Vote Or Else!

Obama calls for mandatory voting in U.S.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/mar/18/obama-calls-mandatory-voting-us/



--Mod note--
Moved this to its own separate thread.

Endorsing and calling for are two entirely different things.

Too many eligible people choose to not vote. Then they complain about the results.

rickyII said:

Endorsing and calling for are two entirely different things.

Too many eligible people choose to not vote. Then they complain about the results.

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So?

The LAST thing we need is more stupid people voting, just watch Water's World on O'rielly's show, it really scares me that these people can vote.

Not casting a vote for any of the available candidates is a vote in and of itself. I know because so many people tell me it is.

Many jurisdictions do not consider "None of the Above" to be a valid vote. Many more will not report on write-in candidates[SUP]1[/SUP] until they reach some magic percentage threshold.

Re: non-voters being denied the aility to whinge - I'd like to see an indelible ink that lasts 4 years and finally fades by the end of the primary season. No purple thumb? Shut yer gob!

stay safe.

[SUP]1[/SUP] - You youngsters may not remember Pat Paulsen who made several runs for the presidency as a third-party candidate. In his last campaign he came this close <_____________________________________________________________________> to making it. Has any other third-party candidate done as well?

We live in a Country where a 17 year old genius cannot vote however a 30 year old idiot can.. Seems like it needs fixing to me however making it mandatory is not the answer..

My .02

CCJ

I think we've made voting entirely too easy. Motor voter registration, too many places without voter ID laws, I don't know of any that actually require evidence of citizenship to register to vote, vote by mail, early voting, talk of internet voting. "What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too lightly."

Not only do we have far too many people ignorant of the issues and candidates in any particular election, they are grossly ignorant as to our form of government.

I would be quite thrilled if we had some kind of test before someone could register to vote. Call it a civics literacy test.

Sadly, given the very ugly, racist history and constitutional ban on such things, that isn't going to happen. But I'm certainly not going to encourage the lazy, ignorant, or stupid to vote...except as they may ask my opinion on whom to vote for and look like they might actually that way.

Charles

F350 said:

The LAST thing we need is more stupid people voting, just watch Water's World on O'rielly's show, it really scares me that these people can vote.

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It scares me that people that watch Orielly can vote

twoskinsonemanns said:

It scares me that people that watch Orielly can vote

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... and the donkey you rode in on.

rickyII said:

SNIP Too many eligible people choose to not vote. Then they complain about the results.

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Well, here it goes again. From a couple different angles.


This paragraph is for constitutionalists. When the constitution was ratified (1789), over half the population could not vote. Women didn't get the vote until the 1920's--that's about half the population right there. All states had a property requirement. Some states also had a certain minimum amount of money requirement. The last clause of the First Amendment guarantees the right to petition government for redress of grievances. What's a grievance? A complaint. No where does the Bill of Rights require one to have voted in order to exercise the rights. And, a person, voter or not, cannot possibly have the right to complain to government without first having the right to complain period.

The right to complain is the right to object. It is a fundamental human right. People have a right not to be over-taxed, over-regulated, or over-criminalized, and the whole litany of other government abuses--corruption, pandering, sold-out to special interests, etc., etc., etc. regardless of whether they voted. Moreover, they have a right to be concerned and object when these things are inflicted on their fellow human beings--friends, family, countrymen, even other peoples on other continents.

For myself, there is no human being on earth I hate so much that I would actually vote to afflict him with government.

I guess we could also debate whether voting is a Right or a Privilege...

I vote privilege, since the Government puts restrictions on voting. However unlike some Government privileges we do not surrender any of our Rights when we exercise our privilege to vote...

As I referenced in an earlier post, it baffles my mind that a 17 year old genius cannot vote however a 30 year old idiot can vote...

Great subject for discussion..

My .02

Best regards

CCJ

F350 said:

... and the donkey you rode in on.

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oh lighten up

countryclubjoe said:

I guess we could also debate whether voting is a Right or a Privilege...

I vote privilege, since the Government puts restrictions on voting. However unlike some Government privileges we do not surrender any of our Rights when we exercise our privilege to vote...

As I referenced in an earlier post, it baffles my mind that a 17 year old genius cannot vote however a 30 year old idiot can vote...

Great subject for discussion..

My .02

Best regards

CCJ

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Good questions. Good food for thought.

Just thinking out loud here.

Regarding 17/30, I suppose the Founders kinda answered part of that when they said the safest repository for power was the people. From there, one would have to draw a line somewhere as to minimum age. Or, I guess you could have a Voter Jury who examined under-age applicants, and upon approving their genius, could certify them to vote. I wonder, do emancipated minors have voting privileges?

As for voting being privilege because it is subject to government restriction, I would agree with you in a certain framework. In the same way exercising the 5th Amendment is a "privilege" because the government restricts how you can use it. And, getting married is a "privilege" because it is licensed and subject to restrictions. In the larger picture, I would say it is a right, in the sense that a person has a right to voluntarily enter into an agreement as to how govern-ers will be selected, especially if they are going to govern him.

I did just think of a few rights people surrender when they exercise their voting "privilege". For many pro-gunners, their polling station is in a school. In VA, I think we now have to tender the requested documents when a poll worker asks, "Papers, please, comrade."

Citizen said:

--snipped--
I wonder, do emancipated minors have voting privileges?

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"As a general rule, there some things an emancipated minor can't do, such as vote, get a driver's license, or buy or drink alcohol. Rather, you have to wait until you reach the age set by state or federal law. For instance, in many states you must be 16 years old to get a driver's license, and federal law sets the voting age at 18."
http://family-law.lawyers.com/childrens-rights/emancipation-youre-on-your-own-kid.html

Nightmare said:

SNIP There is no right to vote in natural law or in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The various voting rights Amendments restrict the means of limiting a hypothetical enfranchisement.

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Love that second sentence! Captures it perfectly, I think.

Regarding a natural right to vote, there has to be a natural right to vote. Here is what I mean by that. Any group of people have a natural right to voluntarily aggregate themselves into a society and then establish a system to select someone(s) to whom they would delegate power to govern themselves. They could draw lots, throw dice, use hair color, or vote, whatever system they voluntarily agreed.

On the other hand, is there a natural right to vote to select rulers that would rule not only the other consenting voters, but all other human beings in a given territory? Nope.

Definitely no natural right to force others to partake in the ritual that gives the illusion of legitimacy to the rulers.

sudden valley gunner said:

definitely no natural right to force others to partake in the ritual that gives the illusion of legitimacy to the rulers.

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+1

ccj

F350 said:

The LAST thing we need is more stupid people voting, just watch Water's World on O'rielly's show, it really scares me that these people can vote.

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Agreed. We do not need more idiots voting.
I deal in customer service at one of my jobs and the number of people who should not even be pumping their own fuel astounds me.

Quote Originally Posted by F350 View Post
... and the donkey you rode in on.

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twoskinsonemanns said:

oh lighten up

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That WAS light!

If you don't vote, you have no right to bitch. My .02