Should a Democratic State Force/Facilitate/Promote individual votes?

[Bryan]

Freedom of choice includes the freedom to decline. Forcing, even coercing, people to vote is anti-democratic.

[August1991]

What in God's name are these numbers for? If voter turnout in cities was only 20% then how the Hell could you manage an overall turnout of 60% when cities are something like 80% of the population? Does the 20% of the country that lives in rural areas account for 44% of the total population that voter? No, obviously they do not.

Remiel, in municipal elections in Canada, about 20% of registered voters in fact vote. That's democracy. If you don't want to vote, you don't.

IMHO, voting is like going to church: in a civilized society, individuals are free to choose when to do so.

.... By debate, I mean true debate.....

Who gets to define "true debate"? Me, you or Argus? Edited April 20, 2014 by August1991

[Michael Hardner]

Who gets to define "true debate"? Me, you or Argus?

Everybody can define it for themselves, and I get that it's a qualitative statement but that's necessary given the multifaceted character of communications. But there should be no doubt that police-enforced censorship is not true debate, and so your rebuff to my point about debate in democracy - using the Soviet system as an example, well is just garbage really.

[jbg]

I'm saying that there are 2 likely causes - one of which we should ignore, the other of which we need to address with a new initiative around engagement.

I think there are two causes of low turnout:

1. The fact that people are not educated well in civics or history; and
2. The expansion of the electorate.

As far as education, I have talked to Canadian schoolteachers who have no idea what happened at the Plains of Abraham, or for that matter what riding they live in or who the Governor General is.

Each time that that the electorate has been expanded, first to women, then to minorities, then to 18-21 year olds turnout ratios plummeted. It is just a fact that middle-aged white males have higher involvement in community affairs.

[Michael Hardner]

They could be educated about such things and still not care.