During America’s founding, the Constitution’s framers did not believe in the one man, one vote concept unless on considers that one male landowner was afforded one vote and women, the poor, and minorities were not allowed to choose the nation’s leaders. However, that was the late 18th century and women were birth machines and minorities were non-entities as far as voting rights were concerned, but this is 2012 and there is no reason every American should not have the right to vote in a timely manner.
Now that the election is over, it is time for this country to address the deplorable state of voting and start seriously considering transforming America into an easily accessible democracy. The news that thousands of voters waited in line for 3 to 5 hours to cast their vote puts America behind every civilized country on Earth, and with Republican voter suppression tactics contributes to the anemic voter turnout (60%) plaguing America. During his victory speech last night, President Obama mentioned that “we have to fix” the fact that voters were forced to wait in long lines for hours on end just to exercise their right to vote, and hopefully it is remedied because without easy access to the ballot box, millions of Americans will continue sitting out elections and their chance to shape the course of their own lives.
On some level, one can hardly blame many voters from sitting out elections after their right to vote is challenged or subverted, and it is the reason many among the poor, unemployed, homeless, and young Americans fail to have their voices heard. The consequence of disenfranchising voters is giving more power to the well-off who drive policies geared disproportionately to their interests, and perpetuates social and economic inequality that is killing economic opportunity for all Americans. There is one simple solution to expand voter rolls and although it may not be popular now, mandatory voting would arrest turnout decline and close the socioeconomic voting gap.
Mandatory voting is the only mechanism that can increase voter turnout to the 90% range, and subsequently, when 90% of the population votes there is less wealth inequality, lower levels of electoral corruption, and higher levels of satisfaction with democracy. Critics claim it violates autonomy and independence, but no more so than mandatory taxation, automobile liability insurance, jury duty, or the requirement to educate children. A good example of mandatory voting is in Australia, where their well-managed mandatory voting regime is free of corruption, easily accessible, economically feasible, and enjoys a more than 70% approval rating.
Another remedy is a national voting holiday that gives every American the time to vote that, in and of itself, would relieve the tortuous 5 hour wait to cast a ballot, and would definitely encourage more participation in democracy. America’s three major automobile makers give their employees the day off work to vote in what Vice President of Product Design for Chrysler called an opportunity for workers to “vote and enjoy your freedoms.” It is not a guarantee that every worker will exercise their right to vote, but it would give those who do vote the opportunity to vote early in the day and avoid 4-hour long lines at their polling places.
If Americans do not want special interests and Republicans restricting their right to vote, they must pressure their representatives to pass laws giving them easier access to the ballot box, and whether it is mandatory voting or a national voting holiday, something has to change or democracy will suffer. The vision of people waiting in four hour-long lines to cast a vote is typical in a banana republic, but for America, it informs there are forces hell-bent on electoral malfeasance, and it is no small coincidence it is unique to Republican controlled states.
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Matt Peters
Nov. 7th, 2012 at 9:59 pm
I find it incredible that in the USA it is made just so difficult for people to cast their vote. I am from Australia and, as you say, we have compulsory voting and hence always have 90%+ voter turnout. Many Americans find the concept of compulsory voting repugnant but it certainly works well here. This country has similar population patterns to the USA – from densely populated large cities to huge areas with small isolated rural communities, in a number of different time zones. Yet our elections are well run with multiple elections and referendums being held when they occur. Australians grumble if they have to queue for 15 minutes. 3-5 hours queues would cause an outrage. Also elections are held on a Saturday when the majority do not work. At this stage our elections all use hard copy ballot papers. That may sound outdated but it provides a clear audit trail with ease of recounting if needed and removes the doubt about the accuracy of the poll which computer voting and voting machines can cause of they malfunction. Maybe you guys should seek some advice from the Australian Electoral Commision. I know that their help has been sought in other places. Part of the key to this is of course that elections must be properly funded and I understand that this is not necessarily the case in some US states.
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Shiva (Moderator)
Nov. 7th, 2012 at 10:14 pm
You and us both find it incredible. Funny how we have the “greatest constitution” in the world yet its also probably the most abused
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Jmdenn
Nov. 7th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
Banning Single Mark Ballots, moving Election Day to Veterans Day, and Ending Gerrymandering are necessary to make voting more than just a futile exercise in vote splitting in secure districts, if you can get off from work. Check it out at aGREATER.US.
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Bob Travis
Nov. 7th, 2012 at 10:28 pm
I am proud to live in Washington state, one of 3 states that last night upheld the right of all people to marry the one they love. We vote by mail, in the comfort of our homes at our leisure. No lines, no suppression and bs required. Our system survived the closest Governor’s race in history-decided by 837 votes. It works and its proven reliable and fraud free.
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Moongal6
Nov. 8th, 2012 at 1:24 am
Oregon here. We also vote by mail (or you can drop it off at your local county clerks office) and we consistently have very high voter turnout. In the 2010 midterms, we had a 76% voter turnout. In that 76% we also enjoyed the highest under 30 voter in the nation.
Voting by mail is safe, secure and convenient. Of course, the Republicans keep trying to stop the vote by mail. They want us to use the ‘machines’.
If it’s NOT broke, Don’t fix it!
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buckeyewill
Nov. 8th, 2012 at 4:16 am
In Ohio, I vote by mail. I don’t trust Dibold machines.
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Doubting Thomas
Nov. 8th, 2012 at 5:43 am
It might be difficult but look at how other countries manage elections. Pretty well everywhere the control of elections is done outside partisan politics. So, set up an completely independent commission for voter registration, postal and absentee ballots, the conduct of the election and the drawing of boundaries for the House, and for state legislatures. Whether it’s state or federal is up to you but it’s critical that it is outside political control so partisan governors and secretaries of state cannot affect how the people vote. Decide on the voting day, whether or not voting is compulsory with or without a none of these box on the ballot and the opening times.
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Paws
Nov. 8th, 2012 at 8:33 am
I agree we need to reform our election procedures. My opinion is that voting should be mandatory and there should either be a national holiday for voting or elections should be held on a Saturday. We also need to get all this money out of politics. I do have to say that one of the things I am most proud of from this election is that these billionaires and Karl Rove who spent so much money on elections across the country, did not get a big return for their investment. The PEOPLE reigned, not the money from these people/groups.
One of the other things that I’m quite happy/proud about is the fact that in spite of how difficult the GOP tried to make voting, people stuck it out and got out there and cast their ballot. I give them a lot of credit for sticking it out.
It really bothers me that the right to vote was treated so cavalierly by the GOP. They had no problem trying to keep people from voting and we don’t need those types of people in government. We really do need to do something about this.
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Maranon
Nov. 8th, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Yes, we need a timely process.
In Arizona, as of this morning news 11/8/2012, they had some 460,000 in Maricopa county and 600,000 statewide, that have not been counted. And may not be counted for several days yet!
The Maricopa county recorder Hellen Purcell,is responsible for getting the chore done.
Her desire to get them counted is questionable. Ms Purcell has been working for the GOP campaign and is the person responsible for sending notices with the voting dates of November 8th to the Spanish Speaking households.
If the people voted early, why were the votes not counted already?
Yes, we need a better more timely process, run by neutral officers.
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