"We have the greatest opportunity the world has ever seen, as long as we remain honest -- which will be as long as we can keep the attention of our people alive. If they once become inattentive to public affairs, you and I, and Congress and Assemblies, judges and governors would all become wolves." Thomas Jefferson
The subject of mandatory voting is currently under consideration in this country, and among the arguments regarding requiring that all eligible U.S. citizens vote is the argument that to make voting mandatory would violate the Constitutional Right of Free Speech, reasoning that voting is speech, and like speech, the right to vote has within it the inherent right to not vote, or to follow the analogy more closely, to not speak.
That may be true. But everyone who is currently registered to vote has already exercised his or her free speech, as has everyone who is not registered to vote.
Registering to vote has always been a requirement in order for U.S. citizens to vote. Without registering, you cannot vote. However, it has never been
required that a U.S. citizen
register to vote. Thus the act of registering or not registering to vote is the “speech” of a U.S. citizen that is protected and the right that is being exercised. A U.S. citizen who registers to vote can be “saying” nothing else but that s/he wants to exercise the right to vote. A citizen who does not register to vote can be “saying” nothing else but that s/he does not want to exercise the right to vote.
There are, according to the “U.S Census Bureau: Voting and Registration” (July 2014), there are 206 million Americans eligible to vote and 147 million registered voters, which means that 71% of all eligible voters have registered to vote. However, there are also 60 million Americans that have not registered to vote, 29% of the eligible population.
The good news is that 71% of all eligible voters have already exercised their right to free speech to “say” they want to vote. Mandatory voting should not affect their rights at all. It is the 29% of eligible voters who have clearly “stated” that they do not want to vote that will have to be consulted, for it is only they that have the right to decide if their rights are violated by mandatory voting.
According to Pew Research (“The Party of Nonvoters”, October 2014), the group of nonvoters (those who are either not registered to vote or are considered unlikely to vote) is different demographically from likely voters or registered voters. They are younger, more racially and ethnically diverse, and are poorer. What is striking is that these three demographic groups are also the same demographic groups have been throughout our voting history the target of efforts to limit their inclusion in the voting process. As such, the issue of their "speech" must be closely examined to determine if they have truly exercised their right in not registering to vote, or if their non-registration is perhaps more indicative of the interference with their rights.
The power of money and special interests, not only in elections but in Congress itself, is of such magnitude that a recent study conducted by Princeton and Northwestern universities concluded that “The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence,” adding “When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organized interests, they generally lose.”
Money and special interests have already purchased our elections and the majority of Congress. As noted above in the report, citizens – you and I - have lost all power and influence on policy and politicians. Citizens have lost their right of “consent to the government” in every way. That is, except one: the power to vote. But now, the citizens are not voting and in record numbers.
We are in danger of losing our democracy and becoming an oligarchy. We are in danger of losing our freedoms and rights. Instituting mandatory voting, at this time, is no different and no less serious than the government asking its citizens to defend the country during an armed invasion, and then instituting a draft when the number of volunteers is woefully insufficient to provide an adequate defense.
Sure, just like in the 60’s you can avoid the “draft.” You can launch protests, burn your draft card, and quote Thoreau out of context and incorrectly. You can flee to another country, where less is required of you in return for more. But you will be hard pressed to find anywhere that asks less of its citizens and yet gives its citizens more in return. You need to take your zoom lens and adjust the focus to wide-angle, and see how differently things look then.
Think about it. But instead of focusing on your rights and what you are entitled to and your convenience, think about it from another perspective. Think about it as defending your country nonviolently. Think about it as being part of preserving democracy by using the democratic process. Think about it as helping to protect the rights and freedoms of us all by using the ballot box for the good of the majority.
Think about it. "We have the greatest opportunity the world has ever seen, as long as we remain honest”
From:
Metaphysical Outlaws in America