What would be the benefits of mandatory voting in Presidential elections in the United States?
Mandatory voting, on its face, seems to be an overall negative. Its cons are several. 1. Criminalizing people who may have had valid reasons for not voting, putting them in the position of having to justify why they could not vote. 2. Forcing people who may not be able to afford it to take time off from work, and pay for transportation to their polling station. 3. Forcing people to vote does not also mean forcing them to vote thoughtfully. People cannot be forced to educate themselves on the issues and the different candidates’ views. The result would be to further dilute the already limited educated vote. However, if done with some thought, there could potentially be some benefits too. If a secure system can be put in place that allows voters to vote by phone or computer, for example, that would drastically reduce the time and financial costs of voting. Allowing people to vote “none of the candidates fit my political beliefs” and/or “I don’t know enough to choose the best candidate” c
