Should Voting Be Mandatory Essay

The argument for compulsory voting is basically undemocratic because the first amendment talks about how you have freedom. The freedom of choice must include the freedom not to choose. Democracy deeply values individual freedom which means if compulsory voting was mandatory, It is a clear violation of liberty and the first amendment. I argue that voting should not be mandatory in America because first, non-voters are uninformed, it doesn’t improve the democratic climate, and it requires a national database. American is one of the most powerful and big countries in the world.

Samuel Morse said in Imminent Dangers to the Free Institutions of the United States “that no foreigner who comes into the country… shall ever be allowed the right to suffrage.” (Doc. D). As said earlier, the nativist movement tried to protect democracy, but left behind the traditional principle of equality. The declaration says that “all men are created equal” not just those born in America. Everyone deserved the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, which includes the right to vote.

Voting was not an option for African Americans until decades after the constitution was ratified. While the constitution gave them freedom, equality, and civil rights, it did not protect them from being viewed as second class citizens and from being treated unfairly. Even to this day, they are still discriminated against and treated/thought of poorly, not only by some people but also by some of the authority figures. If we use our first amendment rights, I believe that we can start a change in how oppressed minorities are treated by everyone. More awareness has been brought to this issue because of marches and protests that people are holding almost weekly.

When you look around at the world today, we have so many rights. People of all race and gender have the right to vote. However, this wasn’t always the case. In 1800s America, the fight over slavery was more prominent than it ever had been before. The civil war sparked the start of an evolution, an evolution led by none other than Ulysses S. Grant.

Based on the book Give Us the Ballot by Ari Berman, the book focuses on the voting rights for African Americans and the struggle they had to go through to obtaining the right to vote in the United States. Berman also describes the difficulties African Americans faced even after the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. The voting Rights Act wanted to eliminate many obstacles that occurred when it came to voting, which included literacy tests, poll taxes or any racial discrimination that prevented African Americans or other minorities from voting. The voting Rights Act operated and increased democracy participation in the south after the 1960’s.

Prior to the establishment of this act, African Americans faced many legal restraints prohibiting many of them from voting- a right guaranteed to all citizens under the fifteenth amendment. When African Americans attended the polling booths, they were often asked to complete a literacy test or pay a poll fine to vote. These tests caused a vast demographic of African Americans to be exempt from the voting process, excluding and discrediting their voices. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally outlawed any discriminatory voting prerequisites used by many Southern states at the time. The development of this act is often seen as a crucial turning point for the Civil Rights Movement and one of the nation’s most significant accomplishments since Reconstruction.

I believe that Americans should be required to vote. Compulsory voting allows everyone to have a say about who they think is fit in the government. It allows the polls to be more accurate and the number of votes increase. Required voting allows those who can 't or don 't have time to make it the day or time off work. Requiring people to vote is like a boss requiring his employees to get to work on time, it 's short and easy but also important and effective.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of civil rights legislation that was enacted to protect the voting rights of African Americans and other minority groups. The law was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, and has been credited with increasing the political power and representation of minority groups in the United States. This essay will explore the background, significance, and impact of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the current challenges and controversies surrounding the law. Prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act, voting rights were often denied to African Americans and other minority groups through a variety of discriminatory practices, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and other measures.

Voting is an important activity which is helpful in expressing the insights, ideologies and motivations of a mass for political parties. Voter eligibility in both national and state election has boundaries and limitations. In some states, only adult white male property owners having certain religious believes had the privilege to vote. As a result, only five percent were eligible to vote in 1790. There were other obstructions such as white only primaries, literacy tests, race, gender and age.

To accomplish social equality and justice has been a long controversial issue in U.S. history. Voting Rights Act of 1965 should be understood as a tremendous accomplishment today because it not only represent a symbol of the triumph of fighting social injustice, but also open the first gate for African American and minority to strive for more political power in order to create a “great society.”

So, should Americans be required to vote?There are three reasons why Americans should be required to vote: voting is the least you, as a citizen, could do for your country, compulsory voting proves that the rate of votes go up, and if you make people vote it will give them knowledge about what they do not know. One reason why Americans should be required to vote is, because requiring citizens to vote is no more than requiring a male citizen to register for the draft at 19. Evidence

Everyone should be given the right to vote no matter what the

However, until today, African Americans still couldn’t get their real voting rights. This act doesn’t totally infer this situation, no matter how industrious blacks demand their completed fundamental rights. Except African American, within the United States, many minorities have struggled for their rights for many years. It is necessary for a government to protect all citizens’ rights, including the minorities. If the government couldn’t do that, as a citizen, we should speak out our perspectives by participating in the voting

Throughout the recent years the majority of the able voting population are exercising their privilege to vote. Even during the presidential elections the voter turnout rate was 50% or less than that. The act of voting should be a personal responsibility of every citizen meaning it should be a obligation. But to specify on this statement, it should not lawfully required to vote because people also have the right not to vote too (and it would be weakening personal liberties) , but it should be a personal responsibility for citizens if they are to complain about how the government run rather than every citizen. A personal responsibility is when we are the cause of our own actions.

Voting has been given as a right to all citizens of the country, unfortunately, people are educated about how to vote however not many citizens are educated about all kinds of voting in each state. Normally the most votes people come out for would probably be for the presidency, and not have enough knowledge of other voting’s of the state, such as selecting a mayor and that is how Texas loses votes by uninterested voters. After reading the articles, I see that voting advocates are working hard to get a higher voting percentage in Texas. It is a very good idea to get voting registration online, by mail and as well as on the Election Day. For many individuals it is very difficult for them to get the time to leave work and get to the election site, followed by standing in a long line and realize that they are not registered in that county causing them to go to a different election location would definitely change the voters mind from my personal experience.