The Factors That Influence Whether Voting Should Be Mandatory

Voting has been around since 1789 in this country. Through all the trials and tribulations, we have gained more rights throughout American history in regard to voting. For example, women’s voting rights, and the protection for African American voting rights. Yet, not everyone in this country uses their right to vote. Belgium and Australia have laws that mandate everyone to vote, should the U.S. have compulsory voting for every federal election? In this essay, I’ll give you many reasons why we shouldn’t make voting mandatory.

One reason I feel makes a strong case is education. Everyone in this country has a right to get an equal education. Now some people might not choose to get an education at all though, and that’s their decision. But as a citizen of the United States, I feel we are uneducated on economics, foreign policy, and many other important political issues. If all the uneducated vote, then they’d make bad decisions that end up effecting the rest of us. The only way this could change would be if a new law incorporated minimum education requirements. Minimum education rights would never pass because it’s discriminatory. Another reason is because it violates our first amendment in the constitution of the United States. The first amendment gives us freedom! For instance, the freedom to not vote. I understand that the pro mandatory voters just want to get the full audience of voters. But we need to realize that not everyone could possibly remember to vote for every single election. I’m sure a lot people would fall victim to forgetting to vote. They’d then be arrested because they forgot to vote? That just seems absurd in a nation which practices equal rights and freedom. My final reason why we as a nation shouldn’t make voting mandatory is because it’s involuntary servitude. The 13th amendment to the constitution of the United States, states that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States.” If we did make mandatory voting laws this would be a direct violation to our involuntary servitude within the U.S. constitution. There are a ton of people that feel no obligation to voting in elections and making it mandatory is only forcing these people to do something they don’t want to do.

Voting will always be a heavily debated topic in our nation. Simply because it’s a very important right to democracies. Amendment 15 states that no one shall be “denied a chance to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The U.S. should amend the constitution and put another line that’s says it’s also the right of the citizens to refuse their voting rights. As you can see the whole argument for making voting mandatory makes no sense because it violates constitutional rights and many civil liberties.