Reasons Why Voting In The United States Needs To Be Mandatory

Voting is a significant part of elections which in turn strengthens the democratic process, according to political science scholar Emilee Chapman. The United States voter turnout has gotten significantly lower since the early 1900s. Citizens have the right to vote and should use it. The United States should enact compulsory voting laws, mandatory voting, to improve voter turnout and educate all citizens.

Reasons why the U.S. should establish compulsory voting laws are as follows. Firstly, if all citizens could vote there would be a higher voter turnout. According to Melissa DeWitte, more voters showed up to vote in the 2018 U.S midterm election, however almost half of all eligible voters still did not vote that day. This fact shows that even though voter turnout is increasing, many people are still not casting their votes. A higher voting turnout could largely change the election. Our previous president, Barack Obama, discussed how people who do not vote are often young, poor, and/or members of minority groups.

Secondly, the U.S. has no political class, therefore citizens should exercise their right to vote. As said by Emilee Chapman, a staff member of the political science field at Stanford pointed out that voting is something that all citizens have the right to do, even those in the edges of society. All votes casted count equally. Many third-world countries used to restrict certain people from voting, typically women. Now that women can vote in every country, many countries have a higher voting turnout than the U.S. does.

Lastly, all citizens voting can remind public officials that they are accountable to all citizens. Chapman also expressed that when people do not vote officials tend to only listen to the loud and vocal citizens. Meaning, if all citizens vote, public officials would realize that they have to cater to all citizens. Not just the citizens willing to voice their opinion. With everyone voting, politicians would be forced to consider all points of view rather than those of a select few.

There are reasons some people give for not passing compulsory voting laws. For instance, some may argue that compulsory voting laws would cause citizens to no longer vote out of interest, but out of fear. However, a study found that a large majority of Australia, a country with compulsory voting laws, would vote even if it was not required. Another common counter-argument may be that it is unethical to mandate people to vote. This is not true because if voters do not want to cast their opinion they can simply mark “none of the above”, therefore still exercising their right to not cast their opinion.

In conclusion, the United States should enact compulsory voting laws because it can strengthen the government by increasing the voter turnout and educating citizens. A higher voting turnout could largely affect future elections. Also, citizens should appreciate their voting rights and exercise them. Otherwise, this would not be a problem. Lastly, if all citizens vote, the fact that all U.S. citizens' opinions matter would be reinforced to public officials. Overall, with this information, it can be concluded that the United States should enact compulsory voting laws.