Political Thinking
The Role Of Voter Turnout
1. Would you favor a law requiring Americans to vote or pay a fine if they fail to do so? If the United States had such a policy do you think, as William Galston does, that it would significantly reduce the level of party polarization?
If I was to state my personal view, I would have to say that a law that would require American citizen to vote on Election Day or pay a fine if that did not happen would be rather beneficial. There are several reasons to that. First of all, this will be a good exercise for democracy, since almost all the society would express its opinion. Secondly, more voters on Election Day will mean that the governmental policies will be truly designed by the majority which will lead to a reduction in number of unsatisfied people. Finally, less money will be wasted since nearly all-voting paper will be used. Just like William Galston I do think that if there were such a policy this would significantly reduce the level of party polarization since votes would reflect the society more realistically.
Is the Country Better Off?
2. Where do you stand on the question of whether the country would be better off or worse off if nearly everyone voted?
It is my personal opinion that the country would be better off if nearly everyone voted on the Election Day. I do share the concerns of some scholars, according to which there is a considerable number of voters who are educated badly as well as alienated to a certain extent. I do acknowledge that some politicians may manipulate their opinion. The result of it will be adopting unpopular policies, which might bring negative consequences in the long run. However, I strongly believe that all this might be outweighed by the core principle of every democracy: namely, universal suffrage. There is no point enforcing different democratic values of the very basic principle of it is not strictly followed. I really think that this might have a profound positive impact on all the
1. Would you favor a law requiring Americans to vote or pay a fine if they fail to do so? If the United States had such a policy do you think, as William Galston does, that it would significantly reduce the level of party polarization?
If I was to state my personal view, I would have to say that a law that would require American citizen to vote on Election Day or pay a fine if that did not happen would be rather beneficial. There are several reasons to that. First of all, this will be a good exercise for democracy, since almost all the society would express its opinion. Secondly, more voters on Election Day will mean that the governmental policies will be truly designed by the majority which will lead to a reduction in number of unsatisfied people. Finally, less money will be wasted since nearly all-voting paper will be used. Just like William Galston I do think that if there were such a policy this would significantly reduce the level of party polarization since votes would reflect the society more realistically.
Is the Country Better Off?
2. Where do you stand on the question of whether the country would be better off or worse off if nearly everyone voted?
It is my personal opinion that the country would be better off if nearly everyone voted on the Election Day. I do share the concerns of some scholars, according to which there is a considerable number of voters who are educated badly as well as alienated to a certain extent. I do acknowledge that some politicians may manipulate their opinion. The result of it will be adopting unpopular policies, which might bring negative consequences in the long run. However, I strongly believe that all this might be outweighed by the core principle of every democracy: namely, universal suffrage. There is no point enforcing different democratic values of the very basic principle of it is not strictly followed. I really think that this might have a profound positive impact on all the