaigns.  You would no longer have to spend time or money on getting the vote out.  You would no longer be able to target their message to the most ardent members of the electorate.  You would need to craft your message in such a way to include a broader audience. It would make it more difficult for extremest to vote themselves or their candidates into power.   Can you say this would be a bad thing?

How are you going to make me vote you say?  Well, how about some kind of tax credit.  We have credits for all kinds of things as it is.  Also, people hate to wait to vote, so we need to make it easier to vote.  How about on Saturday or Sunday, so those that work have an easier opportunity?   And why is voting only held on one day?  You could vote for an entire week nowadays and not have too many problems.  What about the mail, or the internet?  You can take the polls to the people--schools, business parks, hospitals, etc.

Can't be done?  Well, there are 23 countries around the world with compulsory voting, including Peru, Brazil and Australia.  Some of these countries do not enforce this law.  Of course, you always have the argument about  whether it is a duty to vote or a right to vote.  If you have a right to vote (or free speech, or freedom of association, etc.), you don't have to use this right.  If you think about it as a duty, perhaps people will become more informed about the candidates and the issues involved.

Well whaddya' think?  I think something needs to be done so that we can say 30% is NOT a busy day at the polls....