Reply #71: A few things to consider first....

[pipi_k]

You can force people to turn up at the polls, but you can't force them to vote. Not unless you want to have people standing there watching as they pull those levers, or, as they do in my town, make their little "x" with a pencil on the paper ballot.

And you can't stop people from choosing any old candidate out of resentment for having been forced to vote.

And what about people who can't get out and vote? What if someone has had recent surgery and cannot leave the house to vote?

Or what if someone has, for example, the swine flu....or some kind of emotional problem like anxiety disorder or depression or panic attacks...


Even if exemptions were made for people who are ill or recovering from surgery, etc., I still would not want to be at the voting mercy of people who, resentful at being forced to turn up at the polls, are voting for candidates they know nothing about, or, in extreme cases, writing names on the ballots like Mickey Mouse or Adolph Hitler or something.